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hunterheath33

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 15, 2012
191
0
I really don't understand how 4G would improve my day to day usage if I were to get a smartphone. I mean all I hear about 4G is battery life. I need my phone to last all day but I wouldn't stream. That's what a laptops for with high speed wifi. I mean, what do you guys use your 4G for that outweighs the shortened battery life?
 

roxxette

macrumors 68000
Aug 9, 2011
1,507
0
I assume the current phones with LTE (4g) come with a proper battery that can handle that.

The iphone 5 is LTE and people here claim (reviews also) that it gets more than 6hrs of browser/data usage; other phones cant comment.
 

tbayrgs

macrumors 604
Jul 5, 2009
7,467
5,097
I really don't understand how 4G would improve my day to day usage if I were to get a smartphone. I mean all I hear about 4G is battery life. I need my phone to last all day but I wouldn't stream. That's what a laptops for with high speed wifi. I mean, what do you guys use your 4G for that outweighs the shortened battery life?

The biggest benefit of LTE (4G) is video streaming. The bitrate of most audio streams is well within the capabilities of 3G download speeds--heck, you'd probably do alright with 2G (EDGE). LTE is also beneficial for hotspot tethering, especially if multiple devices are using it.

The irony here is that excluding only a couple of devices (Note II, Razr Maxx), the iPhone 5 has better battery life with a much smaller capacity battery. I'm using a Nexus 4 and even though it has a larger battery and uses HSPA+, it's battery life is noticeably worse than my iPhone 5.
 

blackhand1001

macrumors 68030
Jan 6, 2009
2,600
37
The biggest benefit of LTE (4G) is video streaming. The bitrate of most audio streams is well within the capabilities of 3G download speeds--heck, you'd probably do alright with 2G (EDGE). LTE is also beneficial for hotspot tethering, especially if multiple devices are using it.

The irony here is that excluding only a couple of devices (Note II, Razr Maxx), the iPhone 5 has better battery life with a much smaller capacity battery. I'm using a Nexus 4 and even though it has a larger battery and uses HSPA+, it's battery life is noticeably worse than my iPhone 5.

The battery life of the nexus 4 is due to a software glitch. The Optimus g gets like double the battery life with the same specs and battery.
 

tbayrgs

macrumors 604
Jul 5, 2009
7,467
5,097
The Note 2 can easily exceed that number

Considering is has a 3100 mAh battery vs. the iPhone 5's 1440 mAh, I'd hope so.

----------

The battery life of the nexus 4 is due to a software glitch. The Optimus g gets like double the battery life with the same specs and battery.

Fine, it's caused by a glitch...I don't care if its caused by magical fairies, it still sucks.
 

mankar4

macrumors 6502a
Aug 23, 2007
624
0
USA
I really don't understand how 4G would improve my day to day usage if I were to get a smartphone. I mean all I hear about 4G is battery life. I need my phone to last all day but I wouldn't stream. That's what a laptops for with high speed wifi. I mean, what do you guys use your 4G for that outweighs the shortened battery life?

Absolutely, LTE is worth it. The lost battery life is small compared to the speed increase with LTE. LTE is really, really fast, and it makes the online experience worlds better.
 

F123D

macrumors 68040
Sep 16, 2008
3,776
16
Del Mar, CA
Considering you're paying the same price either way, might as well take full advantage of the faster speeds.
 

aneftp

macrumors 601
Jul 28, 2007
4,374
570
Biggest advantage if 4g LTE is when u are in congested environments (think Stadiums). Data still works. 3G/hspa/CDMA will all choke if using data.

The iPhone lets you turn off LTE if u are concerned about battery. But I am heavy user get 6-7 hours of real use on phone and another 6-7 hours standbye. That's 12-14 hours which is good enough for 95% of people out there.
 

roxxette

macrumors 68000
Aug 9, 2011
1,507
0
Considering you're paying the same price either way, might as well take full advantage of the faster speeds.

Exactly but i always think that most people that go crazy because of lte is either they dont have much going on in their life :eek: or either take advantage of tethering and dont have home internet.
 
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