Wall Street Journal columnist Nicole Nguyen tested recent Apple devices on 5G and LTE and found a familiar tradeoff: faster network branding can come with shorter battery life. Her test streamed a long YouTube video of ocean footage with video quality set to Auto until each device died, first over 5G and then over LTE.
Nguyen described the test as imperfect, but said it gave her a consistent way to compare battery drain across Apple hardware. The results favored LTE on every device she cited.
According to Nguyen, the new iPhone SE lasted almost an hour longer on LTE than on 5G. The new iPad Air and iPhone 13 mini each ran for about an extra hour and a half on LTE. The iPhone 13 Pro lasted 12 hours and 50 minutes on 5G, but still ran about two and a half hours longer on LTE.
The practical question is whether 5G earns its battery cost
John Gruber of Daring Fireball used Nguyen’s results to make a blunter point: for his iPhone use, LTE is already fast enough. Gruber wrote that he does not have any regular iPhone task where LTE feels too slow, and said he plans to set his iPhone to LTE to save battery unless LTE reception becomes weak or sluggish.
Gruber’s own speed observations are a useful split between two very different things carriers both sell under the 5G banner. He wrote that Verizon’s 5G ultra wideband service can still deliver 1,500 to 2,000 Mbps downloads for him. On regular 5G and LTE, he typically sees 50 to 100 Mbps downloads. He also said he encounters ordinary 5G far more often than ultra wideband.
That distinction matters because the battery tradeoff is easy to miss in the marketing. Ultra wideband can be very fast when available, according to Gruber’s measurements. Regular 5G, in his experience, does not offer a practical advantage over LTE for common phone use. Nguyen’s battery test adds a cost column to that comparison.
Nguyen also suggested a compromise for users who do not want to shut off 5G outright: an iOS Shortcuts automation that switches cellular networking to LTE when the battery reaches a chosen level, such as 40 percent. That keeps 5G available earlier in the day while making the phone more conservative as the battery drops.
Gruber argued that carriers are unlikely to recommend disabling 5G because their current advertising centers on 5G networks. He also wrote that Apple is unlikely to push users that way because it co-markets phones with carriers. His recommendation was plain: try turning off 5G and see whether anything feels worse.
The evidence here is limited to Nguyen’s device testing and Gruber’s reported experience, so it is not a universal verdict on every carrier, city, modem, or iPhone. It does, however, give iPhone and iPad users a low-risk experiment. If LTE covers the apps you actually use and adds meaningful runtime, the 5G icon is doing more work for the billboard than for the battery.
This story draws on original reporting from Daring Fireball.
