Redmi Note 17 Pro Max vs OnePlus Nord 6 battery comparison: which of these battery behemoths holds up better?

• By Dhruv Joshi
Published On: 30 September 2026 | 17:32 IST

The Redmi Note 17 Pro Max and OnePlus Nord 6 are two phones that take the concept of battery life to an extreme. The Redmi packs a massive 10,000mAh battery, while the OnePlus Nord 6 isn’t far behind with a 9,000mAh cell. Both also sit in a similar price segment, making this a worthwhile comparison for anyone who wants a phone that can comfortably last for days.

But having a massive battery doesn’t always mean that you’ll get the sort of endurance you may expect from it. How efficiently the phone uses that capacity can make a big difference in everyday usage. So, we put the Redmi Note 17 Pro Max and OnePlus Nord 6 through a series of tests covering streaming, gaming, and regular daily usage to see how they actually compare.

Read on to find out which phone delivers longer battery life.

Battery capacity and charging speed

Winner: Redmi Note 17 Pro Max

When it comes to raw battery capacity, the Redmi Note 17 Pro Max has the clear advantage. It packs a massive 10,000mAh battery with support for 100W charging, while the OnePlus Nord 6 gets a 9,000mAh cell and 80W charging.

The OnePlus, however, does have a slight advantage when it comes to charging speed. It took around 65 minutes to go from 20 to 100 per cent, compared to around 77 minutes for the Redmi. The difference isn’t huge, especially considering the Redmi is charging a larger battery.

If we look at how quickly each phone can replenish every 1,000mAh, the Nord 6 takes roughly 8.1 minutes, while the Note 17 Pro Max takes around 7.7 minutes. So, while the OnePlus finishes its full charge a little quicker, the Redmi is actually marginally more efficient in terms of charging time per 1,000mAh.

PCMark battery benchmark

Winner: Redmi Note 17 Pro Max

For our first battery test, we used PCMark’s battery benchmark, which puts the phones through a series of demanding tasks until their battery levels drop below 20 percent. We started both phones at 100 per cent battery and kept the display brightness at 80 per cent to maintain the same conditions.

The test gives us a good idea of how a phone may perform in the hands of a moderate to heavy user, where multiple tasks are running over an extended period.

The OnePlus Nord 6 managed roughly 21 hours in the test, which is already an impressive result. The Redmi Note 17 Pro Max, however, went on to last around 24 hours, making it the highest score we’ve recorded in this test to date. That’s a very impressive result and gives the Redmi a clear lead in this round.

YouTube streaming

Winner: Tied

For our YouTube streaming test, we kept the display brightness at 80 per cent and volume at 50 per cent on both phones to keep the conditions as balanced as possible. After one hour of streaming, both the OnePlus Nord 6 and Redmi Note 17 Pro Max dropped by 4 per cent, making this round a tie.

The Redmi has a larger 10,000mAh battery, so that 4 percent represents roughly 400mAh, compared to around 360mAh on the OnePlus. However, since both phones lost the same percentage of battery, there isn’t an actual advantage for either device in this test, and both delivered equally good streaming endurance.

Gaming performance

Winner: Tied

Gaming is one of the most demanding tests for battery life, so we tested both phones with Call of Duty: Mobile and BGMI. In both cases, we used the highest FPS settings supported by each phone, putting more load on the hardware and giving us a better idea of how they handle extended gaming sessions.

In Call of Duty: Mobile, the OnePlus Nord 6 dropped by 5 percent after 40 minutes, while the Redmi Note 17 Pro Max dropped by 6 percent. The OnePlus has a slight advantage here, although the difference isn’t particularly significant.

The results flipped in BGMI, where the Redmi dropped by 5 per cent after 40 minutes, compared to 6 per cent on the OnePlus. Once again, the difference is small enough that both phones can be considered closely matched.

Overall, neither phone has a clear advantage in gaming battery life. Both managed to handle the highest supported FPS settings well, and the battery drain remained fairly close across the two games.

Conclusion

After looking at the results across all our tests, the Redmi Note 17 Pro Max (review) emerges as the clear winner for battery life. Its 10,000mAh battery delivered the highest PCMark score we’ve recorded, while it also stayed close to the OnePlus Nord 6 in our streaming and gaming tests. The Nord 6 puts up an excellent fight and is by no means a poor performer when it comes to battery life.

The choice ultimately comes down to what you value more in your smartphone. The OnePlus Nord 6 (review) is slightly cheaper at Rs 46,999 and packs a much more powerful Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 processor, making it the more performance-focused option. The Redmi Note 17 Pro Max, meanwhile, is the clear choice if battery life is your biggest priority. Both are fairly bulky phones, so you will have to decide whether you want the extra longevity or higher performance.