What is the battery life of the original iPhone? Is the battery designed to be "swapped" or replaced?

Please note that the original iPhone has been discontinued. However, this Q&A has been updated subsequently and remains useful for anyone considering one on the used market whether for use or for adding to a collection. Also see: "How do I replace the battery in the original iPhone (2G)?"

Upon its unveiling on January 9, 2007, Apple reported that the iPhone was to provide "up to" 16 hours of audio playback and "up to" 5 hours of "talk, video, and browsing".

Photo Credit: Apple, Inc.

On June 18, 2007, Apple boosted these numbers to "up to" 8 hours of talk time, 24 hours of audio playback, 7 hours of video playback, and 6 hours of web browsing. Apple also revealed that the original iPhone provides "up to" 250 hours of standby time.

Third-Party Battery Life Test Results

If you're not the type of person to just take official estimates at face value, respected third-party test results can be quite valuable particularly as official battery life numbers from manufacturers can be optimistic at times.

The always excellent MacInTouch [no longer online] reported numbers much in line with the official estimates:

We ran the battery down to 10% with just shy of nine hours of usage. (iPhone tracks "usage", which is all the time it spends not in standby since its last complete charge.) A majority of that time was spent using Internet via Wi-Fi, with some EDGE, occasional photo taking, and about an hour and a half of phone calls.

Apple claims up to 6 hours of Internet use, or up to 8 hours of talk time. . . our first day appears to bear out these claims. It will take a few weeks of use to get a sense of how long the battery lasts with typical a day to day usage, but we guess that we'll be charging it every two or three days as we drop to less frequent use.

The well respected Walt Mossberg generally found solid results, with some falling below and others exceeding official estimates:

In our tests, it got seven hours and 18 minutes of continuous talk time, while the Wi-Fi was on and email was constantly being fetched in the background. That's close to Apple's claim of a maximum of eight hours. . .

For continuous music playback, again with Wi-Fi on and email being fetched, we got over 22 hours, shy of Apple's claim of up to 24 hours, but still huge. For video playback, under the same conditions, we got just under Apple's claim of seven hours, enough to watch four average-length movies. And, for Web browsing and other Internet functions, including sending and receiving emails, viewing Google maps and YouTube videos, we got over nine hours, well above Apple's claim of up to six hours.

In tests perhaps more varied and therefore more representative of real-world use, the detailed iLounge found the official estimates "modestly optimistic" but still acceptable:

Realistically, iPhone's Lithium-Ion battery will last most users a day to a day and a half before requiring a full recharge; this is acceptable, and as with many but not all phones, you'll be able to extend this time considerably if you don't actually use most of its features or talk a lot. . .

After more extended testing of iPhone across various usage scenarios, however, we've found that we're looking at that charging icon more than we'd prefer: as active users, we find that we often run the battery down to the 25-30% point after a day of web, video, telephone, and music, and sometimes fall below the 10% mark.

Battery Design & Replacement

Unlike the majority of earlier mobile phones which have a battery that is easy for an end user to replace, the iPhone does not compromise the sleek design with a battery "bay" or a "sliding" rear cover.

Although this design did not bode well for easy battery replacement, when the iPhone was first announced, EveryiPhone.com was optimistic that it would be possible for a technically minded end user to replace the battery -- without resorting to soldering -- in the same way many "full size" iPod, iPod mini, and iPod nano batteries can be replaced with a good deal of effort.

Unfortunately, upon disassembly, iFixit discovered that the battery in the iPhone is soldered to the logicboard. Consequently, replacing the battery is not impossible, but it is quite difficult.

Battery Life & Replacement Summary

Ultimately, the battery life of the original iPhone is acceptable -- perhaps even surprisingly good given its large display relative to many other mobile phones -- but still requires daily charging. Replacing the battery is difficult, though.

Officially, after the one year warranty (long since expired for all original iPhone models), the end-user is supposed to ship the iPhone to Apple for battery replacement. Apple can replace the battery for US$79 plus US$6.95 for shipping. This service takes three to five business days.

Professional Third-Party Battery Replacement Options

In addition to Apple's official option, professional third-party services also are available to replace the battery in the iPhone models, often much more quickly and for less money, as well. Be sure to purchase your repair service or parts from a trusted company with extensive experience repairing iPhone devices.

Site sponsor Other World Computing sells replacement iPhone batteries and offers a battery replacement by mail service, as well.

Also see: How do I replace the battery in the original iPhone (2G)?