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Apple's iPhone 7 battery is over 10% bigger, but iPhone 7 Plus gets less of a boost

Despite the fact that many people technically now own an iPhone 7, the devices won’t be in the hands of customers until the official launch date on 16 September.

This gap between pre-ordering and launch is designed to allow Apple to fine-tune its distribution processes, as well as provide some early insight into future demand which is passed back to the supply chain.

The same gap means that there aren't any devices in the wild apart from Apple's review units, which aren't allowed to be torn down. So because teardowns don't yet exist, the only information available about the the hardware inside the new devices is that provided by Apple before the device officially launches.

According to the Apple website, the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus both have longer battery life, likely due in part to processor-driven efficiency savings and battery modifications.

The table below shows battery life claims from the official Apple website.

Today however, the Chinese regulatory body TENAA published specifications for the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus that include the battery capacity for both models.

The specifications confirm the following changes to battery capacity;

iPhone 7 battery capacity is 1960mAh, an increase from 1715mAh on the iPhone 6S.
RESULT: 12.5% increase in battery capacity.

iPhone 7 Plus battery capacity is 2900mAh, an increase from 2750mAh on the iPhone 6S Plus.
RESULT: 5.1% increase in battery capacity.

Although the percentages may look dramatically in favor of the smaller iPhone 7, it’s important to note that the iPhone Plus range has always had a larger battery capacity thanks to its larger form-factor. Given that the iPhone 7 Plus also has an additional camera and whatever associated hardware that requires, it’s understandable that Apple would be able to boost the smaller model more significantly.

When the first teardowns arrive, technology enthusiasts will likely be hoping to see how Apple engineers have managed to use the extra space gifted to them by the removal of the headphone jack, and whether that’s where they found the extra space for the higher battery capacities.

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