Our iPhone 6 & iPhone 6 Plus battery life tests are done, both trail the competition

[Shanghaichica]

I'll happily accept display mate's review stating that the Iphone 6 and 6+ have the best LCD displays on the market. I just don't believe a word Anandtech says. They have always been biased towards Apple and the fact that Apple have just employed the main guy behind the outfit just confirms my thoughts towards this site.

 

[tbayrgs]

I'll happily accept display mate's review stating that the Iphone 6 and 6+ have the best LCD displays on the market. I just don't believe a word Anandtech says. They have always been biased towards Apple and the fact that Apple have just employed the main guy behind the outfit just confirms my thoughts towards this site.

Of course you'll accept Displaymate's analysis because they proclaimed the Note 4 as the best display overall, though I'm fairly certain that if they'd proclaimed the iPhone 6 the best display you'd be calling them Apple fanboys as well.

 

[Shanghaichica]

Of course you'll accept Displaymate's analysis because they proclaimed the Note 4 as the best display overall, though I'm fairly certain that if they'd proclaimed the iPhone 6 the best display you'd be calling them Apple fanboys as well.

No I wouldn't. Remember display mate puts the new iphone above all of the the other android flagship displays, which I accept.

 

[Black Magic]

Quite a few folks on here that have the iPhone 6+ have stated pretty consistently across various use cases that they get at least 2 days. This lines up with other review sites I have read as well. While I typically take most things on the internet with a grain of salt, hearing actual users state their experience and seeing commonality in the claims means much more than one random site with odd ball numbers thrown around. Just saying....

 

[rhinosrcool]

You guys can sure dish of the criticism of everything Apple, but doesn't look like you can take it very well.

What fun is that?

Seriously, the vast majority of us Apple critics have all had iPhones. At one time, they were king. That time has past. Most of us see their potential and are disappointed and jaded that they will not return to the throne. When tech sites proclaim their superiority, we know better. Even though I am intrigued by the Plus, it could have been so much better.

 

[Technarchy]

I like Phone Arena. I subscribe to their channel, but they are D list reviewers compared to anandtech.

When I want a casual review, I look over the Internet.

When I want a pro, credible review I wait for anandtech.

 

[Savor]

I don't read or watch too much reviews from PhoneArena ever since they gave Sony Xperia ZR a 6.5 score. I still prefer GSMArena for my news, Anandtech for my written reviews, and Android Authority and PocketNow for my video reviews. But PhoneArena seems to have the most accurate screen time usage data. GSMArena seems to put too much emphasis on standby time. Anandtech can also exaggerate. They claimed 10 hrs Wi-Fi on HTC One M7 when I can barely get 5 hrs while on airplane mode! AT&T HTC One M7 or M8 versions seem to get it worse compared to the other carrier versions. Before Z3 topped the PhoneArena charts, Sony Xperia Z2 and OnePlus One were the class-leaders. Huawei Ascend Mate 2 prior to the 7 was also a class-leader esp with that massive near 4000 mAh battery.

I always wanted PhoneArena to give a battery rating to Xiaomi Mi 3. I get 8-9 screen usage with mines under High Performance mode which makes no battery difference other than more heating for games, 2G network only, 25%/40% brightness, no background syncing, mostly text, videos, and 1-2 hrs of Wi-Fi. Consistent Wi-Fi browsing at 40% brightness is 8 hrs like GSMArena claimed. I generally get 9 hrs with 5% left. The Mi 3 was supposed to have the best battery life from the Snapdragon 800 generation barring the Note 3 according to Ash from C4ETech. So I guess Mi 3 would be in between Moto X and Note 3. Yet, video playback really does push 10+ hrs only slightly lower than OnePlus One's 11 hrs which ranked #2 behind Z2 months prior.

The iPhone 6 Plus seems to have only 12% better battery than iP6. A bit of a shocker for a 2915 mAh capacity. I said it before that iPhones have been surpassed consistently by Androids this year. Snapdragon 800/801 are truly efficient while packing 3000+ mAh and 1080p, no QHD. I still like PhoneArena's thorough screen on time test with it. Sony is really kicking butt in the battery department even though they lost over a billion dollars on smartphones recently. Phablets are also expected to be high on the list even though I'm surprised by the GNote 3 and iP6+ lower than expected results.

None of it matters to me now that I prefer carrying two smartphones in their horizontal belt holsters. A combined 12-14 hr screen time between them and they balance each other's weaknesses very well. HTC One is the better media player and phone (better display & louder). Xiaomi Mi 3 is the faster & better workhorse with better battery life, web browsing, gaming, and HDR camera with no purple photos like the other possesses. Both are quite stylish too with the One winner at dimensions and aesthetics while Mi 3 is more ergonomically comfortable to hold with the rounded corners. And both with silver/metallic gray rears are smudge resistant and easy to clean too.

