It is common knowledge that communicating over WiFi is more efficient than using the 5G cellular network, but by how much exactly? That’s exactly what PhoneBuff set out to measure in its latest battery life benchmark test.
Using an iPhone 17 Pro Max, the test simulated general phone usage including texting, web browsing, streaming video, Instagram and FaceTime. Once on 5G, once on WiFi. The final timings are perhaps closer than you’d think.
In this specific test, the iPhone on 5G lasted a total of 10 hours and 22 minutes in terms of screen on time, with another 16 hours of standby time in the mix as well. When the 5G iPhone died, the iPhone running on WiFi had 25% battery remaining, which means the difference between WiFi and cellular is about 3 hours of additional phone time in use.
Results will vary depending on location, conditions, and what activities you are doing on the phone. But still, a difference of 25% is a smaller delta than what I would have predicted. It just shows the power efficiency of modern iPhones in general, even when they are only connected to the cellular network.
Of course, if the test was conducted in an area of weaker signal strength, the difference would likely be more stark. When moving around, switching between cell towers is also a particularly power intensive operation, something that was not tested here with both phones in a static location.
Nevertheless, it’s a nice benchmark to see for Apple’s flagship Pro iPhone lineup, which use latest-generation Qualcomm modems.
It would also be interesting to see this test repeated with the iPhone Air or iPhone 16e, that are powered by Apple’s C1X and C1 custom modem chips. Apple touts power efficiency as one of the key user benefits of its in-house modem designs. (The upcoming iPhone 18 Pro models are expected to feature the second-generation Apple C2 modem.)
Watch the full test run-down here:
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