As smartphone use keeps rising, battery life has become one of the biggest deciding factors for buyers. A large-scale test of 35 smartphones sold in the US now shows that only a few brands consistently deliver long-lasting power.
Most smartphones released in 2026 can last a full day on a single charge. For heavy users who scroll, stream, shoot photos, and often forget to charge, that still falls short. While cameras and displays have improved rapidly, battery technology has moved slowly. That trend is now starting to change.
A senior reviewer from a leading tech publication, with nearly a decade of phone testing experience, noted that battery life remains a top concern for readers. In a September 2025 survey conducted with a polling agency, respondents ranked “longer battery life” as the top reason to buy a new phone, second only to price.
The year 2026 is proving to be a turning point. Many manufacturers have begun using silicon-anode, or silicon-carbon, batteries. This technology increases battery capacity without increasing physical size, a key advantage as phones become thinner.
To measure real-world performance, each phone was tested using a stress test and a video streaming test, both starting at 100% charge. The remaining battery percentage from both tests was averaged. Rankings were limited to phones officially sold in the US.
The top performer overall was the Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max, priced at $1,199. Despite not having the largest battery at 5,088 mAh, its efficiency stood out. The Apple iPhone 17 and OnePlus 15 tied for second place. OnePlus stood out with large-capacity silicon-carbon batteries, including 7,300 mAh and above in some models.
The Poco F7 Ultra ranked next, followed by the Apple iPhone 17 Pro. Four phones tied for fifth place, including models from Motorola and OnePlus. Only 2 of the 9 phones in the top group cost more than $1,000. The most affordable was the Moto G Stylus at $400.
When results were averaged by brand, Apple and OnePlus topped the list for battery life. Motorola ranked slightly ahead of Samsung, while Google placed fifth. Google phones delivered decent results, but still lagged behind OnePlus.
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