Fed up with poor battery life, and then...

[Stwutter]

I converted to an LG G3 when it was released, having switched from Blackberry (Z30).

Blackberry had some great features, one of which was half-decent battery life. But I did get fed up with lack of apps, not knowing which direction they were going etc. etc...

So - the G3. An amazing phone in so many ways. Huge screen, in a package that belies that fact. Lovely in the hand, and I doubt plastic has ever looked more like premium metal on a phone. Nice UI. Crisp, but with occasional lag - overall, really good. But...

... Battery - I know that this is a well-trodden path, but it was average. If the screen was on, it dropped like a stone. Then in standby, flat. My device monitor looked like a staircase. Average daily usage - 12-14hrs max. Sometimes on heavy days, unplugging at 6am, I was on the charger or swapping batteries at 3 or 4pm.

So, I struck a deal, and took the plunge with the Sony Z3. I'd heard & read great things about the battery life, and liked the feel and look of it. Had it 48 hours - this is my battery usage today -



This is with 30mins gaming on the way to work, numerous e-mails & texts, download of 30 mins of video, 15 mins YT streaming and a bit of FB & Twitter.

I've only written this as a new thread as they're are so many 'The battery is great if you do this' threads out there. I've really used this phone today, and the figures are pretty incredible I think. It's fine using severe saving measures if you really need to, but I was fed up of 'turn this of' and 'Look for this rogue app.'. It's just nice to finally find a top-end smartphone that genuinely delivers on battery life without having to make sacrifices to preserve it.

I've not affinity to one brand or another, but I'm delighted with the Z3 thus far.

 

[Manmikey]

Thanks for this, I'm fed up with nursing my battery through the day, I have an HTC One M7, it will get through the day if I'm careful, and don't use it heavily but it's usually on the charger in the evening, before that I had a Galaxy S2 before that and IPhone 3g, both were poor battery wise. I bought a smart watch recently and need blue tooth on all the while to use that smart watch, but my mobile battery can't cope with his extra demand, never mind if i want GPS on!

So I've decided the choice of my next smart phone, due next Feb when my contract is up, will be based on battery life first, and I've read enough reviews now to get a sense that the Z3 and Z3c can really last up to 2 days with normal use.
Your personal experience seems to confirms this so I appreciate you sharing it.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[Stwutter]

Thanks for this, I'm fed up with nursing my battery through the day, I have an HTC One M7, it will get through the day if I'm careful, and don't use it heavily but it's usually on the charger in the evening, before that I had a Galaxy S2 before that and IPhone 3g, both were poor battery wise. I bought a smart watch recently and need blue tooth on all the while to use that smart watch, but my mobile battery can't cope with his extra demand, never mind if i want GPS on!

So I've decided the choice of my next smart phone, due next Feb when my contract is up, will be based on battery life first, and I've read enough reviews now to get a sense that the Z3 and Z3c can really last up to 2 days with normal use.
Your personal experience seems to confirms this so I appreciate you sharing it.

Posted via Android Central App

Well, this is the first time a battery seems to have delivered on its promise in my experience. February? Knowing Sony the Z4 will be out by then!

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[JBeef]

It's the first phone I've had where I don't bother to turn off data or GPS etc to try and save battery.

 

[smooth4lyfe]

It's the first phone I've had where I don't bother to turn off data or GPS etc to try and save battery.

Same here man, with my Galaxy S5, I had to switch between turning off and on GPS, with this phone, I don't even think about it and my battery is great

 

[chris r3]

Does it lag at all? How does the lag compare to the G3?

 

[Stwutter]

Does it lag at all? How does the lag compare to the G3?

None at all so far, no. The G3 did lag a bit, but I never had the issues with it some others reported. The main thing I found was lots of redraws of the home screen.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[charles777]

This phone has killer battery life... a real champ... this weekend I took 350 pictures and videos over the course of a day and a half on a new cruise ship and it never died on me... such a pleasure not to have to worry about it anymore! My brightness was set at 75% the entire time and I didn't use any power saving modes...

 

[techaddict2]

Does it lag at all? How does the lag compare to the G3?

no lag at all

 

[LuvMusic]

Yeah, the battery on the Z3 is the real deal! I wish I had taken a screen shot but...... Anyway, just finished 40 hours (5 hours screen time) of what I would call normal use; some texting, some e-mail, some web searches, streamed some video, some phone calls, using Bluetooth to stream music in my car. Still had 25% battery left. BTW, I do use Stamina mode, I haven't found a reason not to.

 

[Stwutter]

As an update of this from my OP -

Yesterday I absolutely hammered the Z3 for the first time. I unplugged at 6.05am. Over the course of the day, I DL 4 apps, one of which was a game that was 400mb+. I played said game for 45 mins. I DL 4 YT vids, which I watched over the day, totalling 1hr 5mins. I also watched 10 mins or so of YT over 4G. I sent/received about 40 texts and a similar amount of EM's, some with attachments that I saved. I made 6 calls which was over 30mins worth. In the evening, I watched 30mins of streamed sports coverage on Sky Go (UK), and played a online word game for 45 mins. I then took about 20 photo's to put stuff on EBay.

By the time I went back on the charger at 11.30pm (nearly 17.5hrs), I had 19% battery left, with over 6hrs SOT and no power saving activated at all.

When I got the Z3 I bought a small 2100mah back up power stick, just in case. I carry it, but I'm starting to think it might never get used...

 

[katmandoo122]

There's no doubt that this battery and power management is amazing. I keep forgetting to bring my charger to the office when my S5 charger broke. No big deal. The phone easily lasts the whole day and I've had many days with 5 or 6 hours of screen time with no problem making it through 18 hours or more. In fact, the hardest thing is adapting to being OK with 50% power. With my S5, when I hit 50%, I'd start to sweat because unless it was dark, I needed to start looking for a charger.

Then, to have the performance and overall high quality feel...very happy with my change (to say nothing of the improvements I got from going from Sprint to T-Mobile).

 

[Stwutter]

In fact, the hardest thing is adapting to being OK with 50% power. With my S5, when I hit 50%, I'd start to sweat because unless it was dark, I needed to start looking for a charger.

I chuckled reading this.

This is what led me to switch to the Z3 from the G3. Yes, there's the battery swap option on the G3, and on other phones - notably Samsung - but there's definitely something nice about seeing your battery at 30 or 40% knowing that will see you through 6, 8 or 10 hours. 30 or 40% on the G3 equated to 6 or 7 hours usually.