Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

ChazUK

macrumors 603
Original poster
Feb 3, 2008
5,393
25
Essex (UK)
http://9to5google.com/2013/06/28/sa...est-battery-life-in-uk-consumer-groups-tests/

Which?, a highly-regarded UK consumer research organisation, found the Samsung S4 to be both the fastest smartphone on the market, and the one offering the best battery-life – a pretty impressive combination.

All looking good for the S4 but what surprises me is how poorly the iPhone 5 does alongside the Nexus 4. My personal N4 is great except from some pretty poor battery life so how it beat out the iPhone 5 on talk time and web usage is a surprise to me.

batterpfp.png


The iPhone does look like it's a champ when it comes to recharge time though.
 

jamezr

macrumors P6
Aug 7, 2011
16,077
19,075
US
Gotta say I am loving my S4 more and more......I have been running CyanogenMod 10 nightlies and it is the best smartphone I have ever owned.
 

daveathall

macrumors 68020
Aug 6, 2010
2,379
1,410
North Yorkshire
Which magazine is highly respected. I love my S4 and really can't complain about it's battery life, surprisingly (after all I have read) my Nexus 4 has decent battery life also, I must stress that I am not a power or games user though.
 

Nikhil72

macrumors 68000
Oct 21, 2005
1,621
1,464
While I enjoyed my time with the GS4, I definitely had better battery life coming out of my iPhone 5 with the exception of call time (and I barely make phone calls). The GS4 was usually dead by mid-afternoon, while my iP5 can make it through to 10-11pm with similar use on mixed LTE and WiFi. Ended up returning the GS4 because of the google edition announcement; hoping that the Google edition gets better battery life with all the samsung stuff disabled.
 

Six8

macrumors 65816
Feb 1, 2012
1,140
142
Earth
While I enjoyed my time with the GS4, I definitely had better battery life coming out of my iPhone 5 with the exception of call time (and I barely make phone calls). The GS4 was usually dead by mid-afternoon, while my iP5 can make it through to 10-11pm with similar use on mixed LTE and WiFi. Ended up returning the GS4 because of the google edition announcement; hoping that the Google edition gets better battery life with all the samsung stuff disabled.
No way. My iPhone 5 was on the charger by 2pm. I can easily get 15+ hours on the GS4.
 

oplix

Suspended
Jun 29, 2008
1,460
487
New York, NY
While I enjoyed my time with the GS4, I definitely had better battery life coming out of my iPhone 5 with the exception of call time (and I barely make phone calls). The GS4 was usually dead by mid-afternoon, while my iP5 can make it through to 10-11pm with similar use on mixed LTE and WiFi. Ended up returning the GS4 because of the google edition announcement; hoping that the Google edition gets better battery life with all the samsung stuff disabled.

very inaccurate. GS4 battery life is double of iphone 5 in most cases.
http://www.redmondpie.com/infographic-which-high-end-smartphone-offers-the-best-battery-life/
 

jrswizzle

macrumors 603
Aug 23, 2012
6,107
129
McKinney, TX
To make such blanket statements as "Oh the GS4 has way better battery life than the iPhone 5" or vice versa is just stupid.

There are so many different use cases out there, each with a seperate set of uses which drain batteries differently, it's almost impossible to come out of here with a definitive answer.

Now obviously there are some exceptions - and if you go with standard tests, naturally the larger batteries and faster processors win the longevity and speed tests.

But the nature of those tests is not very indicative of real-life use, and therefore actual results vary GREATLY.

It has to be researched by each person. For me? I make it through the entire day and both my HTC One and iPhone 5 are usually hovering in the 50-60% range (off the charger from 7:30am - 10:00pm ish). Now I'm not a heavy user, but even with streaming music, answering emails, making sales calls (my iPhone is my work phone) and browsing twitter and facebook (usually equates to 5-6 hours of use and probably 3-4 hours of screen time) I never have an issue making it through the day.

Even on iOS 7 Beta, my iPhone 5 runs like a champ. Everything is responsive, quick and the battery lasts plenty long. Same with my HTC One. These articles only serve those who feel they need bragging rights. Well, I'm glad for you.

Personally, my phones work great and do all I need them to do. At this point, I think the smartphone industry has matured.
 

onthecouchagain

macrumors 604
Mar 29, 2011
7,382
2
To make such blanket statements as "Oh the GS4 has way better battery life than the iPhone 5" or vice versa is just stupid.

