IPhone 18 Pro Max Battery Jumps 10%, Pro Gains Less Than 1%

Apple’s two flagship iPhones this fall are shaping up to be less similar than the naming convention implies. Regulatory filings in a Chinese database suggest the iPhone 18 Pro Max carries a 5,567mAh battery, while the iPhone 18 Pro lands at 4,288mAh. That gap has existed before, but the year-over-year math is what makes this cycle unusual.

The Pro Max figure represents roughly a 10% increase over the iPhone 17 Pro Max. The Pro, by contrast, sees less than a 1% gain over its predecessor. In a lineup where the two models are otherwise expected to share nearly every major feature, battery capacity is quietly becoming the main reason to choose one over the other.

A previously circulated rumor offers a structural explanation: the iPhone 18 Pro Max is expected to be physically thicker than the Pro. Extra chassis depth is the most straightforward way to accommodate a larger cell without redesigning the internals, and the battery numbers align with that theory.

Camera and Charging

Camera parity between the two models is reportedly intact this year. Both the Pro and Pro Max are rumored to receive variable aperture on the main 48-megapixel Fusion camera, a feature Apple has reportedly paid meaningfully more per unit to include. In some prior cycles, the Pro Max received camera upgrades a full generation ahead of the smaller Pro, so shared rollout is a departure from that pattern.

What remains consistent is size and weight, with the Pro Max staying larger and heavier. Apple is also expected to announce the foldable iPhone alongside the 18 Pro lineup in September, which adds a third premium option to a category that previously had two. How iPhone 18 charging will work across these larger batteries remains an open question, particularly given the Pro Max’s expanded capacity.