{"id":511418,"date":"2026-03-03T10:37:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T10:37:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/511418\/"},"modified":"2026-03-03T10:37:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T10:37:13","slug":"samsung-galaxy-s26-ultra-battery-life-tested-heres-how-it-stacks-up-to-iphone-17-pro-max-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/511418\/","title":{"rendered":"Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra battery life tested \u2014 here&#8217;s how it stacks up to iPhone 17 Pro Max and more"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"6a62f70f-7570-4879-a526-0e405132663c\">The <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tomsguide.com\/phones\/samsung-phones\/samsung-galaxy-s26-ultra-hands-on-an-upgrade-that-genuinely-surprises-me\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.tomsguide.com\/phones\/samsung-phones\/samsung-galaxy-s26-ultra-hands-on-an-upgrade-that-genuinely-surprises-me\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.tomsguide.com\/phones\/samsung-phones\/samsung-galaxy-s26-ultra-hands-on-an-upgrade-that-genuinely-surprises-me\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Galaxy S26 Ultra<\/a> may have the same battery capacity as its predecessor, but it lasts longer on a charge based on our testing. Just not as long as the <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tomsguide.com\/phones\/iphones\/iphone-17-pro-max-review\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.tomsguide.com\/phones\/iphones\/iphone-17-pro-max-review\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.tomsguide.com\/phones\/iphones\/iphone-17-pro-max-review\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">iPhone 17 Pro Max<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>We run every phone we review through the Tom&#8217;s Guide Battery Test, which involves continuous web surfing over 5G at 150 nits of screen brightness. The longest-lasting handsets make it to our <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tomsguide.com\/us\/smartphones-best-battery-life,review-2857.html\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.tomsguide.com\/us\/smartphones-best-battery-life,review-2857.html\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.tomsguide.com\/us\/smartphones-best-battery-life,review-2857.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">best phone battery life<\/a> list. So how did the the S26 Ultra do? Here&#8217;s the results.<\/p>\n<p>Swipe to scroll horizontallyRow 0 &#8211; Cell 0 <\/p>\n<p>Battery capacity<\/p>\n<p>Battery life (hrs:mins)<\/p>\n<p>Galaxy S26 Ultra<\/p>\n<p>5,000 mAh<\/p>\n<p>16:10<\/p>\n<p>iPhone 17 Pro Max<\/p>\n<p>5,088 mAh<\/p>\n<p>17:54<\/p>\n<p>OnePlus 15<\/p>\n<p>7,300 mAh<\/p>\n<p>25:13<\/p>\n<p>Galaxy S25 Ultra<\/p>\n<p>5,000 mAh<\/p>\n<p>14:27<\/p>\n<p>Google Pixel 10 Pro XL<\/p>\n<p>5,200 mAh<\/p>\n<p>14:20 <\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-seasonal\" class=\"paywall\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"fdf6e1e8-0729-49cd-9ea2-3e755642bf9c-0\">The Galaxy S26 Ultra endured for an average of 16 hours and 10 minutes. That&#8217;s more than two hours longer than the <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tomsguide.com\/phones\/samsung-phones\/i-spent-a-year-with-the-samsung-galaxy-s25-ultra-heres-what-i-want-to-see-from-the-galaxy-s26-ultra\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.tomsguide.com\/phones\/samsung-phones\/i-spent-a-year-with-the-samsung-galaxy-s25-ultra-heres-what-i-want-to-see-from-the-galaxy-s26-ultra\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.tomsguide.com\/phones\/samsung-phones\/i-spent-a-year-with-the-samsung-galaxy-s25-ultra-heres-what-i-want-to-see-from-the-galaxy-s26-ultra\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Galaxy S25 Ultra<\/a> using the new version of our test. It&#8217;s worth noting that we ran the S25 Ultra on the new version after several months of use, so it may have performed better fresh out of the box.<\/p>\n<p>            You may like<\/p>\n<p>The endurance gain could also be caused by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 Elite for Galaxy chip, which promises 35% higher CPU efficiency as well as 16% better overall power management. The S26 Ultra also benefits from a larger vapor chamber, and a cooler phone could help with battery life because it&#8217;s under less stress.