Apple has now confirmed the battery capacities of the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, revealing a notable split between the two models. The standard Pro gets a smaller battery than the eSIM-only iPhone 17 Pro, while the Pro Max gains more than 300 mAh.
Apple’s EU energy labels list the iPhone 18 Pro at 4,056 mAh and the iPhone 18 Pro Max at 5,391 mAh for models equipped with a physical SIM tray. The figures match capacities that surfaced in regulatory filings earlier this year.
The difference becomes clearer when compared with the corresponding iPhone 17 Pro models.
iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max battery comparison
| Model | Battery capacity | Year-over-year change |
| iPhone 17 Pro | 4,252 mAh | — |
| iPhone 18 Pro | 4,056 mAh | -196 mAh |
| iPhone 17 Pro Max | 5,088 mAh | — |
| iPhone 18 Pro Max | 5,391 mAh | +303 mAh |
The iPhone 18 Pro’s 4,056 mAh capacity is 196 mAh below the eSIM-only iPhone 17 Pro’s 4,252 mAh battery. That is a reduction of about 4.6%.
However, the comparison needs some regional context. Apple uses different battery capacities depending on whether an iPhone has a physical SIM tray. The iPhone 17 Pro with a physical SIM tray had a 3,988 mAh battery, meaning the 18 Pro’s 4,056 mAh cell is actually 68 mAh larger in that configuration.
Apple’s new specifications also identify Model A3714 for the iPhone 18 Pro and Model A3717 for the iPhone 18 Pro Max.
The Pro Max gets the bigger battery increase
The iPhone 18 Pro Max tells a different story. Its 5,391 mAh battery is 303 mAh larger than the 5,088 mAh capacity of the eSIM-only iPhone 17 Pro Max, representing an increase of roughly 6%.
Compared with the physical-SIM version of the iPhone 17 Pro Max, which had a 4,823 mAh cell, the increase reaches 568 mAh, or nearly 12%.
That larger battery is also reflected in Apple’s positioning of the new Pro Max. The company says the iPhone 18 Pro Max delivers its largest battery-life increase yet, driven by both a larger battery and changes to the phone’s silicon and thermal design.
The new lineup uses Apple’s A20 Pro chip and a next-generation vapor chamber. Apple has also increased the Pro Max’s claimed video playback endurance compared with its predecessor.
Regional battery capacities still matter
The confirmed 4,056 mAh and 5,391 mAh figures apply to iPhone 18 Pro models with physical SIM trays. Apple has historically fitted larger batteries into eSIM-only variants because removing the SIM hardware creates additional internal space.
Regulatory filings previously indicated capacities of 4,288 mAh for the eSIM-only iPhone 18 Pro and 5,567 mAh for the eSIM-only iPhone 18 Pro Max. Those figures are larger than the capacities now confirmed for SIM-equipped models, although Apple has not yet confirmed the eSIM-only capacities through its published energy labels.
For buyers, that means comparing the iPhone 18 Pro directly with the 4,252 mAh iPhone 17 Pro can be misleading without accounting for the SIM configuration. The same applies to the Pro Max.
The more meaningful comparison for identical hardware configurations is a modest battery increase for the iPhone 18 Pro and a much larger increase for the iPhone 18 Pro Max. How much of that extra capacity translates into real-world endurance will depend on the A20 Pro’s efficiency, display power consumption, and modem behavior, not capacity alone. Apple’s published battery-life figures will ultimately provide the clearer comparison.
