In this blog post we will analyze the battery performance of the 2023 Apple iPhone 15 series:
We will compare the batteries of these iPhone models with Apple’s biggest competition from the Samsung Galaxy S23 series:
The OnePlus 11 is another Android-based flagship smartphone that impresses with its incredible battery performance. It is the only available model from OnePlus for 2023 without a 11 Pro or 11 T version.
Battery Performance Parameters:
For the direct comparison of the batteries of the smartphone models, we evaluate certain battery performance parameters to provide an objective assessment:
- Battery capacity: The battery capacity gives information about how much electric charge can be stored in the battery and directly affects the battery life. The rated capacity reflects the maximum capacity the battery is designed to deliver as specified by the manufacturer.
- Battery life: The battery life during activities (web browsing/video streaming) is related to the battery capacity. Battery life also depends on other factors, e.g. processor power, screen-type, settings, etc.
- Charging time: The complete charging time from 1-100% with the standard adapter depending on fast-charging options and battery technology.
- Wireless charging: Additional option to charge an electric device without cable on a charging pad (inductive charging).
- Safety: The maximum charging temperature should not exceed a certain limit to ensure a safe battery operation.
1. Battery Capacity: iPhone 15, Galaxy S23, OnePlus11
In this section we compare the rated capacities of the different 2023 smartphone models from Apple, Samsung and OnePlus.
iPhone 15 Battery Capacity:
Apple uses modern lithium-ion batteries with a nominal output voltage of 3.88 V DC in all their 2023 models. The batteries are produced by the company Desay in China.
The battery capacity of the iPhone 15 series (2023) got slightly upgraded compared to the iPhone 14 series (2022). However, the increase in battery capacity of about +1.3-2.3% is not going expected to significantly affect the battery life.
Apple does not officially announce the iPhone battery capacity on their website but the data was released by a Chinese regulatory database and published on MySmartPrice and other websites.
Here are the rated capacities of the iPhone 15 models:
| iPhone 15 | 3349 mAh |
| iPhone 15 Plus | 4383 mAh |
| iPhone 15 Pro | 3274 mAh |
| iPhone 15 Pro Max | 4422 mAh |
Samsung Galaxy S23 Battery Capacity:
Samsung uses in-house manufactured modern lithium-ion batteries with a nominal output voltage of 3.88 V DC in all their 2023 models. Compared to the iPhone 15 series all Samsung Galaxy S23 models offer a higher battery capacity.
Here are the rated capacities of the Samsung Galaxy S23 models:
| Galaxy S23 | 3785 mAh |
| Galaxy S23+ | 4565 mAh |
| Galaxy S23 Ultra | 4855 mAh |
OnePlus 11 Battery Capacity:
The OnePlus 11 combines two lithium-ion cells in their battery which allows a nominal output voltage of 7.78 V DC. The total battery capacity is higher than the models from Apple and even slightly higher than the Galaxy S23 Ultra.
| One Plus 11 | 4870 mAh (2x 2435 mAh) |
2. Battery Life: iPhone 15, Galaxy S23, OnePlus11
The battery life of a smartphone is an important factor in the decision making of many customers. Manufacturers provide their own battery life evaluations on their website, which are generally not standardized and hard to compare between different manufacturers.
PhoneArena provides testing results that enable a more accurate direct comparison of the battery life across different manufacturers.
The results of the battery life testing show that there are other determining factors involved besides the battery capacity. Further parameters include:
- Processor power
- Display technology
- Software optimization
- Network connectivity
- Operating system efficiency
Here are their battery life performances of the iPhone 15 series, Samsung Galaxy S23 series and the OnePlus 11:
Battery Life – Web Browsing
With the highest battery capacity the iPhone 15 Pro Max (19.3 hours) and the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra (19.0 hours) are the clear winners in the category battery life for web browsing. Surprisingly, the only slightly lower battery capacities of the Galaxy S23+ and the iPhone 15 Plus drastically reduced the battery life by 2.5-3.0 hours during web browsing.
The Galaxy S23 (15.3 hours) and the iPhone 15 Pro (14.9 hours) are almost equal and the iPhone 15 (13.5 hours) and the OnePlus 11 (13.3 hours) have comparable battery life. Considering that the OnePlus 11 offers the highest battery capacity of all these models the battery life for web browsing is surprisingly low.
Battery Life – Video Streaming
The battery life performance during video streaming shows a different ranking compared to the results from web browsing. Here, the iPhone 15 Plus (11.2 hours) has the longest battery life for video streaming, followed by the iPhone 15 Pro Max (9.8 hours) and the Galaxy S23 Ultra (9.0 hours).
The OnePlus 11 (8.3 hours), Galaxy S23 Ultra (9.0 hours), S23+ (8.2 hours), S23 (8.1 hours) and iPhone 15 (7.9 hours) show similar battery life results for video streaming. Last in this ranking is the iPhone 15 Pro with 6.9 hours streaming time.
3. Charging Time: iPhone 15, Galaxy S23, OnePlus 11
Many customers do not want to compromise when it comes to the charging time of their smartphones. In some situations (e.g. train, airport, coffee shop) there is only a short amount of time available to charge the battery that has to be used efficiently.
Most modern smartphones have fast-charging options which rapidly shortens the time for charging cycles. However, between different models and manufacturers the charging times can still differ significantly.
Charging Adapters
It is important to comply with the specifications of the manufacturer when it comes to charging adapters. Some adapters have higher power outputs that can significantly harm the battery of the smartphone and even lead to dangerous situations.
