Other Why do people still value battery life so much?

[brucewayne]

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.

Today's batteries have much more battery density than what was in a 1990's cell phone.

The biggest difference is that we spend so much more time on phones than we did when a phone was used for phone calls and the occasional game of snake. An iPhone in your pocket is now your television, walkman, camcorder, computer, GPS, Gameboy, mailbox, encyclopedia, personal assistant, newspaper......

Even without the Apple innovations you mentioned, I can easily finish the day at 80% if I put it down and forget about it like I did in 1997.

 

[Southernguy]

Same for me too!

Story time: years ago when I first moved overseas (younger and dumber than I am today!), I setup an evening of dinner and drinks with a girl I meet of a dating app (Tinder, some of you may of heard it).

My trusty 4s was 100% fully charged when I jumped on the train, but down to around 60% when I jumped off the train about 70mins later.

Meet the girl and we went off to have dinner and drinks. One drink turned into several, and soon enough I was jumping from one bar to the next. Thick stone walls and phone reception aren't a great mix, and after stumbling out of a bar at 3am or so, my battery was on it's last legs.

Annoyed at my trusty 4s for barely lasting the night, and having no idea where I was, I asked for directions back to the station telling her that my phone is nearly flat so I can't rely on it to navigate. She responded (in thick glaswegian): "U canne be out here steamin with a deed phone". I accepted her offer to charge my phone at her place...and ended up leaving later that afternoon

Ooh you Jezebel 😜

 

[kanga1622]

My husband has an "office job" but often subs at sites in a several county area. So he needs a phone that can make it through the day and he usually streams music while driving from site to site. And Pokemon Go is a real battery drain.

 

[spiderman0616]

Today's batteries have much more battery density than what was in a 1990's cell phone.

The biggest difference is that we spend so much more time on phones than we did when a phone was used for phone calls and the occasional game of snake. An iPhone in your pocket is now your television, walkman, camcorder, computer, GPS, Gameboy, mailbox, encyclopedia, personal assistant, newspaper......

Even without the Apple innovations you mentioned, I can easily finish the day at 80% if I put it down and forget about it like I did in 1997.

Think of it. Future you from 2021 comes to visit childhood you from whenever you were a kid and tells you, "In the year 2021 you will own a single device that will give you access to all the world's knowledge, communications, resources, and media. It will look like a device from the Starship: Enterprise and will make all of the stuff you're using right now obsolete. Including that bookshelf over there. Happy waiting!"

 

[Adelphos33]

Back in the day, we had Blackberries for work with long battery life, and iPhones for personal, and you basically split your usage across two phones. Now, most people have one. If I am on the road at meetings, I need a phone that can do calls, view e-mail, log into Zoom, etc. I may not want to plug in all day. All day battery life is great when you need it.

 

[Markgnyc2]

Think of it. Future you from 2021 comes to visit childhood you from whenever you were a kid and tells you, "In the year 2021 you will own a single device that will give you access to all the world's knowledge, communications, resources, and media. It will look like a device from the Starship: Enterprise and will make all of the stuff you're using right now obsolete. Including that bookshelf over there. Happy waiting!"

Im 48 years old. I remember getting my first beeper and thinking it was the greatest thing ever. Even though when someone "beeped" you, if you weren't home you had to find a pay phone. Then when I got my first Motorola brick phone it was truly amazing. And that battery lasted maybe for an hours worth of calls lol.

 

[daddyd302]

At my workplace, some areas are great others not so great for my phone's signal. When the signal is great, I leave after 10 1/2 hours with 80%. On other days when it's bad, I leave with about 55%. So big batteries means alot to me.

 

[kevink2]

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

Vacations. I was just on a trip, and since the phone is used for photos, navigation, and for contacting Uber. (Previous trip, used for subways). Don't want the phone to go dead before returning to hotel at night.

So on this trip, I brought a second phone and a battery backup. Depending on conditions, in one case I was able to add some charge. In other cases, I just used the backup phone/camera.