 

[tbayrgs]

The iPhone 6 Plus seems to have only 12% better battery than iP6. A bit of a shocker for a 2915 mAh capacity. I said it before that iPhones have been surpassed consistently by Androids this year. Snapdragon 800/801 are truly efficient while packing 3000+ mAh and 1080p, no QHD. I still like PhoneArena's thorough screen on time test with it. Sony is really kicking butt in the battery department even though they lost over a billion dollars on smartphones recently. Phablets are also expected to be high on the list even though I'm surprised by the GNote 3 and iP6+ lower than expected results.

I think you need to double check your math, as per the Phonearena and Anandtech evaluations, the 6+ had approximately 21% and 20% better battery life, respectively. Considering the 6+ has a significantly larger display with 2x the pixels to push, I don't find that necessarily disappointing.

I will agree though that if accurate, the battery life on the Z3 is pretty impressive.

 

[Savor]

Don't trust ANY battery life tests unless it is a general consensus across the board. At least we know from two sites that the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact stamina is fantastic. A steady drum beat, but RAZR MAXX to Galaxy Notes to phablets to Xperias have all surpassed iPhones these days. I was wrong of the 6 Plus. It is about 18% better but the 5s to 6 was even a bigger gap. Still, close to 20% is better than nothing. But I expected better from a 2915 mAh not getting beat by a Sony Xperia smaller than the iPhone 6.

But people do have varying usage. They have varying opinions on what good battery life is and how they measure it. I once saw a post in another forum that said 4 hrs screen on time (SOT) was great for M7. I get 4-6 hrs depending on my daily usage which I consider average for moderate users. My best was 7 hrs & 45 min looping 360p vids. I once saw a video that showed 6 hrs SOT was great on Mi 3. I get 8-9 hrs with varying settings. I consider that very good even for heavy users. Others consider music, voice calls, and standby time as part of usage.

How bright was the screen? Were many apps opened in the background? Push & background syncing were on? How much RAM is used? Even video playback is an exaggerated measurement of SOT because how little power it consumes while gaming and browsing are bigger culprits. What happens if 4G, push, background syncing are all on? I notice I can get more battery life when my phone is freshly unplugged from its full charge (within 30 min) then if I let it stay there for hours. And also when I charge from 30% or under than from 60% or above.

Snapdragon 800/801 were efficient SoC's with a minimum 3000+ mAh. A new class of Androids that finally bested iOS stamina. The 801 is a 3rd revision of the 800 except clocked higher. On idle, cores vary in frequency, power down to 300 MHz, or sleep. On SD600, I can see 1.7 GHz for each core on the M7 or 1.134 GHz while on power saver mode. And it still gives me worse battery even with Greenify, slower SoC, and lower RAM used. SD800 is just more efficient because it doesn't stick to the same CPU frequency for every task, cores sleep, and run cooler unless for gaming.

I also liked that Qualcomm gave us Quick Charge 2.0. Faster recharge times at under 1 hour is the future for smartphones. Kudos to Qualcomm, OEM's battery optimization, putting higher capacities, most sticking to 1080p, and Google's work on KitKat. They all helped spawn a new breed of Android marathon runners that outlasted wall hug.. err.. I meant iPhones.

 

[Black Magic]

Don't trust ANY battery life tests unless it is a general consensus across the board. At least we know from two sites that the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact stamina is fantastic. A steady drum beat, but RAZR MAXX to Galaxy Notes to phablets to Xperias have all surpassed iPhones these days. I was wrong of the 6 Plus. It is about 18% better but the 5s to 6 was even a bigger gap. Still, close to 20% is better than nothing. But I expected better from a 2915 mAh not getting beat by a Sony Xperia smaller than the iPhone 6.

But people do have varying usage. They have varying opinions on what good battery life is and how they measure it. I once saw a post in another forum that said 4 hrs screen on time (SOT) was great for M7. I get 4-6 hrs depending on my daily usage which I consider average for moderate users. My best was 7 hrs & 45 min looping 360p vids. I once saw a video that showed 6 hrs SOT was great on Mi 3. I get 8-9 hrs with varying settings. I consider that very good even for heavy users. Others consider music, voice calls, and standby time as part of usage.

How bright was the screen? Were many apps opened in the background? Push & background syncing were on? How much RAM is used? Even video playback is an exaggerated measurement of SOT because how little power it consumes while gaming and browsing are bigger culprits. What happens if 4G, push, background syncing are all on? I notice I can get more battery life when my phone is freshly unplugged from its full charge (within 30 min) then if I let it stay there for hours. And also when I charge from 30% or under than from 60% or above.

