Acceptable and realistic battery life

[DaveInFL]

The HTC 10 might be able to go two full days if you don't use it. But I've been using it. It does not last two full days.

What kind of battery life have you been experiencing?

 

[Almeuit]

What kind of battery life have you been experiencing?

From the podcast they said a day usually. Not 2.

 

[Bearcats98]

From the podcast they said a day usually. Not 2.

A day is 24 hours between unplug and plug for lack of a better term and frame of time reference. What can we use to determine that it lasts xxx? The only basic parameter is to post a screen shot of SOT and assorted other user "using" functions. 24 hours and 4 hours SOT with texting, browsing and streaming media would be good in my book I think.

 

[D13H4RD2L1V3]

Honestly, 48 hours of battery life is kind of a silly claim.

But I remember that they said "up to", so I'm not as big on that as I would if they actually promised 48 hours.

 

[DaveInFL]

Right, I was never expecting 48 hours. If it can last 20 hours with decent usage that then is fine with me. After all, I need to sleep sometime and this phone should charge in 90 mins

 

[D13H4RD2L1V3]

I've only seen 48 hours claimed by reviewers who said that came from HTC. I have not heard or seen HTC make this claim.

Look at the attached image.

(I live by 3 words. fastboot flashing unlock)

 

[Laura Knotek]

Look at the attached image.

(I live by 3 words. fastboot flashing unlock)

My guess is that "normal use" isn't typical of those of us who are members of the Android Central forums. We're probably "heavy users".

 

[D13H4RD2L1V3]

My guess is that "normal use" isn't typical of those of us who are members of the Android Central forums. We're probably "heavy users".

That's basically it.

I can kill the battery of a GS7 Edge before the day ends. My G4 is practically begging for a charger after 8 hours.

(I live by 3 words. fastboot flashing unlock)

 

[D13H4RD2L1V3]

As someone who flies for a living. It says up to 2 days. That doesn't mean 48 hours! The best it can do is 2 days but that would have to be under optimal conditions. I deal with engineers and they will tell you that doesn't mean 48 hours. A plane can only glide so far, but if the plane is overweight it's not going to reach its max glide potential and the same applies with the gear down vs up. Everything I am saying is what applies to a phones battery too. I'm pretty sure I can make my phone last 48 hours since I am a lite user. A heavy users phone won't last 48 hours.

Hence, why there's an “up-to”.

Another point is that when a company claims “2 day battery life”, people usually assume 48 hours, since a day is 24 hours and adding another day makes it 48.

I think we have to remember that when a manufacturer makes claims about battery life, it's usually assuming the best case scenario. Usage patterns are unpredictable, so battery life for every user will be different.

Some people can go for nearly 2 whole days on my old M7, while I can kill the thing in less than 18 hours. Same applies here.

(I live by 3 words. fastboot flashing unlock)

 

[D13H4RD2L1V3]

It doesn't say "2 days battery life. It says "up to 2 days battery life." There is a difference.

I know. I mentioned it at the top of my OP.

And some people assume the same thing, regardless of whether there's an “up to” or not.

Don't ask me why, but I've taught myself to read the fine print and adjust my expectations when reading ad material. Because I get too excited when reading them at times.

(I live by 3 words. fastboot flashing unlock)

 

[D13H4RD2L1V3]

The bottom line is this.

Regardless of whatever claims I see in ad material, if the battery lasts about a day with usage patterns similar to mine, it's automatically good enough for me.

The big takeaway here is to not take claims too seriously, note any smaller details, such as an "up to" and always read the fine print. My parents don't really read the fine print, so I have to do it in order to explain what it means.

As an example, while HTC puts the “up to 2 days” in the headline, Motorola puts it in the description of a feature in the Turbo 2, meaning that the headline says “48 hour battery”, which sounds different compared to the former (and I don't mean counting the days as hours).

 

[Habiib]

This all reminds me of the exact same claims from Sony for the Z3 compact. They did go into detail as their method of testing.

Up to 2 Day Battery Life

During battery performance testing conducted between July and September 2014 in a laboratory under active use conditions reflective of the Typical Smartphone User by Sony Mobile Communications AB, the Z3 lasted at least 48 hours on average until battery exhaustion.

Battery performance testing reflective of a Typical Smartphone User usage profile involved using the device for approximately 5 hours in a 24-hour period, for a range of typical usage scenarios (calling, texting, web, social networking, games, camera, music and video). Default settings were applied for the device during battery performance testing including display brightness of 100 Nits and Battery stamina mode off. Typical Smartphone User usage profile. This involved using the device for approximately 5 hours in a 24-hour period, for a range of typical usage scenarios (calling, texting, web, social networking, games, camera, music and video).

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[D13H4RD2L1V3]

This all reminds me of the exact same claims from Sony for the Z3 compact. They did go into detail as their method of testing.



Posted via the Android Central App

Yep. That type of usage pattern doesn't necessarily apply to everyone. Everyone has different usage patterns, and as such, battery life between individuals won't always be the same.

