iPhone 5 and Galaxy S4 - battery life on LTE

[skaertus]

I don't know if it has already been posted here or somewhere else, but here it goes.

I've read several articles praising the battery lives of both the iPhone 5 and the Galaxy S4, as they both would be superior than their predecessors. Most reviews appoint the iPhone 5 and the Galaxy S4 as having similar battery lives for Internet browsing. There seem to be differences, but not huge.

However, I found a single article (http://www.stableytimes.com/news/five-apple-iphone-5-over-the-samsung-galaxy-s4/1111/) stating that these tests were done using 3G and not LTE. Under LTE, the iPhone 5 would have a much better battery life than the Galaxy S4 because the Apple gadget would have a more modern and advanced chipset than the Samsung device. Here's the paragraph I'm referring to:

Battery life: On paper the iPhone 5 and Galaxy S4 have similar battery life numbers. But those numbers for the S4 are calculated on 3G networks, with 4G LTE networking turned off. Because it uses a first generation LTE chipset which requires significantly more power, the S4 gets fractional battery life when 4G LTE is enabled. Contrast that with the iPhone 5, which gets its full battery life specs with 4G LTE turned on, because Apple uses a second generation 4G LTE chipset which uses no more power than the older 3G chipset.

It sounds very strange to me, as I've not found another source on that. And the argument doesn't seem technical. Is there any truth to this? Would there be a great difference in battery life between the S4 and the iPhone 5 in LTE networks?

 

[nyc999]

why would s4, which is newer than the ip5, use an older chip set? i am just curious...is sammy trying to cut corners?

 

[johnjefferson]

These tests are useless, it all depends on you carrier, your area and your signal. I get great battery life on my iPhone 5 at home, easily 12-15 hours. I can go a few miles down the road by Angel stadium and Disneyland and watch my battery drain 20% an hour and be dead in under 6 hours because its constantly searching for network service and signal.

 

[maxosx]

The only fixed data point is the iPhones small display. The one component that makes the most difference in battery life. I'd naturally expect iPhone to deliver the longest life, if not there's a real problem.

 

[skratch77]

I don't know if it has already been posted here or somewhere else, but here it goes.

I've read several articles praising the battery lives of both the iPhone 5 and the Galaxy S4, as they both would be superior than their predecessors. Most reviews appoint the iPhone 5 and the Galaxy S4 as having similar battery lives for Internet browsing. There seem to be differences, but not huge.

However, I found a single article (http://www.stableytimes.com/news/five-apple-iphone-5-over-the-samsung-galaxy-s4/1111/) stating that these tests were done using 3G and not LTE. Under LTE, the iPhone 5 would have a much better battery life than the Galaxy S4 because the Apple gadget would have a more modern and advanced chipset than the Samsung device. Here's the paragraph I'm referring to:



It sounds very strange to me, as I've not found another source on that. And the argument doesn't seem technical. Is there any truth to this? Would there be a great difference in battery life between the S4 and the iPhone 5 in LTE networks?

Is this a joke? did you actually read the bs they wrote?

the iphone 5 has a higher pixel density? the gs4 has over 440 ppi and a higher res screen and IS SHARPER and they say the iphone 5 is a sharper screen

first gen lte? more like 3rd gen and if the gs4 can keep up with the iphone 5 in 3g it will pass it in 4g since 4g gets better battery life on the gs3

 

[lazard]

lol, congrats. you managed to find an obscure website that states that the 6 month old iPhone 5 uses a newer chipset than the newly released S4.

 

[2298754]

Lol wtf is this? s4 using older chip set?

 

[cynics]

What are you guys talking about. I get all my tech news from the "Stabley Times"...haha

 

[skratch77]

If we want to get technical on lte generations we had htc evo that used wimax a few years ago and then it went like this

htc thunderbolt gen one on Verizon that uses the same bands as the gs4 horrible battery life and 3g would smoke it

Verizon Samsung galaxy nexus gen 2 lte decent improvement over the thunderbolt but still 3g got better battery life

Samsung galaxy s3 gen 3? way better battery life then 3g and finally worth using lte(same chipset as iphone 5)

and now we have the gs4 that is supposed to even support ams bands and all the main lte bands so the gs4 if you want to get gen specific is a gen 4/5 chipset if you count the 4g phones before lte was mainstream
that site is a joke and if you really want to use iTunes as a reason why the iphone is better you can up load all your iTunes to google music for free,every gmail is allowed up to 100k songs for free on there cloud

 

[DeathChill]

The only fixed data point is the iPhones small display. The one component that makes the most difference in battery life. I'd naturally expect iPhone to deliver the longest life, if not there's a real problem.

That's not really all there is to it though. The iPhone is also thinner and smaller proportioned so there's less room for battery. The iPhone display is also much brighter than the S4.

 

[Nikhil72]

I have both the GS4 (received it yesterday) and the iP5 and though it's pretty early, the GS4 definitely sucks down battery faster despite the screen being on a dimmer setting. Will see how things fare after a few days.

 

[maxosx]

That's not really all there is to it though. The iPhone is also thinner and smaller proportioned so there's less room for battery. The iPhone display is also much brighter than the S4.

Sure I agree there's several factors involved.

Perhaps the biggest variable is usage. Personally I'd be quite happy with a slightly thicker iPhone to provide room for a larger battery.

Because I must have longer battery life I use a Mophie Juice Pack Air on my iPhone 5, and Mophies Juice Pack for my SGS III.

