Apple Increases iPhone 5C and 5S Battery Sizes relative to iPhone 5
by Brian Klug on September 12, 2013 4:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Apple
- Mobile
- iPhone 5C
- iPhone 5S

While poking through the FCC documents and piecing together a story on the network band situation for the iPhone 5S and 5C, I remembered that part of a normal disclosure is in fact battery size. Apple noted the battery on the iPhone 5C increased, and I've been curious about the 5S battery size as well given the different PCB photos with slightly changed aspect ratio that floated around as potential candidates for the 5S. Apple also doesn't disclose the battery size in Whr or mAh on their tech spec pages, making this the only real place to find out outside of opening them up and looking once they're available.
iPhone Battery Sizes | |||
Device | iPhone 5 | iPhone 5S | iPhone 5C |
Battery Size (Whr) | 5.45 | 5.96 | 5.73 |
Battery Voltage (Nominal) | 3.8 | 3.8 | 3.8 |
Battery Size (mAh) | 1440 mAh | ~1570 mAh | ~1507 mAh |
It turns out that there are in fact some battery size increases for both the 5S and 5C if the FCC disclosure is to be believed. While I'm somewhat skeptical sometimes of the accuracy of battery capacities as reported in FCC disclosures (which I noted about the battery size for the Nexus 5), these numbers seem credible given what I've heard, the statement Apple made during the keynote about the 5C battery size going up, and what I'd expect with some board re-layout for the 5S. The iPhone 5S ends up getting an almost 10 percent increase in size versus the iPhone 5, the iPhone 5C goes up around 5 percent versus the iPhone 5.
Source: FCC
iPhone 5C:
iPhone 5S:
29 Comments
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darkcrayon - Thursday, September 12, 2013 - link
According to Apple, it should surpass the iPhone 5's battery life numbers somewhat.name99 - Wednesday, September 18, 2013 - link
Let's assume your snark is true. So Apple managed to DOUBLE performance with a 9% increase in power. I'd say that's a pretty impressive achievement, not something to mock.Torashin - Monday, September 16, 2013 - link
FYI you got a special mention on Techradar: http://www.techradar.com/news/computing/apple/why-...ThomasS31 - Thursday, September 12, 2013 - link
Still, playing games whole day is far far away... :)jimbo1mcm - Thursday, September 12, 2013 - link
Hey Brian, thanks for the info. You and Anand are absolutely best at digging out info the manufacturers like to bury.muhamadamrueldan - Thursday, September 12, 2013 - link
i actually don't care about the number if it actually can last10 h for lte
10 h playing videos
10 over wifi
it's seems very good isn't ?
solipsism - Thursday, September 12, 2013 - link
10 hours for LTE but only 8 hours for 3G.blacks329 - Thursday, September 12, 2013 - link
Assuming ofcourse that both have great signal strength, because of the crappy deployment of LTE in some areas where I work, I will get 5 bars for 3G and 2 bars for LTE and if I'm on LTE the phone consumes power at an incredible level, much faster than if I turn off LTE and just use 3G. Ofcourse when I have a good signal for LTE (5 bars) the battery life is fantastic.WinterCharm - Thursday, September 12, 2013 - link
This has to do with the fact that your phone will boost power to the antenna when you're in an area with a weak signal.blacks329 - Thursday, September 12, 2013 - link
Oh I completely understand that, I was just saying there's a lot of room for improvement in terms of LTE deployment, which would help battery life for all phones.