Nexus 5: Dispelling the Myths

[JeffDenver]

If I was talking rundown tests, I wouldn't ever bring up the Nexus 5; it gets spanked by phones like the HTC One and Moto X in both categories. Just like they say a bunch on this site, I don't care about battery tests. Real world usage is all that matters and this isn't a 5 hour on-screen phone under normal usage. No matter how badly you want it to be.

It is not just me claiming this though.

I was skeptical about getting 5 hours of screen time until I was out over and used gps, yelp, light texting, web surfing and checked on clash of clans throughout the day. Got 4hrs 58mins of screen time with 4% battery left.

Case in point.

 

[Rule9]

Sure. i think this is the one he was talking about:

LG Nexus 5 battery life test - GSMArena Blog

EDIT: And I misquoted...video playback was actually over 6 hours. 4 hours 45 minutes was for web browsing.

Thanks, did you click the 'expand' button on the charts? Doing so gives you the full list of all phones tested instead of the abbreviated list and more accurately shows where each phone's standing is against all others. I was pretty happy with how my z1 scored. Video playback battery time could've been stronger but I'm guessing the testers probably had the Bravia Engine video enhancement on, which it is by default.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4

 

[Adranalyne]

It is not just me claiming this though.


Case in point.

If people could consistently get 5 hours of on screen time under normal usage, there'd be very few people complaining about battery life. Your "case in point" of one other person doesn't hold a lot of weight.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[JeffDenver]

If people could consistently get 5 hours of on screen time under normal usage, there'd be very few people complaining about battery life. Your "case in point" of one other person doesn't hold a lot of weight.

Well, I'm not the only one making the claim. And as with any phone, battery life will depend on use. If you are in an area with crappy LTE coverage and leave LTE on, or if you play a lot of games, or do a lot of web browsing, you battery will be worse.

It's not just one other person. He's not the only guy on here I have seen this claim from. But it does not look like any amount of evidence will convince you, anecdotal or otherwise.

 

[JeffDenver]

Thanks, did you click the 'expand' button on the charts? Doing so gives you the full list of all phones tested instead of the abbreviated list and more accurately shows where each phone's standing is against all others. I was pretty happy with how my z1 scored. Video playback battery time could've been stronger but I'm guessing the testers probably had the Bravia Engine video enhancement on, which it is by default.

Yeah, I did see the expanded lists as well.

 

[Adranalyne]

Well, I'm not the only one making the claim. And as with any phone, battery life will depend on use. If you are in an area with crappy LTE coverage and leave LTE on, or if you play a lot of games, or do a lot of web browsing, you battery will be worse.

It's not just one other person. He's not the only guy on here I have seen this claim from. But it does not look like any amount of evidence will convince you, anecdotal or otherwise.

You're right; it's not just one person. However, there's far more people reporting more realistic usage numbers that don't coincide with what you're saying. Myself included. Reading through any number of the battery life threads here would show you that.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[clevin]

You're right; it's not just one person. However, there's far more people reporting more realistic usage numbers that don't coincide with what you're saying. Myself included. Reading through any number of the battery life threads here would show you that.

Posted via Android Central App

It is not possible to get an agreeable result for "normal day to day usage", because the term itself cannot possibly be defined.

GSMarena did a good job, not only in battery run down test, but also offered an "endurance rating", which kind of mimics a day to day usage scenario. Nexus 5 got 40 hrs on that, means it can last 40 hrs if you do an hour of calling, browsing and watching video a day and leave the phone to rest during the other time

 

[megakony]

sometimes I wonder if Note 3 was the right choice.

 

[Adranalyne]

It is not possible to get an agreeable result for "normal day to day usage", because the term itself cannot possibly be defined.

GSMarena did a good job, not only in battery run down test, but also offered an "endurance rating", which kind of mimics a day to day usage scenario. Nexus 5 got 40 hrs on that, means it can last 40 hrs if you do an hour of calling, browsing and watching video a day and leave the phone to rest during the other time

Normal usage and keeping the screen on continously for 6 hours are completely different things. Defining normal usage, in this case, is someone unplugging the phone when they wake up and using it until they go to bed. Voice calls, movies, games, social media, email, texting, taking pictures, etc. When you use your phone in that regard, getting 5 hours on screen is not going to be a consistent result. Those times are reserved for phones like the G2 and Note 3.

