On almost every smartphone forum or review site, you will see a discussion on battery life. And you’ll discover that every phone will have a mix of reviews – some reviewers claiming terrible battery life, while others claim their battery easily lasts a day or more. How can this be?
With traditional cell phones and even feature phones you could estimate battery life of a phone from the specified talk and standby time. These figures are still shown for smartphones, but have become largely meaningless because in most cases these phones are used more as media centers and pocket computers than for calling and texting.
So battery life depends less on the size of the battery and design of the phone than on the way your phone is used. So how long will a battery charge actually last?
If you are a casual phone user, which means you make some calls, send some texts, and occasionally throughout the day perform tasks such as checking your Email, visiting a web site or running an app, your phone should easily last through the day – especially if you turn off features that you aren’t using.
But there are a few common tasks that are guaranteed to leave you with a dead phone in no time:
- Streaming video at 4G speeds. Few things can drain a battery faster – not only are you running the radio full time, but you’re keeping the phone processor busy and the display on – all of which drain power. You can improve things a bit by choosing lower resolution video, but you’ll still be lucky to last through a movie.
- Using your phone as a GPS. Not only does the GPS use power, but the phone has to constantly download map data. If you’re using your phone in your car, keep it plugged in. Otherwise, consider purchasing map software that stores the maps on the phone instead of downloading maps as needed.
- Spending time in an area with poor reception. This one isn’t just restricted to smartphones – seeking for a signal in weak areas drains power quickly. Areas with no reception aren’t as bad – most phones recognize that there is no signal and stop looking. But areas with weak or intermittent reception are the worst.
There are some well-known techniques for reducing power use. Turn off any features you aren’t using – GPS, Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. If you have a 4G phone and don’t need the higher speed, consider staying in 3G mode for some power savings. If your phone uses an LED display, choose darker wallpapers – they use less power. Choose static over dynamic wallpaper to reduce CPU load.
Some heavy users like to carry an extra battery around, but you might prefer an external battery such as the Anker Astro 5600mAh External Battery Pack and Charger with flashlight. It’s small, light, and has 3-4 times the capacity of the typical smartphone battery – and will work with almost any electronic device, not just your particular phone. You can also find external batteries with solar panels such as the Soladec Hybrid Solar Power Charger.
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