The battery is one of the few things you might actually need to replace if you keep hold of your iPhone for an extended period of time. They wear out over time, and a replacement could help keep your phone going for a bit longer. Unfortunately, that process is about to get more expensive for iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max.
Previously getting a battery replacement through Apple was fixed at $99, though it wouldn’t cost you a thing if you had AppleCare Plus. That price is sticking around for the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus, but iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max owners will be asked to pay an additional $20 for a total of $119. AppleCare Plus repairs are still free.
It’s not clear why Apple has increased the cost of battery replacements this year. But the fact that it has only affected the Pro models suggests that it may have something to do with the phones’ redesigned batteries, which are larger and have a new metal shell to help reduce the build-up of heat.
So either these new batteries are more expensive to replace, which would make sense, or they take more time and effort to swap out. There had been rumors that Apple would actually make it easier to swap out iPhone batteries this year, in compliance with incoming EU legislation about user-replaceable batteries. However, this could be limited to the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus.
That means the new iPhone 16 Pro series batteries may still be glued in place, which would require solvents to safely remove. That, combined with the larger (and presumably more expensive) design could easily explain the extra $20 tacked onto the replacement costs.
Of course, we won’t get any insight into this until the first iPhone 16 Pro teardowns start appearing online and give us some insight into how things have changed. Hopefully, with the iPhone 16 series set to be released this Friday (September 20) we shouldn’t have long to wait to find out for sure.
But no matter what the reasoning is, or indeed if there is any logic to the price hike, just be aware that the cost of an out-of-warranty battery replacement in an iPhone 16 Pro or Pro Max is about to get a little more expensive.
More from Tom's Guide
- Apple iPhone 16 hands-on review: More Pro than ever
- This is the feature Android should steal from iPhone 16
- Is Apple's iPhone Upgrade Program worth it for iPhone 16?
