How did Apple fit the record iPhone 11 Pro Max battery? The thicc and 3D thin

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How did Apple fit the record iPhone 11 Pro Max battery?
Last week, the Chinese regulatory agency revealed the actual battery capacities of the new iPhone 11, Pro and Max models, and we then dug out a legal document from Apple itself confirming those to be true.

Nothing beats the good ol' teardown treatment to learn what Apple has put in an iPhone, though, given that it never discloses actual capacity or RAM amount of its handsets, preferring to talk about video or audio playback duration lengths instead.

Well, even those stats hinted that there is something going on with the 11 Pro Max battery pack, as instead of 15 hours of video playback that its predecessor XS Max is good for, the Pro Max is listed with a 20 hours endurance. 

Given that the improved display and chipset processes can realistically only amount for a small percentage of that bump, had we stayed on the same 3179 mAh capacity, there had to be a larger battery in there somewhere. 

Just as inferred last week, the Pro Max has the largest battery capacity in an iPhone ever, at 3969 mAh. That's entering flagship Android territory already and explains the hearty battery life increase.

How did Apple did it? Well, it made the Pro Max slightly thicker than the XS Max, and removed the 3D Touch layer from the display package, allowing it to fit a battery pack that is thicker and larger than the one it has in the Pro Max predecessor. 

Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Dimensions

6.22 x 3.06 x 0.32 inches

158 x 77.8 x 8.1 mm

Weight

7.97 oz (226 g)

Apple iPhone XS Max
Dimensions

6.2 x 3.05 x 0.3 inches

157.5 x 77.4 x 7.7 mm

Weight

7.34 oz (208 g)

Samsung Galaxy Note10+
Dimensions

6.39 x 3.04 x 0.31 inches

162.3 x 77.2 x 7.9 mm

Weight

6.91 oz (196 g)

Samsung Galaxy Note10
Dimensions

5.94 x 2.83 x 0.31 inches

151 x 71.8 x 7.9 mm

Weight

5.89 oz (167 g)

Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Dimensions

6.22 x 3.06 x 0.32 inches

158 x 77.8 x 8.1 mm

Weight

7.97 oz (226 g)

Apple iPhone XS Max
Dimensions

6.2 x 3.05 x 0.3 inches

157.5 x 77.4 x 7.7 mm

Weight

7.34 oz (208 g)

Samsung Galaxy Note10+
Dimensions

6.39 x 3.04 x 0.31 inches

162.3 x 77.2 x 7.9 mm

Weight

6.91 oz (196 g)

Samsung Galaxy Note10
Dimensions

5.94 x 2.83 x 0.31 inches

151 x 71.8 x 7.9 mm

Weight

5.89 oz (167 g)

Compare these and other phones using our Size Comparison tool.


The difference is not that huge, mind you - 0.3 vs 0.32 inches - but the difference in weight due to the heavier battery pack and the extra camera is significant. Most of our poll results indicate that people would gladly exchange a slightly thicker and heavier phone for a good leap in battery life, so Apple may have taken the wise path here.

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