Grab one of the devices that appears on our best phone battery life list, and you never have to worry about a charger. A phone needs to last around 11.5 hours on our demanding battery test to land a place on this list, and that translates to all-day battery life — and beyond — for everyday phone use.
Phones from all different price ranges make up our best phone battery life list. While our longest-lasting phone is a $999 handset aimed at gamers and the runner-up is the most expensive iPhone you can buy, you’ll also find phones that cost $199 to $300. There are plenty of other midrange models that put a premium on battery life, not price, for you to choose from.
Because a phone’s longevity is so important to shoppers, phone makers are turning to increasingly larger batteries to keep their devices up and running. It’s not uncommon to see phones with massive 5,000 mAh power packs, whether they’re flagship devices or budget handsets. But big batteries don’t always mean long-lasting phones — you need good power management to be among the devices with the best phone battery life. (Just look at the Galaxy S22 lineup — even with a 5,000 mAh battery of its own, the Galaxy S22 Ultra didn’t come anywhere close to landing on this list.)
Every phone we review goes through our custom battery test in which we make phones surf the web continuously over LTE or 5G until they run out of juice. We set the phone’s screen at 150 nits of brightness to ensure comparable results.
The average phone lasts around 10 hours, but with one exception, the phones we’ve highlighted here held out for more than 11.5 hours. Truly, we’re talking about phones that offer the kind of endurance where you’re less reliant on one of our best portable charger picks.
Our current battery champ is the Asus ROG Phone 6 Pro, which breaks the 15-hour mark to outlast its closest competitor by more than two hours. The ROG Phone 6 Pro is joined by two other phones from Asus in our rankings, suggesting the phone maker really puts a premium on battery life. So does Motorola, whose G series phones often last a long time on a charge — they certainly appear on our best phone battery life list with predictable regularity. You can also add Apple to the list of phone makers that deliver great battery life — four different iPhones have landed on our best phone battery life list, including the newly available iPhone 14 Plus.
Here are all the top performers we’ve tested in the last year-and-a-half.
Best phone battery life at a glance (hours:minutes)
- Asus ROG Phone 6 Pro: 15:30
- iPhone 14 Pro Max: 13:39
- Nubia RedMagic 6: 13:20
- Moto G Power (2022): 13:15
- Asus Zenfone 9: 13:13 (tie)
- Nubia RedMagic 6S Pro: 13:13 (tie)
- Moto G Stylus (2022): 12:30
- iPhone 13 Pro Max: 12:16
- iPhone 14 Plus: 11:57
- OnePlus 10 Pro: 11:52 (tie)
- Moto G Pure: 11:52 (tie)
- TCL 30 V 5G: 11:46
- iPhone 13 Pro: 11:42
- Moto G 5G: 11:37
- OnePlus Nord N20 5G: 11:20
The best phone battery life in 2022
1. Asus ROG Phone 6 Pro (15:30)
With a 6,000 mAh battery, you’d expect the Asus ROG Phone 6 Pro to last a long-time on a charge. But this gaming phone surpasses our expectations by lasting 15.5 hours on our battery test. Even more impressive, it recorded that time with its adaptive refresh rate turned on, and the ROG Phone 6 Pro is capable of ramping up that rate all the way to 167Hz.
Turn off the adaptive refresh rate and lock the phone at 60Hz and the battery life extends even further — the phone lasted nearly an hour longer on our battery test, nearly reaching the 16.5-hour mark. That’s the best battery life we’ve seen in about five years.
When it is time to charge, you won’t have to wait too long to get the ROG Phone 6 Pro’s battery up and running. Thanks to 65W wired charging, just 15 minutes of charging got the drained gaming phone back to 44%.
Built for gamers, the Asus ROG Phone 6 won’t ever run low on battery, even in the midst of a marathon gamin session. But it packs plenty of power for the rest of us as well, when it goes on sale in the next couple months.
Read our full Asus ROG Phone 6 Pro review.
2. iPhone 14 Pro Max (13:39)
We’re used to the Pro Max model in Apple’s iPhone lineup lasting a long time — but not this long. Thanks to a big battery (how big Apple hasn’t said) and the power management features of the 4-nanometer A16 Bionic chipset, the iPhone 14 Pro Max lasts more than 13.5 hours on average. That’s the longest an iPhone has ever held out on a battery test.