There are so many different use cases out there, each with a seperate set of uses which drain batteries differently, it's almost impossible to come out of here with a definitive answer.

Now obviously there are some exceptions - and if you go with standard tests, naturally the larger batteries and faster processors win the longevity and speed tests.

But the nature of those tests is not very indicative of real-life use, and therefore actual results vary GREATLY.

It has to be researched by each person. For me? I make it through the entire day and both my HTC One and iPhone 5 are usually hovering in the 50-60% range (off the charger from 7:30am - 10:00pm ish). Now I'm not a heavy user, but even with streaming music, answering emails, making sales calls (my iPhone is my work phone) and browsing twitter and facebook (usually equates to 5-6 hours of use and probably 3-4 hours of screen time) I never have an issue making it through the day.

Even on iOS 7 Beta, my iPhone 5 runs like a champ. Everything is responsive, quick and the battery lasts plenty long. Same with my HTC One. These articles only serve those who feel they need bragging rights. Well, I'm glad for you.

Personally, my phones work great and do all I need them to do. At this point, I think the smartphone industry has matured.


I don't care per se if this article is accurate or not as I don't own a S4 or an iPhone 5, but it really burns you anytime Samsung accomplishes something, huh?

Where were you with this same sort of response when iPhones were winning these sorts of comparison tests and other such awards, I wonder.
 

daveathall

macrumors 68020
Aug 6, 2010
2,379
1,410
North Yorkshire
I don't care per se if this article is accurate or not per se as I don't own a S4 or an iPhone 5, but it really burns you anytime Samsung accomplishes something, huh?

Where were you with this same sort of response when iPhones were winning these sorts of comparison tests and other such awards, I wonder.

Which magazine is probably the most trusted comparison magazine in the UK, they don't suck up to any manufacturer, they tell it as they find it, if that is what the test results told them, that is what they publish.
 

Fireblade

macrumors 65816
Jan 25, 2011
1,101
321
Italy
I don't care per se if this article is accurate or not as I don't own a S4 or an iPhone 5, but it really burns you anytime Samsung accomplishes something, huh?

Where were you with this same sort of response when iPhones were winning these sorts of comparison tests and other such awards, I wonder.

Yes this is really obviously.
 

jrswizzle

macrumors 603
Aug 23, 2012
6,107
129
McKinney, TX
I don't care per se if this article is accurate or not as I don't own a S4 or an iPhone 5, but it really burns you anytime Samsung accomplishes something, huh?

Where were you with this same sort of response when iPhones were winning these sorts of comparison tests and other such awards, I wonder.

Actually I was just sticking up for the guy who got verbally decked when he made the comment his iPhone 5 had better battery life.....

When the iPhone was winning tests I was laughing and jokingly saying "Man these tests were all you Android folks had, and now you don't have them."

Of course, they should've been taken with a grain of salt then, just like now. I like though how you assume every iOS fan (or even anyone who has a decent thing to say about iOS/the iPhone really) is some flip flopper...

And if by "accomplish something" you mean, were at the top of synthetic benchmarks AGAIN (just like each of their flagships is) then, I guess so.....doesn't really burn me per se, but I find it hilarious that this is heralded as some accomplishment, when a story like this has come out with each of Samsung's last 3 flagships.

Its almost like people hate Apple so much that they over-zealously jump on whatever bandwagon has the best chance of taking them down (which is hilarious because Samsung has been at the top of the smartphone marketshare since 2008.....yet somehow, we're always talking about how Samsung has overtaken Apple.....).

Anyways - I'm sorry I don't take these tests too seriously. I have no issue with those who do, or those who love their GS4, I'm sure its a great phone for them. I was simply pointing out, that the various use cases make it hard for a definitive statement to be made - notice I said both ways (GS4>iPhone5 and iPhone 5>GS4).
 

ChazUK

macrumors 603
Original poster
Feb 3, 2008
5,393
25
Essex (UK)
When it comes to battery life my iPhone 4 is stellar, simply because I don't use it at all for apps or any media consumption or browsing.

photo1njn.png
photo2mlm.png


I do use my Nexus 4 for vastly more stuff than my iPhone though. Everyone has a different usage level and two people with the same phones will see completely different results day in day out. No one can be right or wrong when it comes to personal battery life experiences.

