Here’s how big the iPhone Air battery really is

Apple has always had its own way of talking about battery life. Instead of listing the actual milliamp-hour (mAh) numbers like most phone makers, it simply states the hours of video playback as the main benchmark. 

That usually leaves people waiting for teardowns to uncover the real specs. But thanks to EU regulations requiring more transparency, Apple’s German product pages now reveal the precise battery capacities of the new iPhone 17 family.

Here’s the breakdown. The standard iPhone 17 comes in with a 3,692mAh battery, the 17 Pro gets a bump to 4,252mAh, and the 17 Pro Max leads the pack with a massive 5,088mAh cell. Sitting at the bottom of the chart is the all-new iPhone Air, with just 3,149mAh.

The iPhone Air has the smallest battery of them all for obvious reasons. Apple’s ultra-slim titanium design means it couldn’t fit as large a cell inside.

On paper, that sounds like a big trade-off. But Apple is betting on efficiency to make up the difference. The company says the Air can still push up to 27 hours of video playback, which should cover a full day of use. That’s made possible by the A19 Pro chip, which is designed for power savings, along with Apple’s new N1 networking chip and CX1 modem.

Still, Apple knows some people will want more. That’s why it launched a new MagSafe battery pack built specifically with the Air in mind. The add-on snaps to the back, boosts battery capacity by 65 percent, and pushes total video playback time up to around 40 hours. It also supports 12W fast charging and comes with Apple’s smart battery management system to balance performance and longevity.

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