Not only do these give me the life I require, but each makes their respective phone much more comfortable to hold.


http://www.mophie.com/mophie-juice-pack-Galaxy-S-III-battery-case-p/2245_jp-ssg-wht.htm

 

[Nikhil72]

After a few charge cycles in the last 4 days (around 8 cycles total...2/day from 100% to 0% and back), the GS4 lasts about 1/3rd to 1/2 less time than my iP5 even with JuiceDefender enabled. Though I liked some things about the device, battery and a few other things (TouchWiz-related in part) resulted in me taking my GS4 back today

*edit* note I'm a moderately heavy user (data, camerasand mixed LTE and WiFi use on my iPhone gives me about 7-8h of screen time with at least 12-14 hours off the charger if not more. So that's what my background is for comparison.

 

[2298754]

I have both the GS4 (received it yesterday) and the iP5 and though it's pretty early, the GS4 definitely sucks down battery faster despite the screen being on a dimmer setting. Will see how things fare after a few days.

I'm not sure about this. Even my S3 lasted as long as my iPhone5...

The S4 has to be better.

 

[skratch77]

After a few charge cycles in the last 4 days (around 8 cycles total...2/day from 100% to 0% and back), the GS4 lasts about 1/3rd to 1/2 less time than my iP5 even with JuiceDefender enabled. Though I liked some things about the device, battery and a few other things (TouchWiz-related in part) resulted in me taking my GS4 back today

*edit* note I'm a moderately heavy user (data, camerasand mixed LTE and WiFi use on my iPhone gives me about 7-8h of screen time with at least 12-14 hours off the charger if not more. So that's what my background is for comparison.

The iPhone iOS doesn't report screen on time it reports usage time and that is with the screen off and the device not idle like playing music while working out.

 

[Nikhil72]

The iPhone iOS doesn't report screen on time it reports usage time and that is with the screen off and the device not idle like playing music while working out.

I'm aware of that. I'm speaking of screen-on time not including any music listening with the screen off. I'm on the device constantly, including a 1.5h commute each way every morning.

My experience with battery has been similar to AnandTech's review of the GS4; not as high as they got, but general trends in all aspects except calling, where the GS3/4 do get better times. Buy my use is primarily email web camera video and texting, as well as reading books and Instapaper

 

[Darrensk8]

*edit* note I'm a moderately heavy user (data, camerasand mixed LTE and WiFi use on my iPhone gives me about 7-8h of screen time with at least 12-14 hours off the charger if not more. So that's what my background is for comparison.

Wow!

How do you manage to get 7-8 hours heavy usage from iPhone ? I tend to get 5-6 hours and that's with screen less than 50% and being mindful of wifi, Bluetooth off etc.

 

[Nikhil72]

Screen set to auto, tends to hover below 50%; 4 email accounts set to fetch every 30 minutes. Wifi use when available (generally while at work and home; LTE while commuting). Fine-tunes iCloud to turn off what I don't need. I do watch videos purchased from iTunes, which doesn't use much battery. BT is always off, location services is enabled for a bunch of apps. It also helps that in manhattan, I'm generally with full coverage.

The other key is cycling the battery from 100% to full powered off a few times.

Definitely use wifi when available; the iPhone sips power with it enabled; I don't turn it off every time I'm done either, unless I'm leaving wifi coverage. This was very noticeable with my android phones; battery on wifi was not much better than on LTE/3G because the limiting factor were their big screens rather than the antennae. Also, I'm not much of a gamer

 

[blackhand1001]

I don't know if it has already been posted here or somewhere else, but here it goes.

I've read several articles praising the battery lives of both the iPhone 5 and the Galaxy S4, as they both would be superior than their predecessors. Most reviews appoint the iPhone 5 and the Galaxy S4 as having similar battery lives for Internet browsing. There seem to be differences, but not huge.

However, I found a single article (http://www.stableytimes.com/news/five-apple-iphone-5-over-the-samsung-galaxy-s4/1111/) stating that these tests were done using 3G and not LTE. Under LTE, the iPhone 5 would have a much better battery life than the Galaxy S4 because the Apple gadget would have a more modern and advanced chipset than the Samsung device. Here's the paragraph I'm referring to:



It sounds very strange to me, as I've not found another source on that. And the argument doesn't seem technical. Is there any truth to this? Would there be a great difference in battery life between the S4 and the iPhone 5 in LTE networks?

The cell radio in the snapdragon s4 is much more sophisticated than the iPhone 5s radio. Its integrated into the soc itself and has more features like svdo on both 3g and 4g CDMA networks. The iPhone does neither and has the chip sslerate from the soc which uses more power than the integrated chip. Both radios are made by Qualcomm, the s4s is a higher end chip with more features.

 

[johnjefferson]

Wow!

How do you manage to get 7-8 hours heavy usage from iPhone ? I tend to get 5-6 hours and that's with screen less than 50% and being mindful of wifi, Bluetooth off etc.

From an iPhone 5? Something is wrong with your battery then. My screen is set nearly full brightness (probably 80%) and my wifi is constantly on here at home. I get right around 7 hours use at 13-14 hours off the charger.

 

[Darrensk8]

From an iPhone 5? Something is wrong with your battery then. My screen is set nearly full brightness (probably 80%) and my wifi is constantly on here at home. I get right around 7 hours use at 13-14 hours off the charger.

Would be interested to see how long you'd get on just under 50% brightness


That battery sounds impressive considering the brightness!