 

[clevin]

Normal usage and keeping the screen on continously for 6 hours are completely different things. Defining normal usage, in this case, is someone unplugging the phone when they wake up and using it until they go to bed. Voice calls, movies, games, social media, email, texting, taking pictures, etc. When you use your phone in that regard, getting 5 hours on screen is not going to be a consistent result. Those times are reserved for phones like the G2 and Note 3.

your definition of "normal usage" has zero details and cannot help in anyway to test battery life.

 

[Adranalyne]

your definition of "normal usage" has zero details and cannot help in anyway to test battery life.

I'm not attempting to "test" battery life. I have zero interest in battery rundown and endurance tests. If I did, I'd be discouraged about the Nexus 5 because against batteries of the same size or smaller, on phones with less efficient CPUs (Moto X/HTC One), it gets destroyed in web browsing/video times and is comparable in 3G talk time. Just to appease you, here's what yesterday looked like as I posted this earlier:

"For instance, on auto brightness, one Google account (syncing App Data, Calendar, Chrome, Contacts, Gmail, Google Play Music, Keep, and People Details), Location mode set to Battery Saving, a mixture of 3G/LTE (around -95 dBM/2-3 bars of service), some Hangouts messaging, Facebook/Twitter, and some browsing on Chrome, I'm sitting at 6 hours 51 minutes of usage with 1 hour and 16 minutes of on-screen time. I'm at 68%. No voice calls or video. I'm using a completely stock Nexus 5. I'm also on my 9th charge cycle on this phone." I finished the day out on WiFi using the same mixture of use, but had 43 minutes of voice calls. 16 hours of total usage with 3 hours and 16 minutes of on-screen time before I hit 5% and went to bed. Had I turned off auto brightness and used it at 100%, I probably would have only gotten 2 and a half hours on-screen.

For me, that's "normal usage". Of course I can't define that for everyone, but judging by how most people describe using their phones, that's relatively common. Now had I actually used the camera yesterday, both the total usage time and on-screen time would have dwindled as it tends to eat battery at a substantial pace. I'm pleased with the battery life for what I use the phone for, but all the people reviewing this phone are not wrong.

 

[JeffDenver]

sometimes I wonder if Note 3 was the right choice.

It was the right choice if you like big phones and don't care about Samsung's obnoxious skin. The hardware is top notch, and hardware features (SD+removable battery) are always awesome.

I'm also over hardware buttons. Thats a big reason why I avoid Samsung stuff now.

 

[Rule9]

It was the right choice if you like big phones and don't care about Samsung's obnoxious skin. The hardware is top notch, and hardware features (SD+removable battery) are always awesome.

I'm also over hardware buttons. Thats a big reason why I avoid Samsung stuff now.

I also dislike Samsung's TouchWiz and chose another brand, but aside from that the Note 3 is a damn excellent phone/phablet and the stylus apps are really good.

I can also attest that the longer battery life on the recent crop of 3000 MaH phones is very noticeable and the gsm test scores show that.

Sent from my Sony Xperia Z1

 

[JeffDenver]

I can also attest that the longer battery life on the recent crop of 3000 MaH phones is very noticeable and the gsm test scores show that.

Thats an advantage big phones will always have. Better battery life is standard on them.

 

[badbrad17]

or because people tired of complaining the same thing again and again...lol. Its totally non-scientific and you shouldn't make any conclusions here.

Actually it is scientific. I did the update to 4.3 on my Nexus 4 and my battery plummeted. I went online and the forums were lit up with similar comments. My phone was running hot and I noticed that some widgets weren't running properly. Then I received a series of updates over around a weeks time and everything went back to normal. The comments also reflected that things sorted out.

Most people don't realize that having a Nexus device means you are an early adopter to every update. If you jump on the update right away there is a good chance that you will have some issues. It's not always consistent because we don't all use the same apps.

If you read update comments you will see lots that say things like updated bugs for 4.4 Kit Kat etc. And quite often these are posted multiple times. Once the bugs are ironed out things stabilize and there is peace in the world.

By the time other devices update the apps have already been fixed so there are fewer problems with non Nexus devices after an upgrade.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using AC Forums mobile app

 

[badbrad17]

Again, I stand by my comments. I don't buy it, but again, agree to disagree. If I didn't own the phone, I'd take everything you said with a grain of salt considering your love affair with this particular device. Since I do own the phone, it's not that important.