To put this result in perspective, last year’s iPhone 13 Pro Max was a long-lasting phone; in fact, you’ll find it further down the list. And the iPhone 14 Pro Max topped it by over an hour even though Apple’s new phone added an always-on display you would have guessed would diminish battery life.
It’s not all good news on the power front, as Apple is sticking with 20W wired charging on the iPhone 14 lineup. That means pedestrian charge times when compared to faster-charging flagships. But given how long the iPhone 14 Pro Max lasts on a charge, you won’t run into that disappointment too often.
Read our full iPhone 14 Pro Max review.
3. Nubia RedMagic 6 (13:20)
We can argue about whether you really need a gaming phone, but one thing we have learned is that gaming phones generally deliver great battery life. The Nubia RedMagic 6 is no exception to that observation, capturing a Highly Recommended award from Tom’ Guide for its great battery life.
As impressive as the RedMagic 6’s nearly 13.5 hour result on our battery test was, we’re even more hearted by what happened when we enabled the gaming phone’s fast refreshing display. Yes, the time dropped since faster refresh rates consume more battery, but the RedMagic 6 still held out for 11 hours and 49 minutes at 120Hz and 11 hours and 16 minutes at 165Hz. Both of those times would have been good enough to land on this list.
Other features on the Nubia RedMagic 6 aren’t nearly as impressive — look elsewhere if you want good cameras to go with your handset — but you’ll never have to fear running out of power with this gaming phone.
Read our full Nubia RedMagic 6 review.
4. Moto G Power 2022 (13:15)
Motorola keeps producing new versions of the Moto G Power, and if the results yield multi-day battery life, then why not? Like its predecessors, the Moto G Power (2022) lasts a long time on our battery test, though it suffers from the same slow charging as other Moto G series phones.
A pokey processor also makes us less enthusiastic about this version of the Moto G Power than we were about the Moto G Power (2021) from last year. (That phone was our previous battery champ, but because it’s been out for more than 18 months, we’ve cycled it off this best phone battery life list.)
The Moto G Power (2022) ships with Android 11, but will get an update to Android 12. At least the 2022 edition ships with 64GB in its $199 version, doubling the storage you’d get from the 2021 Moto G Power at that price.
Read our full Moto G Power (2022) review.
5. Asus Zenfone 9 (13:13)
Just because the Asus Zenfone 9 is a compact device doesn’t mean it can’t pack a lot of battery life into its slender frame. The latest Asus flagship lasted more than 13 hours on our batter test with its adaptive refresh rate enabled. That would be impressive enough, but the Zenfone 9 did all that without turning to a beefy battery for help. The 4,300 mAh power pack certainly doesn’t skimp on capacity, but compared to the 5,000 mAh cells you’ll find on this best phone battery life list, it’s clear Asus has worked hard to make sure the Zenfone 9 gets the most out of every charge.
On the charging front, the Zenfone 9 supports 30W speeds, and Asus includes a charger with its phone. That should allow you to top off the phone’s battery fairly quickly — not that you’ll need to charge this compact phone very often.
6. Nubia RedMagic 6S Pro (13:13)
Like the RedMagic 6 that came out before it, the RedMagic 6S Pro variant absolutely crushes our battery test, lasting 13 hours and 13 minutes when the screen was set at 60Hz. Even better though, the 6S Pro didn’t have nearly as big a drop-off when we enabled faster refresh rates as the RedMagic 6 did. With its screen set to a power-hungry 165Hz refresh rate, the RedMagic 6S Pro still held out for 12 hours and 50 minutes in our test.
That’s great news since 165Hz is a terrific refresh rate for immersive gaming. So you’ll be able to max out the RedMagic 6S Pro’s display settings without fear of draining the phone’s 5,050 mAh battery prematurely. We’re still not convinced that dedicated gaming phones are a must-have, and the cameras on this Nubia device disappoint. But if you do want a phone tailor-made for gaming, the RedMagic 6S Pro will not let you down when it comes to either performance or battery.
Read our full Nubia RedMagic 6S Pro review.
