iPhone 18 Pro battery leak looks disappointing, but these 3 upgrades could change the story

It’s that time of the year when leaks around Apple’s iPhones really start to flood our timelines until the flagship devices ultimately make their global debut in September. The latest leak we have got is regarding the battery life of the iPhone 18 Pro, which could be disappointing for many Apple fanboys out there.

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iPhone 18 Pro battery leaked:

As per tipster Digital Chat Station (DCS) on Weibo, the iPhone 18 Pro could come in two different battery capacities for the China and US models. That is because, since the iPhone 14, Apple has shipped an eSIM-only variant of the flagship iPhone models in its home country, which leaves more room for additional battery capacity.

However, China still gets the option of having a physical SIM card tray on Pro models. That being said, the iPhone Air, to maintain its sleek profile, comes in an eSIM-only variant globally.

But we digress. Coming back to the current leak, the iPhone 18 Pro could feature a 4,056mAh battery on the China version and a 4,288mAh battery on the global version.

To put that in perspective, the current-generation iPhone 17 Pro features a 3,988mAh battery in China and a 4,252mAh unit in the US. This means that the planned upgrade could be a modest one for the iPhone 18 Pro, marking just a 36mAh or 0.8% bump for the China variant and a 68mAh or 1.7% bump for the global variant.

Notably, this isn’t the first time Digital Chat Station has hinted at a battery upgrade for Apple’s next-generation iPhones. In February, the tipster claimed that the iPhone 18 Pro Max’s China variant’s battery capacity could move into the 5,000mAh territory, while the US version could feature an even more substantial upgrade with a 5,100-5,200mAh battery.

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iPhone 18 Pro price leak:

The tipster also warned that the price of the iPhone 18 Pro could ‘go up significantly’ unless Apple sacrifices its gross margin to accumulate more market share.

This goes against the pricing leaks we have had so far from analysts like Ming-Chi Kuo and Jeff Pu, who had predicted that the pricing of the flagship iPhone lineup could stay the same in order to consolidate more market share.

Why iPhone 18 Pro could still significantly outpace the iPhone 17 Pro in battery?

While on paper it may seem like there isn’t expected to be much of an improvement in battery life for the iPhone 18 Pro model, that may not actually be the case.

Some of the decisions that Apple is said to be making for the phone could mark significant efficiency gains for the iPhone 18 Pro and significantly improve the battery life over its predecessor.

First, the iPhone 18 Pro is expected to be powered by the A20 Pro chipset, which could be based on TSMC’s 2nm process. This is expected to result in up to 30 per cent better power efficiency and 15 per cent faster performance compared to the iPhone 17 Pro with its 3nm process-based A19 Pro chipset.

Apple is expected to launch iPhone 18 Pro Max in September

(Representative image generated via AI)

Second, the iPhone 18 Pro is also expected to come with Apple’s own C2 modem, which means that Apple could say goodbye to Qualcomm modems on its flagship smartphone lineup for good. Apart from increased profit margins for Apple, iPhone users could get reduced heat and better battery life as a result.

Third, Apple is also expected to bring LTPO+ AMOLED panels to the iPhone 18 Pro series. The new display technology is expected to be more power-efficient than the LTPO panels used in the iPhone 17 Pro lineup, since it allows for finer control over OLED light emission and could help optimise the display’s power consumption based on what is being run on the screen.