If it was more regular, I would just buy a battery/case.

 

[kevink2]

During the week it is moot, sure, but on the weekend when I'm out all day I have a small amount of time to charge while in the car, but that's about it. And iPhone doesn't really charge quickly, so I'd prefer to have decent battery life.

Also if you are ever out somewhere taking photos/videos you will burn battery quite fast.

I had another trip this year that was a driving trip. Didn't have battery issues on that one, since spent much of the trip in my own car. So phone was kept charged.

 

[thermal]

Recently did a week long camping trip in Banff. I had a 20,000 mha charger with me, but ran out of power after five days due to all the pictures taken.

 

[azhava]

Im 48 years old. I remember getting my first beeper and thinking it was the greatest thing ever. Even though when someone "beeped" you, if you weren't home you had to find a pay phone. Then when I got my first Motorola brick phone it was truly amazing. And that battery lasted maybe for an hours worth of calls lol.

...and if you were lucky you got 60 minutes of call time per month on your plan, and sending/receiving texts cost anywhere from .10 to .25 apiece!

 

[throAU]

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'm not always near a power outlet. I'm not always wanting to give up my phone during the working day to let it charge when i would otherwise be using it.

Wireless charging helps, sure - but it doesn't help those who are outside or away from a charger all day. They're MOBILE devices, not really supposed to be tethered to an external power source.

 

[MrMojo1]

I'd rather not charge or worry about the iPhone much.
The iPhone is not just an entertainment device but a necessary device since it's used personally and for work. I can't have the phone die out because the battery went dead.
I also travel so having a GPS is essential as well as a media player to listen to music or audiobooks.

 

[tis]

I'm not always near a power outlet. I'm not always wanting to give up my phone during the working day to let it charge when i would otherwise be using it.

Wireless charging helps, sure - but it doesn't help those who are outside or away from a charger all day. They're MOBILE devices, not really supposed to be tethered to an external power source.

So you can't pull yourself away from staring at your phone for 30 minutes mid day? It sounds like you need to expand your lifestyle to things other than staring at your phone. It's not a battery issue.

 

[usr0]

I understand your question, every use case is different though. I am just a bit annoyed with Apple for feature withholding when it comes to battery life. I mean, they sold a product last year with average battery life at best(12 mini), only to fit it with a larger battery and sell it as a revised version the next year. Which is something they could honestly do wherever: fatten the phone and fit it with a larger battery.

 

[spiderman0616]

I understand your question, every use case is different though. I am just a bit annoyed with Apple for feature withholding when it comes to battery life. I mean, they sold a product last year with average battery life at best(12 mini), only to fit it with a larger battery and sell it as a revised version the next year. Which is something they could honestly do wherever: fatten the phone and fit it with a larger battery.

Apple didn’t “withhold” battery life on the iPhone 12. Work on the iPhone 12 began years ago. They release the features that are ready to be released, whatever year that ends up being.

The only way the iPhone 13 gets the battery life it gets is with meticulous product development and tight integrations. If it could have been this way on earlier models without lessening the user experience in other areas, they would have done it sooner than the 13.

 

[fatTribble]

This is always going to be personal preference. I’d love to have the light weight and thin form factor of the iPhone 6 again, but not at the expense of battery life. The heavier, thicker iPhone just doesn’t bother me that much. Most people I know do not want to charge during the day.

 

[usr0]

Apple didn’t “withhold” battery life on the iPhone 12. Work on the iPhone 12 began years ago. They release the features that are ready to be released, whatever year that ends up being.

The only way the iPhone 13 gets the battery life it gets is with meticulous product development and tight integrations. If it could have been this way on earlier models without lessening the user experience in other areas, they would have done it sooner than the 13.

Sounds right, I didn't think of it that way. In any case, I will be looking to upgrade to the 13 pro next month, improved battery life is reason enough for me.