Here are some reasons to avoid using a different charging adapter with higher power than the recommended one:
Overheating:
Using a charger with a higher power output than what your phone is designed for may cause the device to overheat. This can lead to damage to the battery and other internal components.
Battery Stress:
Charging a battery too quickly can stress the battery and reduce its overall lifespan. Lithium-ion batteries, commonly used in smartphones, are designed to be charged within a certain voltage range, and exceeding this range can be detrimental.
Compatibility Issues:
While many modern smartphones and chargers have safety mechanisms to prevent issues, there’s still a risk of compatibility problems when using an excessively powerful charger. It’s always best to stick with the charger provided by the manufacturer.
Warranty Concerns:
Using a non-standard charger may void your device’s warranty. If you encounter any issues with your device while using a non-approved charger, the manufacturer may not cover repairs or replacements.
Charging Time Performance
The charging times of the tested smartphone models were measured for a full charge from 1-100% with the specified adapters that are recommended by the manufacturers. These test results published by PhoneArena provide a more accurate comparison than the advertised charging times from the manufactures.
iPhone 15 Charging Time:
Apple provides a charging adapter with 20 W (watt) power output for all models of the 2023 iPhone 15 series. The voltage and current outputs are marked as 9 V DC/2.2 A. For the first time the iPhone offers USB type connectivity, which has been standard for almost every other smartphone.
The iPhone 15 and 15 Plus support USB-C 2.0, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max models use the latest USB-C 3.2 technology. The fastest charging time for a full battery charge from 1-100% has the iPhone 15 Plus (92 min), followed by the iPhone 15 Pro (102 min), iPhone 15 (115 min) and the 15 Pro Max (121 min).
All these iPhone models do not impress with their charging time compared to the other competitors. Apple announced a charging time of 30 min for up to 50% battery charge, which still seems too optimistic with these test results.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Charging Time:
The Samsung Galaxy S23 models use two different USB-C 3.2 charging adapters. A 25 W (9 V DC/2.77 A) output adapter for fast-charging of the Galaxy S23 and a 45 W (9 V DC/5 A) super-fast charger for the models Galaxy S23+ and S23 Ultra. Note that the 45 W adapter also requires a 5 A USB-C 3.2 cable.
The higher charging power output of these Samsung adapters also significantly reduce the charging time compared to the iPhone 15 models. For a full battery charge from 1-100% the Samsung Galaxy S23+ takes 60 min, followed by the S23 Ultra (66 min) and the S23 (68 min).
OnePlus 11 Charging Time:
OnePlus takes fast-charging to a whole different level. The OnePlus 11 comes with a powerful 80 W (11 V DC/7.3 A) output adapter that enables the SUPERVOOC charging technology with USB-C 3.1 connectivity.
The 2-cell battery system of the OnePlus 11 can be fully charged from 1-100% in only 32 min. This is double as fast as the Samsung Galaxy S23+ and about 3x as fast as the iPhone 15 Plus. In terms of charging time the 2-cell battery technology of OnePlus clearly offers an advantage because each individual cell can be charged simultaneously with 40 W power, which cuts the total charging time in half.
4. Wireless Charging: iPhone 15, Galaxy S23, OnePlus 11
The Apple iPhone 15 series offers wireless charging technology for all their models. The Apple MagSafe Charger is an inductive charging pad that operates with a maximum of 15 W (9 V/3 A) power output. Apple also offers the Apple MagSafe Duo wireless charger that has two charging spots, one for your iPhone and another for your Apple Watch.
Similar to iPhone, the Samsung Galaxy S23 models all are supported by the Samsung wireless charger with 15 W maximum output power. The Samsung Qi Certified Fast Charge Wireless Charger Pad is a US special edition that supports all Qi certified standard smartphones. You can check if your smartphone is Qi certified on the WPC certified products website. Samsung also offers the Samsung wireless charger duo that allows simultaneous charging of your smartphone and smartwatch.
The OnePlus 11 is the only model in this comparison that does not offer the wireless charging option.
5. Battery Safety: iPhone 15, Galaxy S23, OnePlus 11
The battery safety is a critical aspect when it comes to smartphone. Fast-charging or energy-intense activities (e.g., gaming, video streaming) on your smartphone can lead to an increase of the battery temperature. The maximum temperature of your smartphone battery should never exceed 45°C (113°F) because this can lead to rapid battery degradation and in the worst case cause fires or explosions.
We looked into testing results from ChargerLab, Nasi Lemak Tech and ZDNET to compare the maximum battery temperatures of the models from the iPhone 15 series, Galaxy S23 series and the OnePlus 11. The temperatures were measured with a thermal camera during fast-charging.
Typically the maximum battery temperatures during fast-charging of the models stayed in the range of 36-39°C (96-102°F). Only the OnePlus 11 reached a higher temperature of 42°C (108°F) during fast-charging, which can be explained by the high power output of the adapter (80 W) compared to the other models.
The iPhone 15 models and the Galaxy S23 models stayed well below the 45°C (115°F) limit and the OnePlus 11 came close.
Overall Results of the Battery Performance:
The evaluation of the overall battery performance of the smartphone models in this comparison includes five aspects:
- Battery Capacity
- Battery Life
- Charging Time
- Wireless Charging
- Battery Safety
The Battery Factor ranking for these smartphone batteries ranges from 1 (poor) – 5 (excellent):
- Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: 4/5 (good)
- Apple iPhone 15 Plus and iPhone 15 Pro Max, Samsung Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23+: 3/5 (average)
- OnePlus 11: 2.5/5 (okay-average)
- Apple iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro: 2/5 (okay)
The detailed test results for all categories are visible in this table (Green = 1 Point, Yellow = 0.5 Points, Orange = 0 Points):
