C|Net's Brian Tong Gets Superior Battery?

[Maverickster]

Sure, but i just charged it last night. How can I post a picture here? The other time it was closer to 9 hours of usage. Of course I could just be crazy, but i try to monitor it because you guys always talk about battery life on here. Also I dont use it when being charged because you guys say that'll mess up the time (counts it as before the charge).

Great! Thanks man. In case you don't know, to take a screenshot, hold down the standby button and press the hold button. The screen will flash white and you'll get the shutter sound. The screenshot will be in your photo roll. Thanks again!

No, because if you use it more you won't get as long a standby time. As others have said, he probably was using it for low-power stuff like audio.

Yeah, I don't think so either which is why this thread exists. If you extrapolate his numbers out, that's what you get -- almost 2 full days of usage and over a weeks worth of standby on a single charge.

--Mav

 

[GfPQqmcRKUvP]

You use the word amiss a lot. Something is amiss here.

I was eating spaghetti before I laughed reading your post, now my lap is amiss.

battery life is always going to be debated. There are so many factors involved it's really hard to pinpoint in a real-world situation, as everyone and everyday is different... and this applies to how they use their iPhones too.

This battery life is not possible.

i get that often, but when i do im not really doing tons of stuff with the phone. edge too.

You do not get that usage often. You do not get that usage ever.

 

[ki2594]

Is it a coincidence that Tom Meritt's iPhone in this video is at 83%...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mk-FmTTIlg

 

[samcraig]

Just thought of another possibility - what about it he's using a mophie or other external charger... could that affect his stats?

 

[55test55]

Great! Thanks man. In case you don't know, to take a screenshot, hold down the standby button and press the hold button. The screen will flash white and you'll get the shutter sound. The screenshot will be in your photo roll. Thanks again!

haha, thanks! That's freakin awesome!

You do not get that usage often. You do not get that usage ever.

Why would I lie? I get that usage when I dont do a whole lot with my phone...doesn't seem extraordinary to me. You guys probably do a lot more. Days when I do a lot of stuff I get less as well. I'll post a screen to show you later, hopefully I'm not just talking outta my a*s haha

 

[GfPQqmcRKUvP]

Why would I lie? I get that usage when I dont do a whole lot with my phone...doesn't seem extraordinary to me. You guys probably do a lot more. Days when I do a lot of stuff I get less as well. I'll post a screen to show you later, hopefully I'm not just talking outta my a*s haha

I believe you're getting that usage before your battery runs out if you're not using it a lot, but the person we're questioning still has an 82% charge left

 

[alFR]

Yeah, I don't think so either which is why this thread exists. If you extrapolate his numbers out, that's what you get -- almost 2 full days of usage and over a weeks worth of standby on a single charge.

--Mav

Sorry, I wan't very clear. What I meant was that you can't make a linear extrapolation like that: since usage and standby are both draining from the same battery pool, if usage goes up (esp. high-power drain activities like video, GPS etc.) then proportionally standby will drop by a bigger amount than the usage has increased. Think of it like taking water from a bucket in a thimble (adding 1hr standby to the counter) compared to a cup (adding 1hr use to the counter): if you take out 3 cups of water it's a lot more than 3 thimblefuls, but the added time on the counter is the same.

You do not get that usage often. You do not get that usage ever.

Wow, a clairvoyant.

 

[55test55]

I believe you're getting that usage before your battery runs out if you're not using it a lot, but the person we're questioning still has an 82% charge left

oh! sorry i didn't see that...that's definitely a lie then lol.

 

[GfPQqmcRKUvP]

Wow, a clairvoyant.

Please, stop thinking about your cat Suzie. It's messing up my concentration.

 

[Maverickster]

Is it a coincidence that Tom Meritt's iPhone in this video is at 83%...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mk-FmTTIlg

Well, that would be one serious coincidence....

