Since the iPhone 6 is expected to have a larger, 4.7-inch display, naturally it will need a battery with greater capacity. The question is how much larger the capacity will be. The iPhone 5s has a capacity of 1,570 mAh, and an earlier rumor pegged the iPhone 6 battery at between 1,800 and 1,900 mAh. Now the French site Nowhereelse.fr has posted photos of a battery alleged to be from an iPhone 6. The photo shows the battery has a rating of 1,810 mAh. That's interesting for a couple reasons. One is that this capacity is quite a bit smaller than other current smartphones. The Samsung Galaxy S5, for example, has a capacity of 2,800 aMh. Does this mean that the iPhone 6 will have a poor battery life? That's unlikely. What it means to me is that the rumored A8 chip expected to be in the new phone will indeed have the greater efficiency that's being touted, such that the phone can get by with a smaller battery. And that's the second reason why this is interesting. Apple wants their devices to be ever slimmer, and this small battery suggests that Apple has succeeded in keeping the iPhone 6 svelte.
In addition, it may help confirm the specs that were inadvertently leaked by Amazon Japan (as covered in this post). The specs showed that the iPhone 6 will be 7mm thick compared to 7.6mm for the iPhone 5s. In addition, a lower-capacity battery helps keep the weight down. The Amazon Japan specs show a weight of 113g for the iPhone 6 compared to the 112g for the iPhone 5s. So think about it: the phone will have a larger display, but will be thinner than the iPhone 5s and be essentially the same weight. So how does the Samsung Galaxy S5 compare in terms of thickness and weight? Whereas the iPhone 6 is expected to be 7mm thick and 113g in weight, the Galaxy S5 is 8.1mm thick and weighs 145g. The iPhone 6 will be both slimmer and lighter.
According AppleInsider, Apple has taken great pains to keep the dimensions of the battery small. It was even causing problems as Apple begins to prepare for manufacturing, leading to Apple's switching to a different supplier for the batteries.
As always, this is rumor. And we don't know anything for sure. But given past cycles, the convergence of rumors and the stream of photos of parts posted online eventually pretty much nail down what's coming.
