Other Why do people still value battery life so much?

[royas]

I am kinda confused why battery life is still such a big deal for people, considering the wide availability of power outlets and charging speeds getting faster. I assume most many people nowadays work in an office environment or from home. In this case, it shouldn't be an issue to recharge the phone. Moreover, you probably only spend a limited time on your phone at work/university, etc. anyways, so to drain the battery a lot is rather unlikely. I would like to emphasize here that this already accounts for most of the hours of the week.

The only situations, I can think of, where more battery life is useful is during gaming, video streaming, on weekends, or when someone travels outside a city environment. In this case, I get it, I also run sometimes into the issue of not having enough battery life, but even then, I mostly end up in a place like a coffee shop with power outlets. The only inconvenience here is having to bring a charger or battery pack.

This also brings up the question: What is a better idea a lighter phone with less battery life + a battery pack for travel days or a heavier phone with great battery life. The downside of a heavier phone is that you have to carry that weight every day no matter how light your phone usage is. I personally prefer the former (I use an 12 mini).

What do you guys think?

 

[realpras]

DOUBLE POST

 

[realpras]

Where do you live, which country?

 

[saber32au]

Better battery life for me.

The cons (heavier phone) is a non-issue for me. A phone weighing more (ie 200g instead of 150g) is something that is noticeable initially, but after a short while you get used to the heavier weight. The longer battery life (for me) has several advantages:

1. Longer use intervals between charges
2. Less "battery worry", whereby you have to "semi plan" out your day to ensure your battery isn't flat when you still need your phone. There are days which for reasons outside of my control, I need to use my phone more (ie impromptu phone conferences). Having a larger battery supports this unexpected situation better. A larger battery greatly nullifies this issue.
3. Less wear and tear on the battery

 

[xxray]

It’s still very annoying to have to keep topping off battery all the time, even if it’s easy. It sucks having to worry about battery life and carrying an extra battery pack when I will be away from a charger for a while.

It’s peace of mind to have long battery life. One less thing to worry about.

 

[Saladin12]

I don't want my phone to be plugged in all the time. That limits its use for me. Also for many now, their phone isn't just an entertainment device. It's device that they use to plug into the working world. Emails, productivity apps, phone calls, etc. Some freelancers even manage their workload via their phones. Battery here is important.

 

[lionofthesouth]

My phone is my alarm clock. My entertainment whilst having a break in my lorry/truck at work. I also use it as sat nav at work, sometimes for a few hours. Then add in photo and video taking my battery takes a beating (xs max, still waiting on my 13pm). Whilst I can charge it whenever I like, I would prefer to charge less.

 

[naturalguy]

Battery life is one of the main factors for me. On the go a lot, travel a lot, heavy user, etc. I don’t want to be tethered to a charger or worry about battery dying.

 

[OasisNYK]

For me it’s when I travel and I don’t have to worry about the battery. For general use it’s no big deal but if I am at work and on the road it is. I can’t tell you how many coworkers I have that suffer through poor battery life and constantly charging phones - not worth it IMHO.

 

[RRC]

Longer battery life just means it’s one less thing to worry about. I’d rather not need to worry about how much I use my phone during the day.

 

[xenoako]

A work timeline and especially travel particularly international demand good battery life.

 

[Devyn89]

Why do you assume “most” people work from an office or at home? You realize most people definitely do not work in an office or from home right? What a bizzare take lol.

 

[royas]

Why do you assume “most” people work from an office or at home? You realize most people definitely do not work in an office or from home right? What a bizzare take lol.

What would you say is more common than office work in a developed country?

 

[MisterSavage]

Why do I care if the device I could potentially use to make a life saving call has power?

 

[TopToffee]

Because no matter how fast a phone is, how good its screen is, how good the camera is or how many amazing features it has, none of that matters when the battery is dead.

 

[bbates123]

What would you say is more common than office work in a developed country?

Where I live (FL) I would say most jobs are blue collar (farming, construction, landscaping, food service, etc.) where one wouldn't have easy access to a charger.

 

[Markgnyc2]

Because no matter how fast a phone is, how good its screen is, how good the camera is or how many amazing features it has, none of that matters when the battery is dead.

This is why I ultimately went with the 13 Pro Max. I am coming from the regular 12 which had good but not great battery life. So if I could have great battery life and not have that to worry about in my day, why not?

 

[Devyn89]

What would you say is more common than office work in a developed country?

