Apple's latest iPhone 12 series introduces 5G support, but utilizing this feature comes at a cost to your battery life.
These findings are a result of tests conducted by the review site Tom's Guide, which compared the battery performance of iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro when using 5G versus 4G mobile networks.
The results are less than ideal: On 4G, the iPhone 12 lasted for 10 hours and 23 minutes, but on 5G, it only managed eight hours and 25 minutes – roughly a 20 percent reduction. The iPhone 12 Pro had a similar story, with its battery lasting 11 hours and 24 minutes on 4G and only nine hours and six minutes on 5G.
Tom's Guide's testing methodology involves continuous web surfing on the phone at 150 nits of brightness, opening a new webpage every 30 seconds until the battery is depleted.
The same test was applied to other devices. Apple's previous models, the iPhone 11 and 11 Pro, exhibited similar performance to the new models on 4G, lasting 11:16 and 10:24 hours, respectively. These results aren't particularly surprising, as Apple's own specifications for the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro indicate a similar battery life to their predecessors (though the iPhone 12 Pro performed better than expected, but only in 4G mode).
However, Tom's Guide also tested several Android phones using the same methodology, and the results were more favorable compared to Apple's devices. For instance, the Google Pixel 5 demonstrated nearly identical battery life on both 5G and 4G, at 9:56 and 9:29 hours, respectively. The OnePlus 8T didn't experience significant battery life differences with 5G usage either. Samsung's Galaxy S20 and S20 Plus had slightly worse battery performance with 5G, but still outperformed the iPhones.
The battery drain caused by 5G has been noted by various iPhone 12 reviewers, and these test results provide further evidence of the issue. The question remains: Can Apple address this through software updates?
We have reached out to Apple regarding this matter and will update this article when we receive a response.