Battery Life Showdown

[jcp007]

Battery life showdown: See how popular flagships stack up against each other

The GS6 is not number one nor is it the worst versus it's competition. The results may not be consistent with your experience but it is an interesting article.

 

[the tall guy]

I would have to agree with the article, I've had the Note 4, Z3 and Nexus 6 for a few months at a time. I would get better battery on the Z3 than any device, followed by the Note 4, but my Nexus 6 would outlast my current S6. Either way I'm happy with my phone. Haven't had an instance where I'm close to running out of battery juice.

 

[jcp007]

I would have to agree with the article, I've had the Note 4, Z3 and Nexus 6 for a few months at a time. I would get better battery on the Z3 than any device, followed by the Note 4, but my Nexus 6 would outlast my current S6. Either way I'm happy with my phone. Haven't had an instance where I'm close to running out of battery juice.

I wish more felt this way.

 

[razza1987]

Lol to this article stating the S6 battery life is better than the six plus. I have both and get 5-6 hours screen on time on the s6 and 20 hours + standby time with approximately 10 hours usage on my six plus. The battery life on the xperia z3 was almost convincing for me to get it but not quite

 

[darthhen]

I had the Z3, the battery life was crazy!! I would charge it every 2 days or so.

 

[razza1987]

I am so jealous of the battery life threads for the s6 active lol. This has been my one gripe so far with the s6 but will be somewhat remedied with the arrival of a battery charger case this week. I hope the s6 active sells big even if I don't get to have the benefit of using one. I highly doubt it would even come to Australia lol. If it sells big maybe Samsung might realize longer lasting battery is what people want

 

[warpdrive]

I wish more felt this way.

I think that more do feel this way, is just in a forum you'll hear far more complaints than people who are happy.
It is the same on every forum here at AC including the G4 forum.

But when it comes to battery life in general, screen brightness has a huge effect on battery life. For example, if two different phones are placed on auto brightness (such as the S6 and the G4), you can get a good idea of what the battery life will be on both phones.
BUT, that doesn't mean that both phones are using the same brightness levels as each other, and one can be far brighter than the other especially outdoors. (example: outdoors, the G4 has a max brightness of only 470 nits. while the S6 has around 560 nits normally and will boost it all the way to 720 nits in ultra bright sunlight. This alone will have a huge effect on both usability and battery life.)

As a result, while I also have another new phone (Zenfone 2) with a much larger battery then what is in the S6, battery life is only the same "if" I use them both at the same percentage levels of brightness. But if I use them both at the same levels of brightness in nits, then the S6 wins by at least a good hour of screen on time if not more. (I use the zf2 as an example because it has the same size battery and almost the same max brightness as the G4)

This is why on the G4 it may win on battery life against the S6 when testing fully on auto brightness. But usability at such brightness levels are drastically different to the point that in ultra bright light the G4 may be almost unusable, while in the S6 the battery might drain fast, but you won't get any complaints about usability in said bright light.

I personally think that the article in question is a great read and fully agree with it based on my limited use and testing on said phones. You'll never get results to match with every test, but the conclusions made at the end I fully agree with. The S6 is a great phone with fantastic battery life. Maybe not the best, but definitely competitive compared to the competition, and all on a smaller battery.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[jcp007]

I think that more do feel this way, is just in a forum you'll hear far more complaints than people who are happy.
It is the same on every forum here at AC including the G4 forum.

But when it comes to battery life in general, screen brightness has a huge effect on battery life. For example, if two different phones are placed on auto brightness (such as the S6 and the G4), you can get a good idea of what the battery life will be on both phones.
BUT, that doesn't mean that both phones are using the same brightness levels as each other, and one can be far brighter than the other especially outdoors. (example: outdoors, the G4 has a max brightness of only 470 nits. while the S6 has around 560 nits normally and will boost it all the way to 720 nits in ultra bright sunlight. This alone will have a huge effect on both usability and battery life.)

As a result, while I also have another new phone (Zenfone 2) with a much larger battery then what is in the S6, battery life is only the same "if" I use them both at the same percentage levels of brightness. But if I use them both at the same levels of brightness in nits, then the S6 wins by at least a good hour of screen on time if not more. (I use the zf2 as an example because it has the same size battery and almost the same max brightness as the G4)

This is why on the G4 it may win on battery life against the S6 when testing fully on auto brightness. But usability at such brightness levels are drastically different to the point that in ultra bright light the G4 may be almost unusable, while in the S6 the battery might drain fast, but you won't get any complaints about usability in said bright light.

I personally think that the article in question is a great read and fully agree with it based on my limited use and testing on said phones. You'll never get results to match with every test, but the conclusions made at the end I fully agree with. The S6 is a great phone with fantastic battery life. Maybe not the best, but definitely competitive compared to the competition, and all on a smaller battery.

Posted via the Android Central App

Moreover, if you are running a brighter screen with more resolution with a smaller battery, it is a little unfair to compare it to a larger battery even with the larger size screen but lower resolution in addition to differing degrees of device optimization especially if they are not both Android.

 

[warpdrive]

Moreover, if you are running a brighter screen with more resolution with a smaller battery, it is a little unfair to compare it to a larger battery even with the larger size screen but lower resolution in addition to differing degrees of device optimization especially if they are not both Android.

I'm not too sure about what you are saying here. All the phones I've spoken about are at least Android. I also don't mind comparing screens of different resolutions as when it comes to battery life, the difference is not much if at all different.

