Key takeaways:
Apple and OnePlus are the best phone brands for the longest battery life in our tests.
Models from Apple, OnePlus and Motorola made our top five phones for long battery life.
2025 phones have longer battery life on average than 2024 models, but only barely.
Nearly half of our top battery-life picks use silicon-carbon batteries.
The majority of new smartphones sold in 2026 can last a day on a single charge. But even that isn't enough for many people who obsessively scroll online, constantly take photos and record videos, or just forget to plug in their phone to charge. Whereas nearly every other phone feature has seen enormous improvements over the last few years (how many times have companies upgraded the cameras?), we haven't seen much difference in the underlying battery technology over the last decade. But that is starting to change.
I've been reviewing and testing phones for CNET for nearly a decade, and heard from many readers that a long battery life is a top priority. In a CNET/YouGov survey from September 2025, readers ranked "longer battery life" as the main reason to buy a new phone (second only to price).
For better or worse, we are tied to our devices more than ever before, and you can't do much with your phone if the battery is dead. So it's important to know which phones have the longest battery life before you buy your next handset.
2026 is a turning point for batteries
The OnePlus 15 has a 7,300mAh battery. That capacity is gigantic. Cole Kan/CNET
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