As for the results that Which have posted, I'd hope they've tested all devices under the same conditions (being the kind of publication they are I'd hope this is true).
 

Nikhil72

macrumors 68000
Oct 21, 2005
1,621
1,464
Not here to start any argument, just pointing out my own experience folks. I can definitely point out that my iP5 gets well over what they're quoting as Internet use (their battery time was 261 minutes, which is 4h35m). That's 3GS territory battery life; if my phone gave up that quickly, I'd be screwed as I'm away from an outlet with my job until evening. My GS4 definitely lasted less time, but the caveat as others pointed out, was that it had a lot more going on simultaneously. That and the bigger display were just naturally going to drain the battery faster; it wasn't a surprise, and if anything, I was impressed that it didn't die nearly as rapidly as my Nexus 4 would.

In general, AnandTech's battery benchmarks are much closer to what I experienced with these devices.
 

jamezr

macrumors P6
Aug 7, 2011
16,077
19,075
US
Actually I was just sticking up for the guy who got verbally decked when he made the comment his iPhone 5 had better battery life.....

When the iPhone was winning tests I was laughing and jokingly saying "Man these tests were all you Android folks had, and now you don't have them."

Of course, they should've been taken with a grain of salt then, just like now. I like though how you assume every iOS fan (or even anyone who has a decent thing to say about iOS/the iPhone really) is some flip flopper...

And if by "accomplish something" you mean, were at the top of synthetic benchmarks AGAIN (just like each of their flagships is) then, I guess so.....doesn't really burn me per se, but I find it hilarious that this is heralded as some accomplishment, when a story like this has come out with each of Samsung's last 3 flagships.

Its almost like people hate Apple so much that they over-zealously jump on whatever bandwagon has the best chance of taking them down (which is hilarious because Samsung has been at the top of the smartphone marketshare since 2008.....yet somehow, we're always talking about how Samsung has overtaken Apple.....).

Anyways - I'm sorry I don't take these tests too seriously. I have no issue with those who do, or those who love their GS4, I'm sure its a great phone for them. I was simply pointing out, that the various use cases make it hard for a definitive statement to be made - notice I said both ways (GS4>iPhone5 and iPhone 5>GS4).
But if accolades for the Galaxy S4 bothers you....just walk away....ignore it....why jump in and say negative things? Kinda paints you in a bad light.
How would you feel about someone that takes the time to post about products they don't like or own? Like maybe the IP5.......what you think of me if I took the time to always post something negative about the IP5. Especially if I didn't own one......I did own one but got rid of it for the S4. Sow would that not seem like sour grapes for me to do that?
Oh and BTW....i have had both the IP5 and currently have the S4. They are both great phones......Have nothing negative to say about the IP5. For me and my normal use.....the batteries on the S4 and IP5 lasted about the same. I could go about 24 to 30 hours between charges.....
 

mib1800

Suspended
Sep 16, 2012
2,859
1,250
Anyways - I'm sorry I don't take these tests too seriously. I have no issue with those who do, or those who love their GS4, I'm sure its a great phone for them. I was simply pointing out, that the various use cases make it hard for a definitive statement to be made - notice I said both ways (GS4>iPhone5 and iPhone 5>GS4).

This test is definitive in the controlled test environment it was done in.

When you sit for your university entrance exam like GCE or SAT, aren't this in a controlled environment to determine who is better. This is the only practical way to rank.

Not sure what your rant is about.
 

Shanghaichica

macrumors G5
Apr 8, 2013
14,725
13,245
UK
The iPhone 5 is quite old now so you would expect it to be bettered by the S4 and the HTC one. Interesting to see that it was also beaten by the galaxy note 2 and the nexus 4 though.
 

The Game 161

macrumors Nehalem
Dec 15, 2010
30,991
20,174
UK
At the end of the day when it comes to battery life if your S4 or whatever lasts you all day thats all that matters no matter what the stats.

when I take my phone off charge at say 6am for work if it lasts all the way up to 8-9 at night before having to put it on charge then battery life is great. Being able to carry around a removeable battery is ideal too if you need it.

when i'm not at work and don't use the phone that much it can last all day and into the next..on heavy usage it normally lasts me most of the day which is all you want for such a great smart phone.
 

