We benchmarked the battery life on nearly three dozen smartphones from companies like Apple, Samsung, Motorola and Google.
A shiny brand-new phone might not have a longer battery life than your old phone.
The phones that CNET tested in 2026 had, on average, the same battery life as models we tested in 2025 and in 2024. That doesn’t mean that we didn’t have standouts. Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max top our testing results, along with foldable phones like the Motorola Razr (2026) and Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8, each of which has a silicon-carbon battery and offers increased capacity without requiring a larger physical battery. The most recently released device we tested, the iPhone Duo, tied for the top spot in one of our tests.
Late-2025 models like the iPhone 17 and OnePlus 15 (RIP OnePlus) are among the best values for getting the most time between charges.
Having your phone run out of battery is extremely frustrating, especially when it happens at an inconvenient time. No one wants to be seated on the floor of an airport terminal with their phone plugged into an outlet.
Battery life is affected by several factors. If your phone is 2-3 years old, the battery capacity is likely less than when it was fresh out of the box. How much you use your phone affects how long you have between charges. Are you a Light Lift Lisa and rarely on your handset? Or are you an Obsessively Online Oliver and your phone never leaves your hand?
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