<\/p>\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:56.25%;\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/iGGyvv7a4hQPrn26YbFnid.jpg\" alt=\"Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra\"   loading=\"lazy\" data-new-v2-image=\"true\" data-original-mos=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/iGGyvv7a4hQPrn26YbFnid.jpg\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/iGGyvv7a4hQPrn26YbFnid.jpg\" class=\"inline\"\/>\n<\/p>\n<p>(Image credit: Tom&#8217;s Guide)<\/p>\n<p id=\"fd93b298-0504-4817-a2f3-5bccd36de6d4\">In addition, the Galaxy S26 Ultra lasted nearly two hours longer than the <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tomsguide.com\/phones\/google-pixel-phones\/google-pixel-10-pro-xl-review\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.tomsguide.com\/phones\/google-pixel-phones\/google-pixel-10-pro-xl-review\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.tomsguide.com\/phones\/google-pixel-phones\/google-pixel-10-pro-xl-review\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Google Pixel 10 Pro XL<\/a>, which packs an even bigger 5,200 mAh battery.<\/p>\n<p>However, the Galaxy S26 Ultra&#8217;s endurance falls behind the <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tomsguide.com\/phones\/iphones\/iphone-17-pro-max-review\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.tomsguide.com\/phones\/iphones\/iphone-17-pro-max-review\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.tomsguide.com\/phones\/iphones\/iphone-17-pro-max-review\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">iPhone 17 Pro Max<\/a>. Apple&#8217;s flagship lasted for nearly 18 hours in our testing, giving it close to a 2-hour advantage over Samsung.<\/p>\n<p>All of these flagship phones get blown away by the <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tomsguide.com\/phones\/oneplus-phones\/oneplus-15-review\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.tomsguide.com\/phones\/oneplus-phones\/oneplus-15-review\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.tomsguide.com\/phones\/oneplus-phones\/oneplus-15-review\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">OnePlus 15<\/a>, which benefits from a whopping 7,300 mAh silicon carbon battery. This technology allows phone makers to offer higher capacity batteries in a similar size chassis, though there are some trade-offs. Silicon carbon batteries tend to expand over time, and they may not offer as many charging cycles overall.<\/p>\n<p class=\"newsletter-form__strapline\">Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips.<\/p>\n<p>Regardless, the OnePlus 15&#8217;s amazing 25 hours and 13 minutes of battery life is a good 9 hours longer than the Galaxy S26 Ultra.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqKAgKIiJDQklTRXdnTWFnOEtEWFJ2YlhObmRXbGtaUzVqYjIwb0FBUAE\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" id=\"dcf0acb2-3394-4f24-a39e-88bec5cc87e8\" data-url=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqKAgKIiJDQklTRXdnTWFnOEtEWFJ2YlhObmRXbGtaUzVqYjIwb0FBUAE\" target=\"_blank\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:31.51%;\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1766920334_382_r3t8zZ5ve4GewFTeoCM3R6.jpg\" alt=\"Google News\"   loading=\"lazy\" data-new-v2-image=\"true\" data-original-mos=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1766920334_382_r3t8zZ5ve4GewFTeoCM3R6.jpg\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1766920334_382_r3t8zZ5ve4GewFTeoCM3R6.jpg\" class=\"pull-right\"\/>\n<\/p>\n<p><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"dcf8df55-bf6f-4a96-81a3-5318e2cb4d25\">Follow <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqKAgKIiJDQklTRXdnTWFnOEtEWFJ2YlhObmRXbGtaUzVqYjIwb0FBUAE\" target=\"_blank\" data-url=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqKAgKIiJDQklTRXdnTWFnOEtEWFJ2YlhObmRXbGtaUzVqYjIwb0FBUAE\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Tom&#8217;s Guide on Google News<\/a> and <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tomsguide.com\" target=\"_blank\" data-url=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tomsguide.com\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">add us as a preferred source<\/a> to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. <\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-more-from-tom-s-guide\" class=\"paywall\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/>More from Tom&#8217;s Guide<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Galaxy S26 Ultra may have the same battery capacity as its predecessor, but it lasts longer on&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":511419,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[49,48,190,61],"class_list":{"0":"post-511418","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mobile","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-mobile","11":"tag-technology"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511418","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=511418"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511418\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/511419"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=511418"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=511418"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=511418"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}