Because the battery itself is physically larger, the iPhone 18 Pro Max offers a huge jump in battery life , partly.
In a new support document published today, Apple says the iPhone 18 Pro Max has such a big battery that it has additional shipping requirements. Apple says the iPhone 18 Pro Max has a battery capacity over 20 watt-hours (Wh). As it turns out, most countries and regions have additional shipping requirements for products “with a single-cell battery over 20 Wh. To accommodate these requirements, Apple says the iPhone 18 Pro Max uses an “innovative battery-firmware solution. That firmware will limit the battery capacity of the device to below 20 Wh until it’s activated by the user:
When you activate your iPhone, the limit is removed and the battery’s full charging capacity is available. While your iPhone battery discharges, it might become warmer than usual. This is expected. Your iPhone will cool down again when it’s ready to ship.
To address these requirements, iPhone 18 Pro Max uses an innovative battery-firmware solution that limits battery capacity to below 20 Wh from the time it’s manufactured through its transport from the factory. This will discharge your device’s battery below 20 Wh and set a charge limit to keep it below that threshold. Your iPhone 18 Pro Max might need to discharge for Prepare to Ship to complete.
For this, Apple has added a new “Prepare to Ship” feature in the Settings app.