I think that some phones just have better batteries. Some just last longer than others even with the same device and same battery.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using AC Forums mobile app

 

[clevin]

"For instance, on auto brightness, one Google account (syncing App Data, Calendar, Chrome, Contacts, Gmail, Google Play Music, Keep, and People Details), Location mode set to Battery Saving, a mixture of 3G/LTE (around -95 dBM/2-3 bars of service), some Hangouts messaging, Facebook/Twitter, and some browsing on Chrome, I'm sitting at 6 hours 51 minutes of usage with 1 hour and 16 minutes of on-screen time. I'm at 68%. No voice calls or video. I'm using a completely stock Nexus 5. I'm also on my 9th charge cycle on this phone." I finished the day out on WiFi using the same mixture of use, but had 43 minutes of voice calls. 16 hours of total usage with 3 hours and 16 minutes of on-screen time before I hit 5% and went to bed. Had I turned off auto brightness and used it at 100%, I probably would have only gotten 2 and a half hours on-screen.

For me, that's "normal usage". Of course I can't define that for everyone, but judging by how most people describe using their phones, that's relatively common. Now had I actually used the camera yesterday, both the total usage time and on-screen time would have dwindled as it tends to eat battery at a substantial pace. I'm pleased with the battery life for what I use the phone for, but all the people reviewing this phone are not wrong.

Now here is the thing, everybody attempts to gauge a phone's battery life before purchasing. The best way is to run a mix of standard test, like gsmarena did, to find out.

After all, purchasing a phone is a process of comparison, for that purpose, the run down test did a fantastic job.

Your "normal usage" scenario, granted means a lot for you or even a few others, has no reference value for people who are making purchasing decisions. Even with your description above, how much do you think they gonna help a potential buyer? Lets be honest here.

Actually it is scientific. I did the update to 4.3 on my Nexus 4 and my battery plummeted. I went online and the forums were lit up with similar comments. My phone was running hot and I noticed that some widgets weren't running properly. Then I received a series of updates over around a weeks time and everything went back to normal. The comments also reflected that things sorted out.

No, its not, you can make it so, if you go out and count unique problems, how fast they are fixed, how does update affect numerical number of complains.

However, it sure is reasonable to assume updates do fix problems and reduce complains, which applied basically to every phone. Just to be sure separate hardware and software issues. Software problem can be fixed, hardware issue may be improved, but cannot be completely fixed.

 

[Adranalyne]

Now here is the thing, everybody attempts to gauge a phone's battery life before purchasing. The best way is to run a mix of standard test, like gsmarena did, to find out.

After all, purchasing a phone is a process of comparison, for that purpose, the run down test did a fantastic job.

Your "normal usage" scenario, granted means a lot for you or even a few others, has no reference value for people who are making purchasing decisions. Even with your description above, how much do you think they gonna help a potential buyer? Lets be honest here.

No, its not, you can make it so, if you go out and count unique problems, how fast they are fixed, how does update affect numerical number of complains.

However, it sure is reasonable to assume updates do fix problems and reduce complains, which applied basically to every phone. Just to be sure separate hardware and software issues. Software problem can be fixed, hardware issue may be improved, but cannot be completely fixed.

Based on that rundown test, I would have never bought the Nexus 5 because, in comparison, it's battery life sucks. How it performs in day to day use, however, is different and provides insight to others on how long they can expect a battery to last. It's how they review the battery life on phones on this very site. I'm guessing a whole bunch of people find it very useful considering they have quite the following.

 

[JeffDenver]

Now here is the thing, everybody attempts to gauge a phone's battery life before purchasing. The best way is to run a mix of standard test, like gsmarena did, to find out.

I agree. The only thing a rundown test will not catch is how well the phone holds a charge at idle. I think GSM's tests are reasonable.

Your "normal usage" scenario, granted means a lot for you or even a few others, has no reference value for people who are making purchasing decisions. Even with your description above, how much do you think they gonna help a potential buyer? Lets be honest here.

Yep. "Normal use' is subjective. My normal use would be considered heavy use by a lot of other people.

However, it sure is reasonable to assume updates do fix problems and reduce complains, which applied basically to every phone. Just to be sure separate hardware and software issues. Software problem can be fixed, hardware issue may be improved, but cannot be completely fixed.

THIS.

This is a big deal IMO. Both matter, but hardware matters more, because you can't fix it later.

 

[JeffDenver]

Based on that rundown test, I would have never bought the Nexus 5 because, in comparison, it's battery life sucks.

And according to your own experiences, it still sucks, right? So that test would have been an accurate measure for you.