Screen size, resolution, and other traits are going to be what ever they are going to be. And in real world use won't effect the battery life much at all. At least nowhere near what brightness levels will do. Such as, comparing a battery test with Max brightness on both the G4 vs the S6 or 470 nits vs 560 nits, I personally can't say that this is a fair test. I would much prefer to test them both at around 470 nits to see what both can do battery wise.

It's like my comparison of the Zenfone 2 vs the S6. Both are Android devices. Yet one is a 1080p 5.5" screen vs 1440 5.2" screen. while also one is running an Intel chipset vs the other running an exynos.

My point in my last post is that even with the best of intentions and the best tests being used, brightness levels might not always be the same and can greatly effect battery life. But pair them up at the same brightness in nits then you'll see who the real winner is, and so far the S6 is doing far better than all the 2015 phones regardless of battery size.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[jcp007]

I'm not too sure about what you are saying here. All the phones I've spoken about are at least Android. I also don't mind comparing screens of different resolutions as when it comes to battery life, the difference is not much if at all different.

Screen size, resolution, and other traits are going to be what ever they are going to be. And in real world use won't effect the battery life much at all. At least nowhere near what brightness levels will do. Such as, comparing a battery test with Max brightness on both the G4 vs the S6 or 470 nits vs 560 nits, I personally can't say that this is a fair test. I would much prefer to test them both at around 470 nits to see what both can do battery wise.

It's like my comparison of the Zenfone 2 vs the S6. Both are Android devices. Yet one is a 1080p 5.5" screen vs 1440 5.2" screen. while also one is running an Intel chipset vs the other running an exynos.

My point in my last post is that even with the best of intentions and the best tests bring used, brightness levels might not always be the same and can greatly effect battery life. But pair them up at the same brightness in nits then you'll see who the real winner is, and so far the S6 is doing far better than all the 2015 phones regardless of battery size.

Posted via the Android Central App

I agree and am not trying to dispute anything you posted. Thought it was an interesting article.

 

[warpdrive]

I agree and am not trying to dispute anything you posted. Thought it was an interesting article.

It's all good. I just don't always understand what people are saying and wanted some clarification is all, even if you did disagree.

A big thanks for posting this article as I missed it a few days ago.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[jcp007]

It's all good. I just don't always understand what people are saying and wanted some clarification is all, even if you did disagree.

A big thanks for posting this article as I missed it a few days ago.

Posted via the Android Central App

No problem.

 

[Lfsnz67]

I have to disagree with the sentiment here based on my week with the S6 Edge. I cannot get 3 hours of screen time. I'm getting basically the same battery life as with my old S4. OTOH, my daughter in law claims excellent battery life with her S6. I'm definitely considering selling and switching to a G4.
For the record, I have it set on 50% brightness, I have powersave mode on, Greenify, no facebook app, no Google Fit.

 

[warpdrive]

I have to disagree with the sentiment here based on my week with the S6 Edge. I cannot get 3 hours of screen time. I'm getting basically the same battery life as with my old S4. OTOH, my daughter in law claims excellent battery life with her S6. I'm definitely considering selling and switching to a G4.
For the record, I have it set on 50% brightness, I have powersave mode on, Greenify, no facebook app, no Google Fit.

If you have all of your settings set up the same exact way as your S4, and on the same carrier, and your S4 is on lollipop, my only question is what carrier are you on?
You should be getting about 1 to 2 hours of extra SoT as compared to the S4.

Edit: oh, and the first few days to a week is going to be worse than normal as your phone is learning your behaviors and downloading tons of stuff and updates that will not be like this normally.

So what carrier are you on again?

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[DSMpowerhousegroup]

I have to disagree with the sentiment here based on my week with the S6 Edge. I cannot get 3 hours of screen time. I'm getting basically the same battery life as with my old S4. OTOH, my daughter in law claims excellent battery life with her S6. I'm definitely considering selling and switching to a G4.
For the record, I have it set on 50% brightness, I have powersave mode on, Greenify, no facebook app, no Google Fit.

People with G4 are having battery life issues. I get 5 to 6 hours sot s6 edge. Average 15 hours+.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[warpdrive]

People with G4 are having battery life issues. I get 5 to 6 hours sot s6 edge. Average 15 hours+.

Posted via the Android Central App

What's worse is that most people who have both phones claim that the S6 has better battery life than the G4.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[Almeuit]

People with G4 are having battery life issues. I get 5 to 6 hours sot s6 edge. Average 15 hours+.

Posted via the Android Central App

What's worse is that most people who have both phones claim that the S6 has better battery life than the G4.

Posted via the Android Central App

These vary a lot person by person -- To just say one is 100% superior would be an exaggeration. There are both sides with issues even though both are good phones.

 

[Lfsnz67]

I have Att . I had a G3 also and of course the battery life is not dramatically better but the replaceable battery is the main advantage..

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[MDMcAtee]

I have found that both the g4 and the Active has to be adjusted in the settings to get the best battery life out of them.

Once I switched off allowing all of the apps that I didn't want or need to stop running in the background... My standby time doubled with the Active. I'm averaging 24 hours between charges and 7 to 8 hours Sot now. Straight out of the box just average 4-5 hours Sot. This is with tons of browsing, texting, you tube videos and music streaming too.

As good as my g4 was I could never achieve this. Also while the standby time was phenomenal, once you started using it after hibernating as it does, the battery drops like a rock, where as my Active doesn't.

Posted from my Samsung S6 Active

 

[jcp007]

Samsung's new battery tech can fit 4000+ mAh in the size of the Galaxy S6 juicer

Wouldn't it be great if we can get a sealed battery with 4k mAh capacity in the GS7 or GS8?