Apple Confirms iPhone 18 Pro Max Gets 5,391 mAh Battery as Pro Reaches 4,056 mAh

Q: Could removing the physical SIM tray secretly unlock hours of extra battery life for the newest iPhones?

Probably not “hours” in a dramatic sense, but it could add a modest, real battery-life bump. Apple says eSIM-only iPhone 18 Pro models can fit a slightly larger battery because they do not need space for a physical SIM tray. That means the gain comes from reclaiming internal space, not because eSIM itself is magically more power-efficient. In fact, available background material indicates eSIM does not meaningfully drain more battery than a physical SIM and may be slightly more efficient. What Apple has officially confirmed so far is only the battery size of the SIM-tray versions: 4,056 mAh for the iPhone 18 Pro and 5,391 mAh for the iPhone 18 Pro Max. Apple has not yet disclosed the capacities of the eSIM-only versions sold in markets such as the U.S. and Canada. So any claim of a major hidden battery jump remains unproven. That said, outside reporting and supporting material suggest the extra space could translate into roughly two more hours of video playback on eSIM-only variants. That is plausible, but it should be treated as an estimate until Apple publishes the actual figures or endurance labels for those models. The bigger battery story for the iPhone 18 Pro line appears to be broader than the SIM tray. Apple is also crediting internal battery redesigns, the more efficient A20 Pro chip and software optimization. Those factors are likely to drive most of the advertised gains, especially on the Pro Max, whose battery capacity rose by 11.7% in the SIM-tray version alone.

3 articles · Updated · MacRumors · Sep 9

EU energy labels show Apple’s newly announced iPhone 18 Pro carries a 4,056 mAh battery, while the iPhone 18 Pro Max packs 5,391 mAh.
Those figures mark a 1.7% increase from the iPhone 17 Pro’s 3,988 mAh and an 11.7% jump from the iPhone 17 Pro Max’s 4,823 mAh, giving the larger model the bigger year-on-year gain.
Apple said the confirmed capacities apply to versions that still include a physical SIM tray, which remain on sale across Europe, the U.K. and most other markets.
eSIM-only models sold in the U.S., Canada, Japan and several Middle East markets use slightly larger batteries because they replace the SIM tray, but Apple has not yet published those capacities.