Switchback666

macrumors 68000
Nov 16, 2012
1,600
67
SXM
The iphone 5 seems to get better battery life on the USA :eek: never seen with my eyes an iphone with 7hrs of usage like some claim with data turned on and no wifi plus actual doing something with the phone not just playing music.

Some say while on lte/4g the chip consumes less power but 2hrs+++ more ? I doubt it and the fact that most people i see posting usage screenshot always have the wifi on,
 

thunng8

macrumors 65816
Feb 8, 2006
1,032
417
Which's testing methodology is really bad. I haven't checked if they have changed but last year they also put the s3 as double that of the iphone4s.

Then we looked at how they tested and it turns out they put all phones on maximum brightness. Iphone4s and iphone5 and the htc phones are much brighter than samsungs.

Unlike anandtech and other that tests phones at a standard 200nits.
 

jrswizzle

macrumors 603
Aug 23, 2012
6,107
129
McKinney, TX
This test is definitive in the controlled test environment it was done in.

When you sit for your university entrance exam like GCE or SAT, aren't this in a controlled environment to determine who is better. This is the only practical way to rank.

Not sure what your rant is about.

I would consider a test like the SAT or GRE much more inclusive than the above tests which measure only 3 uses (and at one time as well).

For example - are we shocked the iPhone 5 charges faster? It has a much smaller battery, OF COURSE it will charge faster. Why does that even need to be mentioned? Basically they felt bad the iPhone got trounced in other areas and decided to throw it a bone at the end by listing a common sense statistic.

----------

But if accolades for the Galaxy S4 bothers you....just walk away....ignore it....why jump in and say negative things? Kinda paints you in a bad light.
How would you feel about someone that takes the time to post about products they don't like or own? Like maybe the IP5.......what you think of me if I took the time to always post something negative about the IP5. Especially if I didn't own one......I did own one but got rid of it for the S4. Sow would that not seem like sour grapes for me to do that?
Oh and BTW....i have had both the IP5 and currently have the S4. They are both great phones......Have nothing negative to say about the IP5. For me and my normal use.....the batteries on the S4 and IP5 lasted about the same. I could go about 24 to 30 hours between charges.....

When did I say accolades for the GS4 bother me? This article wasn't the issue. It was the fact that people jumped on a poster for claiming his iPhone 5 gave him better battery life - as if that statement was blasphemy.

Samsung is the new Apple - its followers have become the very thing they've mocked. Really quite ironic. I just get sick of the double standard. Like I said, Samsung has been on top of the smartphone world (as a whole) for YEARS. This isn't new, yet people act like Samsung JUST blew up and took Apple's lunch money over night.

Truth is, Apple could never compete (on the whole) with a company like Samsung. Its simple math - I put out 1000 products, you put out 3. I can sell 1 of each and for you to keep up you have to sell 300+ times of each. I don't get why this is so hard to understand.

Both are great phones. Heck, I would go so far as to say there really isn't a bad flagship out there (a buddy of mine has a Z10 and the gesture controls are awesome). The obsession with being the best, or having the "best" smartphone is idiotic.

The iPhone 5 is NOT the best smartphone on the planet. I can easily admit that. Though for my uses, I prefer it. There isn't a one size fits all, there is no BEST smartphone on the planet. If we HAVE to rank them (which it appears we do), then you better know that these ranking are done with the most GENERAL of data.....don't be surprised if you find someone who disagrees with you claiming you hold the king of all smartphones in your hand.

Personally, I'd just as soon let sales speak for themselves and do away with rankings. What sells well will continue - right now the iPhone and Samsung's galaxy line sell the best. But as we all know, that doesn't mean they ARE the best.
 

strausd

macrumors 68030
Jul 11, 2008
2,998
1
Texas
I like though how you assume every iOS fan (or even anyone who has a decent thing to say about iOS/the iPhone really) is some flip flopper...

This is so true for about 75% of the people in this corner of MacRumors Forums. Glad I'm not the only one to notice.
 

imaginex20

macrumors 68000
Jun 17, 2009
1,513
721
I am not surprised at the results as the samsung s4 battery is like 1200 mAh more than the iphone 5 (s4 - 2600, i5 - 1434). So I would expect the battery life to last longer on the s4 during talk time taken into account if the both phone screens are off during the whole duration of the tests.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.