It's important to note the "Up to", which means the theoretical maximum device uptime depending on the usage.

"48 hour battery life" and "Up to 48 hour battery life" are actually different.

As for me, I review my daily drivers as part of my time-killing hobby when I'm bored. I don't take the manufacturer's claims of battery life overly seriously but I use them to give me a rough look at how the battery would last in the best-case scenario.

When I test the battery life of my devices, I just use them the way I normally would. I use the percentage counter and GSam to show me how much battery I've used throughout my day, and what is draining it and how long is its uptime. Generally, if my phone manages to have around 20-25% left after a day with my normal usage pattern, it's a winner in my books.

Also, note these important points. "Tested in a laboratory" and "48 hours on average". These 2 should catch your attention quite a bit.

 

[DaveInFL]

My initial post on this clearly states "Up to 48 hours" I also think I have stated a few times that realistically wasn't going to happen. My post was asking for what people thought would be a good realistic number. Myself I stated 18-20 hours, which I still think is plenty. I don't consider myself a heavy user but can get to 4.5 hours of SOT some days.

Seems that information coming in is mixed, so not sure what to expect. With a 3000 ma battery and Marshmallow I was hoping to get a least a full day (18 - 20 hours) of good, solid use out of the phone.

Phil stated a full day for him, but I would like for him to break that down a bit more so that we have a better idea what his full day is and his usage.

 

[popartist]

My initial post on this clearly states "Up to 48 hours" I also think I have stated a few times that realistically wasn't going to happen. My post was asking for what people thought would be a good realistic number. Myself I stated 18-20 hours, which I still think is plenty. I don't consider myself a heavy user but can get to 4.5 hours of SOT some days.

Seems that information coming in is mixed, so not sure what to expect. With a 3000 ma battery and Marshmallow I was hoping to get a least a full day (18 - 20 hours) of good, solid use out of the phone.

Phil stated a full day for him, but I would like for him to break that down a bit more so that we have a better idea what his full day is and his usage.

I would imagine a full day for Phil is pretty full of phone use! At least for all the usual business purposes (including photos and videos). Probably should keep in mind with some of these early phone reviews is that the phone is still pre-release and they are still tinkering with software, so battery life may still be a moving target.

For me, being above 35% after being off charger 8AM-11PM with normal use (for me - I am a fairly heavy user but not a gamer or heavy on the YouTubes) day is good battery life.

 

[JBeef]

Does my post help you understand what HTC meant in that ad? Most engineers would laugh at people using that ad as a basis for an argument. It's like that $125 BB-8 toy.

Everyone can see what "up to" means. But is it good advertising? MOST people will look at that and latch on to the "2 days" part. And when the phone obviously gets nowhere near that in real use (any modern phone can last 2 days if you barely use it) they are going to be disappointed. When reviews say battery life is average (less than the s7s and 6P according to AC podcast) will MOST people remember "up to"? Or will they think HTC is full of it and be disappointed because they remember the "2 days" line.
By contrast I had the Xperia Z3 (advertised at the time with similar slogans) and when it first came out the box the battery was insanely good. It was genuinely hard to kill it in a day. No other phone on the market at the time came close. From what I've heard of the HTC 10 it's surpassed by a load of older flagships.
Are HTC lying? No. They say "up to". But are they making a rod for their own backs? A little bit.

 

[DaveInFL]

I personally would still like to see some screenshots showing battery stats that the lucky people who the HTC 10's in their hands can show us

 

[hgoldner#CB]

Do you work for HTC? If I recall correctly M8 could easily last more than 5hr SoT. So how much screen and overall time do you get on 10?

No, I do not work for HTC. I have owned their devices since 2010 and have tested several different handsets. My comment was based upon 8+ weeks with the device as my "principal" handset.

 

[neo905]

No, I do not work for HTC. I have owned their devices since 2010 and have tested several different handsets. My comment was based upon 8+ weeks with the device as my "principal" handset.

Great. Now post screenshots.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[Jay Gamblore]

According to HTC they state that the HTC 10 can get up to 48 hours of battery life, of course with the following * comment:

Battery life may vary based on cellular network, location, signal strength, feature configurations, phone usage, and many other factors. Actual results may vary.

My question is, what is real life acceptable battery life to most people? I currently have the SGS7e and I am getting 24+ hours out of it with around 4 hrs of SOT, which is great but in all honesty if I take the phone off charge at 6am and have enough batter to last me to around 11pm at night that's sufficient since I always charge whilst sleeping.

I can understand that peoples circumstances are different and there might be the odd time when you need that little more out of the battery.

So, if the HTC 10 can provide 18-20 hours or real life battery time is that sufficient or will it be seen as a negative compared to the SGS7e, for example?

Thoughts and comments welcome

I'm surprised that you are only getting 4 hours of sot on your s7 edge. I'm getting on average 6 hrs.. Weird.

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