Does battery life vary with video codec used ?

ChatGPT says:

When shooting video on your iPhone 16 Pro Max, you will generally experience better battery life using HEVC (H.265) rather than H.264. Here's why:

HEVC (H.265)

• Compression Efficiency: HEVC is a more advanced codec and compresses video more efficiently than H.264. This means the file sizes are smaller for the same video quality, requiring less data to be written to storage.
• Hardware Optimization: Your iPhone 16 Pro Max is equipped with hardware-accelerated HEVC encoding, making it more power-efficient when processing videos in this format.

H.264

• Less Efficient Compression: H.264 requires more storage for comparable video quality, resulting in higher processing and writing demands on your phone.
• Legacy Codec: While widely compatible, H.264 lacks the advanced compression techniques of HEVC, making it less optimized for battery efficiency on newer devices.

Additional Considerations

• Heat: Shooting high-resolution or high-frame-rate video (e.g., 4K@60fps) in any format may generate heat and increase battery usage. HEVC's efficiency helps mitigate this to some extent.
• Compatibility: If you frequently share videos with devices or platforms that may not support HEVC, you might choose H.264 for convenience, even if it’s less battery-friendly.

For the best combination of battery efficiency and storage savings, HEVC is the better choice. You can confirm or change the codec used by navigating to: Settings > Camera > Formats, and selecting High Efficiency (HEVC) or Most Compatible (H.264).