7. Moto G Stylus 2022 (12:30)
Just about the only thing to recommend the Moto G Stylus (2022) is its long battery life. With a 5,000 mAh battery, the latest version of Motorola’s stylus-equipped budget phone was able to hold out for 12.5 hours on our battery test. And that result came with the phone’s variable refresh rate enabled. Even locking in that refresh rate at 90Hz, the Moto G Stylus still lasted nearly 11.5 hours.
That said, we’d caution against the Moto G Stylus, unless you really need a long-lasting phone with a stylus that doesn’t cost a bundle. The Helio G88 chipset is laggy and the cameras didn’t impress. The phone also ships with Android 11 — last year’s software — with only one update to Android 12 promised.
Read our full Moto G Stylus review.
8. iPhone 13 Pro Max (12:16)
With the exception of the iPhone 12 Pro Max, the iPhone 12 models from 2020 didn’t impress when it came to battery life. Apple responded by boosting the batteries in its new iPhone 13 lineup, which sees improvements across the board, though no Apple phone can outlast the iPhone 13 Pro Max.
This iPhone lasted more than 12 hours on our battery test, particularly impressive since it features an adaptive display that can ramp up the 6.7-inch screen’s refresh rate when your task would benefit from a fast-refreshing display. That can consume more power, but the iPhone 13 Pro Max’s bigger battery and efficient A15 Bionic chipset are up to the task. We just wish Apple would also boost the charging speed on its iPhones. Also bear in mind that Apple phones tend to have batteries that are good at holding their charge over the years.
Read our full iPhone 13 Pro Max review.
9. iPhone 14 Plus (11:57)
A big battery helps Apple’s new plus-sized phone land on our best phone battery life list. The iPhone 14 Plus lasted for a little less than 12 hours on our test. That’s not as long as the iPhone 14 Pro Max, which also sports a 5.7-inch screen. But the iPhone 14 Plus costs $200 less than that model, so iPhone fans can enjoy a long-lasting big-screen phone without having to spend more than $1,000 for the privilege.
Like Apple’s other phones, the iPhone 14 Plus charges at a disappointing 20W. You’ll get a drained phone to 46% after half-an-hour, but other phones charge much faster.
Read our full iPhone 14 Plus review.
10. OnePlus 10 Pro (11:52)
The OnePlus 10 Pro is such a good phone, battery life is just one of the many things that impressed us about this new flagship. Even with a variable 120Hz refresh rate, the phone held out for a little less than 12 hours on our battery test. Turning off the fast refresh rate pushed that time up to 12 hours and 39 minutes, though we’re pleased that even with a power-hungry refresh rate feature enabled, the OnePlus 10 Pro remains on our best phone battery life list.
It’s not just about battery life, though. The OnePlus 10 Pro also recharges quickly, thanks to its 65W wired recharging rate for versions of the phone released in the U.S. (Elsewhere, the OnePlus 10 Pro supports 85W recharging, a speed that U.S.power standards can’t support.) Just 15 minutes of charging got a fully drained OnePlus 10 Pro back to a 55% charge — an impressive result.
A new variant on this phone, the OnePlus 10T, also offers fast charging — a drained device can get fully charged in 20 minutes. Its battery life also impresses, even if it doesn’t match the OnePlus 10 Pro. (The OnePlus 10T turned in a time of 10:59 on our test with its 120Hz refresh rate turned on, and 11:20 when we set the refresh rate to 60Hz.) But the OnePlus 10T starts at $649, $250 less than the OnePlus 10 Pro if you’re looking to save on your next phone purchase.
Read our full OnePlus 10 Pro review.
11. Moto G Pure (11:52)
The Moto G Pure has two things going for it — a low price and a battery that lasts nearly 12 hours on our test. Motorola promises multiday battery life, and in regular use, we can confirm that’s definitely the case. (And that’s a good thing, too, since the phone’s 10W charging speed will take a while to top off that 4,000 mAh battery powering the Moto G Pure.)
Combine the long battery life with a $159 price, and the Moto G Pure would seem like a good value, especially if you don’t need a phone with 5G connectivity. But the Moto G Pure has other limitations, and if you can spend a little more, you can find other Motorola phones that last even longer and deliver more features.
Read our full Moto G Pure review.