Sorry, I wan't very clear. What I meant was that you can't make a linear extrapolation like that: since usage and standby are both draining from the same battery pool, if usage goes up (esp. high-power drain activities like video, GPS etc.) then proportionally standby will drop by a bigger amount than the usage has increased. Think of it like taking water from a bucket in a thimble (adding 1hr standby to the counter) compared to a cup (adding 1hr use to the counter): if you take out 3 cups of water it's a lot more than 3 thimblefuls, but the added time on the counter is the same.



Wow, a clairvoyant.

Alright, fine. No extrapolation. Get anywhere near his usage/standby numbers with 83% battery life left and no interim recharging and post a screen shot. Based on my experience and the experience of a lot of the users here an elsewhere, I would be floored if you get anywhere close. But, if you do, I'd love to know what you did to get there. Good luck!

 

[slapguts]

You're telling me you think I can play my iPod for 1 Day, 20 Hours, 30 Minutes, and then leave the phone on Standby for another 7 Days, 14 Hours, 24 Minutes before the battery goes kaput? Really?

--Mav

No, but I do think you could get Usage: 7 Hours, 34 Minutes
Standby: 1 Day, 7 Hours that way.

 

[SephirothXR]

Maybe he turned on Airplane mode for that exact reason it was created for: he might have been flying and just listened to music constantly or was playing around with the phone, but not actually doing any hard tasks.

 

[wowrecipe]

I bet he used Airplane mode 100%

 

[samcraig]

As I understand it - the mophie juice pack runs down first before the iphone battery - if he had one attached and ran it down and then used part of his own iphone battery, could that explain it? Anyone with a mophie who can confirm/deny how usage gets reported when attached and used?

 

[Maverickster]

No, but I do think you could get Usage: 7 Hours, 34 Minutes
Standby: 1 Day, 7 Hours that way.

On a full cycle, sure. With 83% battery life remaining with no interim charging? Good luck. Please post a screen shot and let us know what you did of you manage this feat.

--Mav

 

[SephirothXR]

As I understand it - the mophie juice pack runs down first before the iphone battery - if he had one attached and ran it down and then used part of his own iphone battery, could that explain it? Anyone with a mophie who can confirm/deny how usage gets reported when attached and used?

I think he's nailed it, I see Cnet giving away cases that charge your phone all the time, I'm sure that the editor has one for himself. If you plug in your phone, it'll come up with the "iphone has been previously charged", but these cases might be different. Quite honestly, I'm sure a lot of business people use these types of cases, such as Incase's Power Slider that doubles battery life. But for an editor of a big technology company, Brian Tong probably has something sophisticated for his phone.

 

[wowrecipe]

I guess best thing is for him to post a screen shot ..

 

[bob vansteel]

UUUGGHHHAAA! READ PEOPLE!!!! in case none of you happened to notice....your iphone usage stats constantly rack up and do not reset until you charge your iphone to 95%-100%!!!! If he only charged it in little spurts, never reaching a "full charge" then his usage stats would not have reset!!!

 

[SephirothXR]

UUUGGHHHAAA! READ PEOPLE!!!! in case none of you happened to notice....your iphone usage stats constantly rack up and do not reset until you charge your iphone to 95%-100%!!!! If he only charged it in little spurts, never reaching a "full charge" then his usage stats would not have reset!!!

lmao, this guy here thinks he's so smart, lol this is too funny.

Incase you didn't notice on your iPhone, if you charge it but don't get it to 100%, it has the "iPhone has been plugged in since last charge" text, which which the OP said his screen didn't have..........

What we're trying to figure out is if a case that charges your phone (like the Incase Power Slider) makes this "iPhone has been plugged in since last charge" appear, seeing as how he is cnet editor, he most likely has some good accessories.

 

[Hankster]

Agreed. But those numbers are so ridiculous, it's striking. Nearly 2 days worth of usage and over a weeks worth of standby on A SINGLE CHARGE? That takes it out of the realm of "yymv".

What would you want us to do? Get some pitchforks and torches? It's business. So what if this guy got a better battery or is stretching the report a bit. It's business. And, using 3GS REALLY DOES kill the battery. Turn your iPhone to Edge only and see how much longer your battery lasts...it makes a difference. You won't get 7 days but it will be much much longer.