From a 10 second search:

“Retail salesperson was the most common job for both men and women, according to the survey. For men, transport truck drivers, retail and wholesale managers, carpenters and janitors/caretakers/building supervisors rounded out the top five. For women, the top five was rounded out by administrative assistants, registered nurses, cashiers and elementary school/kindergarten teachers. Only four jobs appeared in the top 20 list for both men and women: retail salespersons, retail and wholesale managers, food counter attendants/kitchen helpers and financial auditors/accountants.”

 

[joelhinch]

I am kinda confused why battery life is still such a big deal for people, considering the wide availability of power outlets and charging speeds getting faster. I assume most people nowadays work in an office environment or from home. In this case, it shouldn't be an issue to recharge the phone. Moreover, you probably only spend a limited time on your phone at work/university, etc. anyways, so to drain the battery a lot is rather unlikely. I would like to emphasize here that this already accounts for most of the hours of the week.

The only situations, I can think of, where more battery life is useful is during gaming, video streaming, on weekends, or when someone travels outside a city environment. In this case, I get it, I also run sometimes into the issue of not having enough battery life, but even then, I mostly end up in a place like a coffee shop with power outlets. The only inconvenience here is having to bring a charger or battery pack.

This also brings up the question: What is a better idea a lighter phone with less battery life + a battery pack for travel days or a heavier phone with great battery life. The downside of a heavier phone is that you have to carry that weight every day no matter how light your phone usage is. I personally prefer the former (I use an 12 mini).

What do you guys think?

It’s a Mobile Phone. Not wired Phone. SMH

 

[spiderman0616]

Because more battery life = more freedom and less worry.

Back when cell phones first went mainstream, it was commonplace to not have to charge that little green and black screen Nokia more than once every two or three days. Phones have gotten more and more power hungry YEARLY since then, but batteries haven't progressed at the same pace. We've ever-so-slowly grown to accept the fact that our iPhones often don't last us the day, and for most of us, our iPhones are probably our most important computers.

The entire iPhone 13 (and M1 MacBook Air/Pro, for that matter!) lineup is starting to approach battery life that reminds me of the old Nokia days. Where it's no big deal if I don't charge the device every day. Or if I want to get some work done or play a game without having to be concerned that my battery is only 20% charged.

The reason so many people are getting excited about this is that Apple seems to have entirely leapfrogged all the physics problems of battery tech and all the power problems of high refresh rate screens and once again zagged while everyone else zigged. It is absolutely mind boggling to think about the capabilities from here in.

 

[royas]

From a 10 second search:

“Retail salesperson was the most common job for both men and women, according to the survey. For men, transport truck drivers, retail and wholesale managers, carpenters and janitors/caretakers/building supervisors rounded out the top five. For women, the top five was rounded out by administrative assistants, registered nurses, cashiers and elementary school/kindergarten teachers. Only four jobs appeared in the top 20 list for both men and women: retail salespersons, retail and wholesale managers, food counter attendants/kitchen helpers and financial auditors/accountants.”

Where I live (FL) I would say most jobs are blue collar (farming, construction, landscaping, food service, etc.) where one wouldn't have easy access to a charger.

Ah yes, I kinda glossed over these types of jobs. My statement about most people working in an office is not accurate then.
Thank you guys for clarifying that.

Why do I care if the device I could potentially use to make a life saving call has power?

Yeah, that's a very important point. Haven't thought about this one.


Other than that, I've got the idea from most replies that the advantage of having great battery life leads to one less thing to worry about. Even when you have easy access to a charger you still have to plug in your phone, check the battery percentage, can't take the phone with you during charging, etc.
I understand why people want to avoid that.

 

[cinek2]

I don't carry a charger with me, I don't want to care/worry about my phone dying because I made last min plans to go out and won't have time to go home n charge it. This is also very useful when travelling, yes there are chargers at the airport etc but you often have to pay for those and again, last thing I want to worry about is my phone dying...

 

[ANDJOE]

I live in NY. When I’m out in the city all day I don’t want my phone to die!

 

[naturalstar]

Do you travel?
Do you spend your day away from a charger for any period of time?
Do you use your device to take pictures, stay connected, listen to music, have phone conversations?

Travel is the big reason for me. Power banks have gotten smaller and lighter over the years, but it’s still something I’ll have to carry around if I’m out on a tour or at an event away from the hotel. When I’m capturing a moment on camera or video, I don’t want to have to worry if I will have enough juice later for a serious need. Navigation is also a battery drain depending on how often or how long you will need to use it.

 

[Madhatter32]

I still prefer my Seiko quartz over the Apple Watch for, you know, the trouble free long lasting battery life. Being tethered to an electrical source is no way to live.