Snapdragon 800/801 were efficient SoC's with a minimum 3000+ mAh. A new class of Androids that finally bested iOS stamina. The 801 is a 3rd revision of the 800 except clocked higher. On idle, cores vary in frequency, power down to 300 MHz, or sleep. On SD600, I can see 1.7 GHz for each core on the M7 or 1.134 GHz while on power saver mode. And it still gives me worse battery even with Greenify, slower SoC, and lower RAM used. SD800 is just more efficient because it doesn't stick to the same CPU frequency for every task, cores sleep, and run cooler unless for gaming.

I also liked that Qualcomm gave us Quick Charge 2.0. Faster recharge times at under 1 hour is the future for smartphones. Kudos to Qualcomm, OEM's battery optimization, putting higher capacities, most sticking to 1080p, and Google's work on KitKat. They all helped spawn a new breed of Android marathon runners that outlasted wall hug.. err.. I meant iPhones.

Funny. My experience with Android phones in general required me to have a charger nearby because the battery life is horrible. In fact, I had to turn off features like live wallpaper just to get more battery life. iPhones are phones that allow me not to worry about battery life.

How you came to the conclusion that an unoptimized OS like Android with an unoptimized skin like TouchWiz or sense is a better situation than iOS is ridiculous. Also, 4-6 hours battery life is absolutely horrible no matter how you try and sell it.

 

[Fireblade]

iPhones are phones that allow me not to worry about battery life.

Lol, nearly everyone in our company owning an IPhone has plugged it in most of the day, your statement seems legit

 

[The Game 161]

Lol, nearly everyone in our company owning an IPhone has plugged it in most of the day, your statement seems legit

I think the one phones where you don't truely news to worry about battery life is removable battery options.

 

[jrswizzle]

I too await the Anandtech review with bated breath.....they go into incredible detail and I always find their reviews accurate and informative.

Here's my battery life for my first run down (100% - 1%) on my 6+. This was over the last two days so roughly 3-4 days into my ownership.

Not too bad....especially considering I've had big battery drains due to one of my exchange email addresses not syncing properly (hence why "mail" is so high).

Also, keep in mind - I'm in my office for roughly 8 hours every day....and the cell reception is pretty horrible (consistently 1-2 bars of 4G) which causes some bad drain.

 

[jrswizzle]

Lol, nearly everyone in our company owning an IPhone has plugged it in most of the day, your statement seems legit

That statement alone means nothing....perhaps they don't plug it in at night?

I've always consistently been able to go the whole day on one charge. But I'm extremely consistent with charging at night.

I also don't worry about turning things like push mail, bluetooth, wifi etc off on my iPhones whereas I always monitored what was on and automatically syncing on my Nexus 5 and other Android devices.

 

[Shanghaichica]

I too await the Anandtech review with bated breath.....they go into incredible detail and I always find their reviews accurate and informative.

Here's my battery life for my first run down (100% - 1%) on my 6+. This was over the last two days so roughly 3-4 days into my ownership.

Not too bad....especially considering I've had big battery drains due to one of my exchange email addresses not syncing properly (hence why "mail" is so high).

Also, keep in mind - I'm in my office for roughly 8 hours every day....and the cell reception is pretty horrible (consistently 1-2 bars of 4G) which causes some bad drain.

That looks good. The problem with the iPhone is that it doesn't show you screen on time. I can get close to 8 hours out of my ipod touch 5th generation, however I know that I haven't even spent half of that time with the screen on. Looks good and I'm sure you're happy with it.

 

[jrswizzle]

That looks good. The problem with the iPhone is that it doesn't show you screen on time. I can get close to 8 hours out of my ipod touch 5th generation, however I know that I haven't even spent half of that time with the screen on. Looks good and I'm sure you're happy with it.

Ehh, to me "screen on time" is a bit overrated as there's a lot that goes on behind the scenes on my iPhones (at least in my use case). Lots of pushing notifications, updating apps at various times I usually open them, wifi, bluetooth, backups etc.

I think with the new usage stats you can kind of back into screen on time though as it tells you whether or not "background" activity is the main culprit.

If I see "Safari" on my usage stats, you can bet I was actually viewing safari.

I'm happy with it so far. My use case generally allows me to charge every night, but it's nice to know that I can run it through its paces without worrying about it dying. I even had it running maps yesterday unplugged, which I don't normally do because maps (both google maps on my N5 and apple maps on my iPhones) burn battery fast.

I'm hopeful as it calibrates and as iOS 8 gets updated, we'll see improvements.

I will say that I haven't been as enthused with the 6 (battery life wise)....I don't find it to be any better than the 5S, at least in my opinion. Again, part of that has to do with some iOS 8 problems and I'm sure they'll get ironed out. Again, I also don't have any problem charging every night so nothing I would get upset over....though I do hope to see a marked improvement on the 6 over time.