 

[spiderman0616]

Sounds right, I didn't think of it that way. In any case, I will be looking to upgrade to the 13 pro next month, improved battery life is reason enough for me.

If the that’s the main reason you’re upgrading, the 13 is not going to disappoint you. You’re in for a much better experience.

 

[MacBiter]

This has made a difference for me:

30 Fixes to Instantly Stop Your iPhone Battery Draining Fast!

Is your iPhone battery draining fast? Follow these 30 tips and tricks to revive your battery!

global.ipitaka.com

 

[dk001]

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?

It really depends.
If I am at home I have chargers all over (stands) and can charge as needed. If I know I am going to be out and about, I take a cable and a small brick.
btw - I use a 12 ProMax.

However ....
My main is a OnePlus 9 Pro. Biggest benefit is ... charging. This and my 12PM get about the same battery life. The 9 Pro I can drop on a high watt stand or a high watt brick and get a very quick high battery percentage charge. Close to 100% in about a half hour. Can't do that on the 12PM. Wish Apple would allow high capacity charging.

Then there is the watch. My Apple watch (4 Nike GPS) has to be charged daily. My OnePlus Sport watch can go up to two weeks on a charge and it does 90% of what my AW does.

So battery life is a big issue as it is something I would rather not have to deal with or plan for.

Q: For those that have them, is a 13PM that big of an improvement on battery life?

 

[dj1891]

Battery life for me is the number 1 factor. I need a phone that can take a good hammering and not have to worry about battery life. I recently came from android, my previous phone had a 65w charger, from flat to full in 35mins on a 4000mah battery. I never had to worry about battery life. My iPhone even with the 20w charger is slow as hell charging but not thankfully after taking a couple of days to settle ios15 it seems to be lasting as long as my old phone

 

[royas]

It really depends.
If I am at home I have chargers all over (stands) and can charge as needed. If I know I am going to be out and about, I take a cable and a small brick.
btw - I use a 12 ProMax.

However ....
My main is a OnePlus 9 Pro. Biggest benefit is ... charging. This and my 12PM get about the same battery life. The 9 Pro I can drop on a high watt stand or a high watt brick and get a very quick high battery percentage charge. Close to 100% in about a half hour. Can't do that on the 12PM. Wish Apple would allow high capacity charging.

Then there is the watch. My Apple watch (4 Nike GPS) has to be charged daily. My OnePlus Sport watch can go up to two weeks on a charge and it does 90% of what my AW does.

So battery life is a big issue as it is something I would rather not have to deal with or plan for.

Q: For those that have them, is a 13PM that big of an improvement on battery life?

The current Android phones are probably a better example for this whole debate. The charging speeds on these phones are way beyond what Iphones can do right now. There is even a Xiaomi phone with 120W quick charging, where you get like forty percent in 5 minutes. However, reading through the responses I've got here, people don't really want to bother about recharging a phone during the day even when it takes not that long anymore.


Well, very interesting discussion for me. Thank you guys for these detailed responses. I've definitely got a broader perspective on this topic now.

 

[Cavefishes]

Think of it. Future you from 2021 comes to visit childhood you from whenever you were a kid and tells you, "In the year 2021 you will own a single device that will give you access to all the world's knowledge, communications, resources, and media. It will look like a device from the Starship: Enterprise and will make all of the stuff you're using right now obsolete. Including that bookshelf over there. Happy waiting!"

I absolutely wished for this when sitting in the car for hours as a kid going on vacation! Honestly we were sort of there already in the early 2010s, smartphones were getting incredibly functional and ubiquitous by then, but the cumulative improvements from the Galaxy Nexus I had back in 2011 to the 13 Pro Max I have now is just mind blowing.

Childhood wish definitely granted, for better or for worse!

 

[Natzoo]

Why do people value cars when they are all the same? The answer is that you paid for that product for a reason. Also, Im not at home all day like some users on this forum so the battery is important. Like range is for a car.

IMO this is a bad question that wasn't thought out tbh.