Overview
- CNET's comparison ranked 32 modern phones and placed the iPhone 18 Pro Max first overall, according to coverage published Wednesday.
- Each phone ran two controlled tests that began at 100% charge: three hours of video streaming at maximum brightness and a 45‑minute mixed‑use session, and CNET averaged the remaining battery percentages to produce its rankings.
- CNET attributed the Pro Max lead to its increased battery capacity over last year’s Pro Max, the energy efficiency of Apple’s A20 Pro processor, and power management in iOS 27.
- Several Android models also performed strongly, with Motorola’s 2026 Razr and Razr Ultra, OnePlus 15 and Google’s Pixel 11 Pro XL appearing near the top in CNET’s results.
- CNET found that average battery endurance in 2026 is roughly unchanged from 2025 and 2024, a reminder that battery capacity alone does not determine real‑world runtime and that short benchmark windows may not reflect full-day use.