It’s the Wednesday after last Wednesday’s iPhone event, which means one thing: iPhone reviews! No, not the Duo. But I have been testing the iPhone 18 Pros—and, more importantly, inventing an extremely serious new battery test called Poke the Pickle. More on that below and in my latest video!
Honestly, I’ve been very happy to bury my head in battery percentages while the rest of the tech world argues about AI slowdowns, regulation and whether the bots are going to kill us. Although I do have a quick recap of that drama below.
Apple says the iPhone 18 Pro Max has the best iPhone battery life ever, with the “largest increase in battery life ever on iPhone.”
And I wasn’t just going to take Apple’s word for it.
So, naturally, I spent my weekend poking a pickle thousands of times. And by “I,” I mean a little $13 gadget I bought to do the poking for me.
Meet Poke the Pickle, my new highly scientific battery test. Yes, I vibe-coded a website with an animated pickle that makes a little sound every time you tap it. Then I built a battery test around repeatedly poking said pickle. You can watch it all in my latest video.
So, is Apple’s claim true? Are the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max worth upgrading for battery life alone? I’ve been testing!
If you’ve been following along on our trip to Cupertino for the Apple keynote, you know the coverage required some serious spending—flights, hotels, Pop-Tarts, the list goes on. And today I’m back on a plane to the Bay Area for more upcoming coverage, which means more spending.
With Mercury’s new Spend tool, I am able to spend—yes, I’m going to keep saying that over and over again—more time shooting and editing videos, working through scripts and questions, and, naturally, finding increasingly ridiculous ways to play with the new folding iPhone Duo.
For each trip, we set a budget ahead of time so we know what we can spend without constantly checking ourselves. All the annoying business-travel stuff—tracking receipts, categorizing expenses, keeping an eye on budgets—happens much more quietly in the background.
Mercury also makes it easy to keep track of receipts: Drop them in and Mercury automatically matches. My bookkeeper is thrilled, which may be the strongest endorsement of all.
And since I’m apparently making California my second home this month, there’s plenty more Mercury-tracked spending to come.
Mercury is a fintech company, not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services and debit cards provided through Choice Financial Group and Column N.A., Members FDIC. The IO Card is issued by Patriot Bank, N.A., Member FDIC, pursuant to a license from Mastercard International Incorporated.
Fun fact: Pickles have a long and storied history. Archaeologists believe that Ancient Mesopotamians were pickling in 2400 BC, the first annual Pickle Day was celebrated in 2001 and now pickles are being used to test iPhone batteries!
This newsletter was written and curated by Joanna Stern and Adele Lowitz.
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