UK consumer watchdog claims Apple overestimates iPhone XR battery life by up to 51 percent

Apple has been accused by UK consumer watchdog ‘Which?’ of fudging the battery life claim on many of its smartphones. According to the organisation, it held an independent test to calculate the battery life of nine latest iPhones and claimed that all of the iPhones have underperformed when it comes to delivering on battery life. It makes a rather serious claim to state that all of the iPhones got their battery life numbers wrong by anywhere between 18 and 51 percent, with the iPhone XR being the worst offender.

According to the report, the iPhone XR lasted for a total of 16 hours and 32 minutes in call time, while Apple claims 25 hours of talk time stamina. In response, Apple issued a statement to Business Insider, which states, “We rigorously test our products and stand behind our battery life claims. With tight integration between hardware and software, iPhone is engineered to intelligently manage power usage to maximize battery life. Our testing methodology reflects that intelligence.”

In sharp contrast, ‘Which?’s data has given a reverse judgement on Sony’s generations-old Xperia Z5 Compact, which reportedly offers nearly 26 hours of talktime in a single charge cycle, instead of the 17 hours that it claims. The test data has raised questions about the overall test process and how valid that is, as the methodology shared by ‘Which?’ does not offer a very detailed explanation of how the report was produced.

Most publications and reviews had so far shared a generally positive verdict on the iPhone XR’s battery life. The smartphone has been appreciated for providing the best battery life among iPhones so far, which strongly contrasts the view shared by ‘Which?’. Despite the report, most users have generally seemed positive about the iPhone XR’s battery life, and it remains to be seen if the report has any long-term impact on the device and its reputation.