Stop hating so much. Sheesh! We're talking about one battery!

 

[Maverickster]

UUUGGHHHAAA! READ PEOPLE!!!! in case none of you happened to notice....your iphone usage stats constantly rack up and do not reset until you charge your iphone to 95%-100%!!!! If he only charged it in little spurts, never reaching a "full charge" then his usage stats would not have reset!!!

I would encourage you to actually read this thread or learn how your phone works before popping off like that and looking like an idiot.

 

[Maverickster]

What would you want us to do? Get some pitchforks and torches? It's business. So what if this guy got a better battery or is stretching the report a bit. It's business. And, using 3GS REALLY DOES kill the battery. Turn your iPhone to Edge only and see how much longer your battery lasts...it makes a difference. You won't get 7 days but it will be much much longer.

Stop hating so much. Sheesh! We're talking about one battery!

First off, it's not him "reporting" anything. Watch the video clip. It's why I posted it. Secondly, the point is that of Apple was capable of making a battery that lasts that long, it seems a little ridiculous that many folks here are having some real battery issues, and maybe, if it's a software problem, pointing this out may encourage them to fix this. Has nothing to do with "pitchforks". Finally, Edge is definitely a power savings over 3G, but I live in an area with really sketchy 3G coverage, so I haven't had 3G enables since I bought the phone, and while my battery life isn't atrocious (about a day with my typical usage pattern), I woul much prefer to have Mr. Tong's if the phone is capable of that -- which it appears to be.

 

[Genomalice]

Solved? Maybe!

Hello,

I think I solved this mystery... but I'm not too sure yet, so I hope one of you could test it out for me as well.

The other day I was testing my iPhone 3G's (NOT S) battery life on the new 3.1 firmware. So, I ran it down over the course of a long day at Uni & work. I finally got home around 2:00 in the morning.

At 2:39, I checked my usage stats and took a screen shot:

Pretty good battery life, eh.

Now, This is the important part:

1 to 2 minutes after I took this screenshot, my iPhone 3G proceeded to fully die. Now, I let it sit for a minute or two and then took it to my bedroom and plugged it into the charger that came with the iPhone 3G, not an accessory or third party charger!

2 minutes later, I started to play with my iPhone again and I went straight to the Usage screen to see if the iPhone would remember exactly how much my stats were before it completely died, or if that the battery dying would refresh the stats. This is when I noticed something!

The iPhone 3G and I'm assuming the 2G and 3G S as well, not only remembers the stats from before the battery dying but, also displays a new "charging" state when you plug in the charger!

Normally if you plug in the charger before it dies, you would get "charging" state this:

The iPhone is telling you that your stats are inaccurate because you plugged in a charger.

But, if you let your battery die and then plug it in, you get this new "charging" state instead:

EDIT: If you unplug your iPhone now, the iPhone shows no mention of ever charging again. I saw it but hastily plugged the charger back in to see if something was wrong with my iPhone circuitry or something. Hopefully one of you guys could test this out for me!

The interesting thing about this image and the reason why Brian Tong probably had such good battery life is. After you take out the charger when you see this "CHARGING" screen... the iPHONE FORGETS THAT YOU PLUGGED IN A CHARGER AND NO "iPhone has been plugged in since the last full charge" MESSAGE COMES UP!


So, if Brian was testing the battery life, which he probably was, then after he must of have plugged it back into the charger and charged it almost full, charging it full or over 90% would of have reset his stats, and he then continued to use it again and again!

 

[Offshore1]

Honestly, who else is getting results like that?

.

I am!

I charge my phone about once, maybe twice a week. It is mostly on edge, but 3G, WiFi gets used a bit too. In general, I am not a power user by any means.

 

[eddie714]

Its funny how when the iphone 3gs came out everyone complained about the battery life.

This was due to the amount of usage of the iphone since you were testing it out.

Now that 3.1 is the same, we get the same complains from people.

3.1 update + you testing it out for a long period of time = faster batter drain