The other day the folks at PhoneBuff ran a battery test that compared the iPhone Xs Max against the Samsung Galaxy Note 9. On paper the Note 9 had a larger battery which is why it wasn’t surprising that in their test, they found that the Note 9 managed to trounce the iPhone Xs Max in terms of battery life.
However in a video uploaded by Mrwhosetheboss, it seems to paint a very different picture when he compared the iPhone Xs Max against the Note 9, the Pixel 3 XL, and the Sony Xperia XZ3. For those who can’t spare the time to watch the entire video, spoiler alert: the iPhone Xs Max actually walked away the winner.
Why the discrepancy, you ask? Basically the Note 9 despite having a QHD resolution is set to 1080p by default, and a lower resolution display means that the phone uses less energy. So in this particular test, Mrwhosetheboss essentially maxed out all the settings to try and keep things as fair as possible, in which the Xperia XZ3 actually ran out of battery first, followed by the Google Pixel 3, then the Note 9, and 12 minutes later and in first place, the iPhone Xs Max.
Now is this a conclusive test? Hardly, and if you do choose to run your Note 9 at a lower resolution that’s entirely your prerogative, but it does seem to prove that despite sporting a smaller battery than the competition, the iPhone Xs Max seems to be a good example of optimized hardware and software.