12. TCL 30 V 5G (11:46)
Verizon customers who want an inexpensive 5G phone will be pleased with how long the TCL 30 V 5G lasts on a charge. In our testing, the phone lasted 11 hours and 46 minutes at its default 60Hz refresh rate. When we enabled a power-saving mode that lets the phone scale down its refresh rate when appropriate, the phone held out for more than 12 hours — an excellent result
The TCL 30 V supports 18W wired charging, so don’t expect to top off the battery in record time. You will get a phone capable of working with Verizon’s fastest 5G network, though some other trade-off typical of low-cost phones — so-so cameras, laggy performance — are in effect here.
Read our full TCL 30 V 5G review.
13. iPhone 13 Pro (11:42)
The iPhone 13 Pro Max isn’t the only new Apple device to join the ranks of our best phone battery life list. The iPhone 13 Pro also makes a big leap forward in battery life over its predecessor, thanks to a bigger battery and a more efficient A15 Bionic chip. Like the iPhone 13 Pro Max, the iPhone 13 Pro offers an adaptive ProMotion display that changes up the screen’s refresh rate, making its strong battery life even more impressive.
Again, the only power problem with Apple’s latest round of iPhones is how quickly they charge. Wired charging is capped at 20W while wireless charging tops out at 15W with Apple’s MagSafe accessories. In a world where Android phones are pushing charging speeds upwards, Apple needs to follow suit with the iPhone.
Read our full iPhone 13 Pro review.
14. Moto G 5G (11:37)
Battery life is one of the few things the Moto G 5G has going for it. We found the phone’s overall performance to be a disappointment and even for a budget phone, the cameras are substandard. But you won’t have to worry about charging the Moto G 5G, as its 5,000 mAh battery kept it powered up for a little more than 11.5 hours in our test. That’s especially impressive given one of the Moto G’s other selling points is its 90Hz display. So that faster refresh rate doesn’t impact battery life.
It’s good that the Moto G 5G lasts a long time on a charge because with 10W wired charging, you’re going to spend a long time topping off the battery. Thirty minutes of charging only got the Moto G 5G to a 21% charge.
Read our full Moto G 5G review.
15. OnePlus Nord N20 5G (11:20)
Normally, 11.5 hours is our cutoff point for the best phone battery life, but our 18-month cap on including phones in this round-up has caused some devices to fall off the list. That’s allowed the OnePlus Nord N20 5G to sneak in with a battery life of 11 hours and 20 minutes, which is close enough to our threshold, especially for a 5G phone that costs less than $300. (In fact, the OnePlus Nord N20 won a 2022 Tom’s Guide Award for delivering lots of value for its low price, great battery life included.)
With 33W charging — another nice feature for such an inexpensive phone — the OnePlus Nord N20 can go from drained to more than 50% after a half-hour of charging. If you don’t have a lot of money to spend and value long battery life, this is a great option.
Read our full OnePlus Nord N20 review.
How we test for the best phone battery life
Every phone we review goes through extensive testing in addition to being put through everyday use. The test most relevant to determining the best phone battery life is our proprietary Tom’s Guide Battery Life test.
In this test, we set the display of a phone to 150 nits, so that we can get consistent results. We then run a script on the phone that makes it surf the web via its default browser app until the phone runs out of power and we time the results. Phones with longest endurance land on the best phone battery life list, though we cycle out devices older than 18 months to keep our list of longest-lasting phones current.
Many smartphones — particularly premium models — now offer displays with faster refresh rate settings. Because a high refresh rate can drain the battery of a phone faster, we’ll test phones multiple times — once with the display set for the maximum refresh rate and once with it locked at 60Hz. We’ll indicate which setting produced which battery life time in our review and in our best phone battery life rankings.
We run one other test on smartphone batteries, timing how long it takes for a drained phone to charge. We’ll note the percentage charge after 15 and 30 minutes of charging a phone that’s run out of power. We’ll use the charger that comes with the phone for this test; in cases where a phone ships without a charger — increasingly coming among premium handsets — we’ll use a charger that’s capable of delivering the fastest charging speed supported by the phone as listed in the device specs.
Battery testing is one part of the tests we run to review phones. We also run benchmarks to evaluate a phone’s performance, measure screen brightness and color reproduction to rate its display and take multiple pictures to evaluate cameras. All those help us assign ratings to devices in our smartphone reviews, though for the purposes of the best phone battery life list, our battery test is the only result affecting rankings.
