6P - Let's talk battery expectations

[Alex_NJ]

After seeing the reviews come in with 4hr 30 SOT, from a 3400mAh battery. Am I wrong to expect a little more?

I was getting 4hr 30 SOT from my HTC M8, which had 2400mAh battery.

But when the OPO was out, people were getting 5hr 30 SOT.

 

[bpe4]

Re: Let's talk battery expectations

After seeing the reviews come in with 4hr 30 SOT, from a 3400mAh battery. Am I wrong to expect a little more?

I was getting 4hr 30 SOT from my HTC M8, which had 2400mAh battery.

But when the OPO was out, people were getting 5hr 30 SOT.

I'd say wait one week after everyone has had their phone... then check what SoT people are getting. I would think 5 hour will be the average after the phones have 'settled in'. From previous experience, it also seems Li-Ion batteries improve after 2-3 weeks of charge cyles.

 

[tacosrdelicioso]

Re: Let's talk battery expectations

Android police only got 3h sot consistently. Which I thought was total bs.

 

[Alex_NJ]

Re: Let's talk battery expectations

Android police only got 3h sot consistently. Which I thought was total bs.

This was my first warning, I put this down to an obscure result. But then PocketNow didn't get much better, and now Android Authority got 4hr 30.

And this is without all of those apps installed, and I assume no widgets.

 

[wunderbar]

Re: Let's talk battery expectations

I posted basically the same thing in another thread, but SoT is a hugely inconsistent metric for battery life.

I could play streaming music for 10 hours, turn my screen on for 10 minutes, have the battery die, then say I got 10 minutes of SoT.

I could watch netflix streaming over 4G with 100% brightness and get an hour or so of SoT.

I could read an ebook at 5% brightness in airplane mode and get 8 hours of SoT.

This is why using SoT as a metric from how other people use their phones is not a good measure. Maybe comparing your own use case between different phones that you use. But not against how others use a phone.

 

[anon(677651)]

Re: Let's talk battery expectations

what I am most excited about is the charge time

"25 percent up to 45 percent in just 15 minutes and charge from nil to full in just over an hour. "

From The Verge
Nexus 6P review: the best Android phone | The Verge

 

[anon(847090)]

Re: Let's talk battery expectations

I posted basically the same thing in another thread, but SoT is a hugely inconsistent metric for battery life.

I could play streaming music for 10 hours, turn my screen on for 10 minutes, have the battery die, then say I got 10 minutes of SoT.

I could watch netflix streaming over 4G with 100% brightness and get an hour or so of SoT.

I could read an ebook at 5% brightness in airplane mode and get 8 hours of SoT.

This is why using SoT as a metric from how other people use their phones is not a good measure. Maybe comparing your own use case between different phones that you use. But not against how others use a phone.

Nailed it

 

[Almeuit]

Re: Let's talk battery expectations

And this is without all of those apps installed, and I assume no widgets.

See that is the issue though -- you don't know what they were doing on the phone. I can get my phone to have great SoT if I manage it right -- and other days I can kill ANY phone really fast. For example .. One day I could just stream music and browse the web and get really great SoT whereas the next day I have the phone at 90% brightness, streaming live HD video over LTE constantly, and get bad SoT. Or like some days at work (if a co-worker needs it) I can be streaming live HD video at 90% brightness + have my hotspot going for them. That will kill the battery SO fast that SoT will be abysmal.

You have to know everything that is going on... Syncs, Widgets, Brightness, Cell Signal (boldness added because a weak or strong signal can make or break a battery). It is hard to just say "This phone has this big of a battery so everyone should expect 5+ hours or better of SoT".

 

[mookiekillsit]

Re: Let's talk battery expectations

You have to know everything that is going on... Syncs, Widgets, Brightness, Cell Signal (boldness added because a weak or strong signal can make or break a battery). It is hard to just say "This phone has this big of a battery so everyone should expect 5+ hours or better of SoT".

People who constantly whine about the battery never seem to grasp this concept and it's soooooo easy and logical to understand. 8th Wonder of the World? Meh, wouldn't go that far.... just yet

Battery discussion threads are almost pointless.

 

[CarbonOak]

Re: Let's talk battery expectations

I posted basically the same thing in another thread, but SoT is a hugely inconsistent metric for battery life.

I could play streaming music for 10 hours, turn my screen on for 10 minutes, have the battery die, then say I got 10 minutes of SoT.

I could watch netflix streaming over 4G with 100% brightness and get an hour or so of SoT.

I could read an ebook at 5% brightness in airplane mode and get 8 hours of SoT.

This is why using SoT as a metric from how other people use their phones is not a good measure. Maybe comparing your own use case between different phones that you use. But not against how others use a phone.

Absolutely. I'm quoting you because everyone needs to see this.

They need to sticky this response in big bold letters all over the forums for any phone because screen on time is such as individual use case.

 

[Joe Preen]

I have high hopes for marshmallow, the battery life on my 6 significantly improved when I upgraded to 6.0 so surely as the 6p has a smaller screen and a bigger battery it should improve even more

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[CoMoNexus]

Re: Let's talk battery expectations

From previous experience, it also seems Li-Ion batteries improve after 2-3 weeks of charge cyles.

