A new leak from Fixed Focus Digital suggests the iPhone 18 Pro will see only marginal battery improvements this year. The US model allegedly packs a 4,288 mAh cell, while the Chinese version drops to 4,056 mAh to accommodate a physical SIM slot. This represents just a 0.85% increase over the iPhone 17 Pro's 4,252 mAh battery.

That modest gain pales compared to last year's jump, when the iPhone 17 Pro's 4,252 mAh cell delivered a nearly 19% improvement over its predecessor. The leaker's mixed track record means these figures should be taken skeptically, though they align with earlier reports about the Pro Max variant.

The saving grace may be Apple's upcoming A20 processor, the company's first 2-nanometer chip. Early reports suggest it could significantly improve power efficiency while delivering 10-15% better performance. However, manufacturing costs reportedly double compared to the A19, potentially driving price increases that could offset any battery gains.

Apple typically avoids publishing exact mAh ratings, instead quoting real-world usage hours. The iPhone 16 Pro to 17 Pro leap translated to roughly six extra hours of video playback. Whether the 18 Pro can match that remains unclear without knowing the A20's actual efficiency gains.