An apparent leak indicates the iPhone 18 Pro Max battery will be noticeably larger than the iPhone 17 Pro Max, with the Chinese model listed at 5,391 mAh — up from 4,823 mAh — and a U.S. model reportedly at 5,567 mAh versus the 17 Pro Max’s 5,088 mAh.
The leak centers on a photo of a battery pack for a Chinese model that lists a 5,391 mAh capacity; the image was shared on a Korean platform and is said to have originated on a Chinese social network. That same 5,391 mAh figure also appeared in a regulatory database last month, lending the number additional weight.
For the U.S. version, where the removal of a physical SIM tray provides extra internal space, the leak claims a 5,567 mAh battery. By comparison, the U.S. iPhone 17 Pro Max uses a 5,088 mAh pack, which would make the year-over-year increase for the U.S. model roughly 10 percent.
The leak suggests battery life gains will be more limited for the smaller iPhone 18 Pro. In the U.S., the iPhone 18 Pro is reportedly listed with a 4,288 mAh battery, a rise of less than 1 percent from the iPhone 17 Pro’s 4,252 mAh in that market. The Chinese iPhone 18 Pro is listed at 4,056 mAh.
iPhone 18 Pro Max battery capacities
According to the leaked figures, the relevant capacities are:
– iPhone 18 Pro: China 4,056 mAh; U.S. 4,288 mAh.
– iPhone 17 Pro (for comparison): China 3,988 mAh; U.S. 4,252 mAh.
– iPhone 18 Pro Max: China 5,391 mAh; U.S. 5,567 mAh.
– iPhone 17 Pro Max (for comparison): China 4,823 mAh; U.S. 5,088 mAh.
The capacity differences between regions are attributed to whether a physical SIM tray is present: models sold in some countries continue to include a SIM tray, while U.S. models have used eSIM only since the iPhone 14 lineup, allowing slightly larger batteries in eSIM-only units. The leak also notes that the SIM tray removal began with the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max in several countries beyond the U.S.
A previous rumor that the iPhone 18 Pro Max will be thicker than the iPhone 18 Pro is mentioned in the leak as a possible explanation for the larger battery in the Max model. The reported figures and origins remain unconfirmed by the manufacturer.