Yup. That's another reason why I'm waiting a few more weeks before I decide whether to order a 6P: It will give reviewers more time for their phones to break in and give a better picture of how they'll perform over the long term.

 

[Alex_NJ]

Re: Let's talk battery expectations

Yup. That's another reason why I'm waiting a few more weeks before I decide whether to order a 6P: It will give reviewers more time for their phones to break in and give a better picture of how they'll perform over the long term.

I guess I respect MKBHD for this. He really does spend a long time with the phone before reviewing

 

[vzwuser76]

Re: Let's talk battery expectations

I posted basically the same thing in another thread, but SoT is a hugely inconsistent metric for battery life.

I could play streaming music for 10 hours, turn my screen on for 10 minutes, have the battery die, then say I got 10 minutes of SoT.

I could watch netflix streaming over 4G with 100% brightness and get an hour or so of SoT.

I could read an ebook at 5% brightness in airplane mode and get 8 hours of SoT.

This is why using SoT as a metric from how other people use their phones is not a good measure. Maybe comparing your own use case between different phones that you use. But not against how others use a phone.

The reason SOT is used as a metric is because most people are using the device with their screen on, and the screen is usually the biggest offender in terms of battery draw. Sure there are apps that use the battery with the screen off, but apps are not consistent in terms of battery draw. Two different apps performing the same function can draw wildly different amounts of juice. It all depends on how well the coding is done.

SOT is one of the better metrics in determining how long you can browse the web, since your screen will be on while you're browsing. The only real way you'll see a difference between different devices of the same model, assuming the same amount of background apps running and signal strength, is the screen brightness. If one guy has his screen brightness at 30% and another has his set at 100%, the latter will get less battery life.

 

[vzwuser76]

As I alluded to in my previous post, the amount of background apps and signal strength, along with screen brightness will have a huge effect on SOT. So far, in all the reviews I've read on the 6p, I've seen a SOT range from 3 hours on the low side to over 6 hours on the high side. Knowing that, I feel it will definitely be a solid performer. I'm coming from a Droid Turbo which should have awesome SOT with a 3900 mAh battery, yet I'm usually getting around 3 hours of SOT. It was better before LP, but still wasn't as good as my Droid Maxx was.

It all comes down to your usage and how well you manage your device.

 

[Alex_NJ]

3900mAh...jesus christ why was this never released in the UK

 

[CarbonOak]

As I alluded to in my previous post, the amount of background apps and signal strength, along with screen brightness will have a huge effect on SOT. So far, in all the reviews I've read on the 6p, I've seen a SOT range from 3 hours on the low side to over 6 hours on the high side. Knowing that, I feel it will definitely be a solid performer. I'm coming from a Droid Turbo which should have awesome SOT with a 3900 mAh battery, yet I'm usually getting around 3 hours of SOT. It was better before LP, but still wasn't as good as my Droid Maxx was.

It all comes down to your usage and how well you manage your device.

(emphasis mine)

That's exactly what wunderbar was saying; everyone's usage is different and thus screen on time is a poor metric. Having a range of 3-6 hrs SoT is a huge range without knowing exactly what each person was doing on the phone and the apps they run every minute of their usage.

 

[Almeuit]

3900mAh...jesus christ why was this never released in the UK

The Turbo is a Verizon Exclusive phone.

 

[vzwuser76]

3900mAh...jesus christ why was this never released in the UK

There was a supposed international model available, however I believe it was only available in South America as the Moto Maxx. This year there are two similar phones available outside the US, the Moto X Play (which will be the Droid Maxx 2 on Verizon) and the Moto X Force (which will be the Droid Turbo 2 on Verizon). They don't have as big a battery as the original, (the Play is around 3400mAh and the Force is around 3600mAh) but I believe they're supposed to be available globally. They also have a smaller screens (5.5" and lower) than the 6p.

 

[vzwuser76]

(emphasis mine)

That's exactly what wunderbar was saying; everyone's usage is different and thus screen on time is a poor metric. Having a range of 3-6 hrs SoT is a huge range without knowing exactly what each person was doing on the phone and the apps they run every minute of their usage.

Then in that case there is no point in doing tests, because no one person will use their device the same as another. A streaming test won't be accurate, because the signal strengths might not be the same from one person to another. Because of the infinite number of factors, personal usage, core phone settings, apps installed and their individual settings, environmental factors like signal strength and atmospheric conditions, etc, etc, there is no way to get a measurement that is 100% accurate for everyone, it's just not possible.

But you have to start somewhere. I've had people tell me that tests like those done on PhoneArena aren't valid because their tests aren't as scientific as those on a site like Anandtech. While that may be true, it does give you a starting point. A rundown test may not tell you exactly how long it will last, but it does give you an idea of how battery life will compare to another device. But otherwise there would be no tests they could do that would be relevant because everyone uses their devices differently.

The same applies to gas mileage in cars. Every person drives differently, so the tests they do that say this model will get X amount of mileage may not be what you'll see, but it gives you a rough idea. The only way you'll truly know how much mileage you'll get is by running it yourself, same with a smartphone 's battery life. But you have to start somewhere.