5G Drains iPhone 12 Battery 20% Faster Than 4G in Benchmark

[amartinez1660]

EDIT: deleted first though which was a misunderstanding of the test done and wrong conclusions. Sent by mistake.

to estimate the efficiency of 5g vs 4g, wouldt you not rather measure energy consumption per fixed amount of transfered data instead of surfing for 9 hours straight???

Yes, or a test along the lines of opening a webpage over and over until battery depletion 5G and then see on 4G if it can reach the same amount of openings or more until depletion.

But this test actually takes a spin on this, both network speeds opened the webpage the same rate amount, so it reveals that having 5G open a quick page and doing nothing for 30secs has a 20% battery use impact.

 

[agsystems]

They really made some CHOICES when designing this phone. Less battery capacity with their first 5G phone that is known to consume more battery? A choice.

I think this is related to the new magsafe assembly - if you compare the 11 Max vs 12 Max you can see 12 Pro Max is heavier - if they put a bigger battery in the phone, you will end up with a chunkier phone which most people in the forum don't care but Apple decided against that.

 

[hunapu]

I want 5g, so I can turn it off to save battery...
Next year I'm gonna turn off 120Hz to save even more battery

 

[LongWayHome]

Apple is damned if they do, damned if they don't.

Last year tech blogs: Apple not including 5G in the iPhone 11 was a huge letdown.

This year: 5G is worthless right now and Apple shouldn't have even bothered with putting it into the iPhone 12 because it will drain the battery.

No one should be surprised that the phone loses more battery on 5G. This isn't news.

 

[swm]

it'll probably balance out.

nope. unless you have access to significantly more spectrum. from the same amount of low-band block - currently used by 3G/2G for example - you cannot expect to get exponentially more throughput than you had with 4G. speaking of midband TDD or mmWave, you will most likely use the power hungry tech along with 4G or you lose mobile voice. 5GNR uses a more complex modulation in exchange for better spectral efficiency. and the efficiency in many cases will be visible on the MNO side.

 

[armsakimbo]

making the case for the smart battery case. can a smart battery case work with the MagSafe charger?

I think the hope is someone makes a MagSafe smart battery case rather than the other way around.

 

[lsutigerfan1976]

don’t they have same battery capacity? Why did the pro last an hour more than the regular 12?

Cause it’s a “pro” keep up. Kidding lol.

 

[Nicole1980]

With 5G still quite an emerging technology and 4G adequate (at least for my needs and in my location) the 12 is looking more and more like a 'nice to have' than a 'must have' upgrade for me.

Except when your phone is totally broken, what would EVER qualify as a "must" upgrade? At the end of the day, most any of us could still get by just fine with an iphone 5s for crying out loud.

 

[xxray]

This year‘s iPhones just do not seem like a good buy for me. If Apple can give me ProMotion, LTPO, and the battery life of the 11 series in the 2021 or 2022 iPhone, that is when I’ll upgrade. 5G will be more built out and hopefully more efficient by then too.

I thought we were past the years where Apple only gave mediocre battery life and kept reducing battery sizes with each iteration. The sad part is, Apple probably reduced battery size to make room for the useless MagSafe.

 

[Vyse2020]

Apple is damned if they do, damned if they don't.

Last year tech blogs: Apple not including 5G in the iPhone 11 was a huge letdown.

This year: 5G is worthless right now and Apple shouldn't have even bothered with putting it into the iPhone 12 because it will drain the battery.

No one should be surprised that the phone loses more battery on 5G. This isn't news.

Don’t act like the tech community is of one mind, different people have different opinions.

 

[agsystems]

I want 5g, so I can turn it off to save battery...
Next year I'm gonna turn off 120Hz to save even more battery

I know you are joking but you won't have to turn off 120hz - that's the point of the promotion feature - it already does that on the iPad pro - it will ramp or down as needed and you don't think about it

However note that Apple still give you the option if you don't want it or the fast motion makes you 'sick'

[automerge]1603280777[/automerge]

This year‘s iPhones just do not seem like a good buy for me. If Apple can give me ProMotion, LTPO, and the battery life of the 11 series in the 2021 or 2022 iPhone, that is when I’ll upgrade. 5G will be more built out and hopefully more efficient by then too.

I thought we were past the years where Apple only gave mediocre battery life and kept reducing battery sizes with each iteration. The sad part is, Apple probably reduced battery size to make room for the useless MagSafe.

^^^^^this - already mention that

 

[skogkatt]

Not an issue... 5G is still in an embryonal phase here in Germany, although providers are already boosting about it... The prices of the subscriptions are still pretty high, coverage is limited to the bigger city centres. I'm going to be more than fine with LTE on my future iPhone 12 Mini.

 

[BrightCanon]

The test was conducted using the test auto switching (smart mode) - so you'd need to switch it off entirely.

Forgive me but I don’t see where it says the test was in auto(smart) mode? All I see is it was on 5g for the test. Would you mind showing where it says the test was on auto mode? Not being snarky. Genuinely curious.

 

[xxray]

I think this is related to the new magsafe assembly - if you compare the 11 Max vs 12 Max you can see 12 Pro Max is heavier - if they put a bigger battery in the phone, you will end up with a chunkier phone which most people in the forum don't care but Apple decided against that.

View attachment 970352

The Pixel went from having a 2800mAh battery in the Pixel 4 to a 4080mAh battery with a lighter weight and a smaller volume in the Pixel 5. I’m not convinced that Apple couldn’t have increased battery without increasing weight/body size.

 

[MrGuder]

These wireless carriers should concentrate more on advancing LTE coverage instead of rushing out 5G when there not ready. LTE is not even perfected yet and there already pushing 5G.

That Verizon 5G rep at the keynote was a bit over the top.

 

[C. Robert]

Thats concerning

 

[Supra Mac]

I’m not sold on the whole 5G thing yet but good to see it lasted the same as last year on 4G but is twice as fast with 4x4 MIMO.

 

[m7ammed]

This hasn't been mentioned but when compared to other phones with 5G and running 60Hz, it is quite comparable. It kind of matches the S20 and Pixel 5 ( a difference of 25 mins and 50 mins respectively, and how accurate are these experiments anyway). In addition, the OnePlus T8 and S20 Plus compare more to the Pro MAX which would mean bigger sized batteries.

I doubt you will see a big difference in real life usage between these phones, as browsing and refreshing a website for 9 hours straight isn't a real world test.

 

[69Mustang]

5G is not needed today. Just good coverage of the latest LTE standards is sufficient. The most optimal option for the next few years.

5G may not be needed by you, but Apple decided they needed to have 5G capability in their 12 series phones. The reason should be obvious to anyone paying attention. One word: China. China's 5G network is far more developed than most of the western world (especially the US) and Chinese citizens aren't buying phones without 5G capability.
According to reports, Apple's decision was the right one because it looks like iPhone 12 sales may be in for an iPhone 6-like super cycle... spurred by, yup, Chinese demand. So it kinda depends on who and where you are whether or not 5G is needed today.

 

[zombierunner]

I hope they make a MagSafe battery puck that you can just slap on when low on battery. The mini might need it. I don't want a battery case.

 

[darthbane2k]

This year‘s iPhones just do not seem like a good buy for me. If Apple can give me ProMotion, LTPO, and the battery life of the 11 series in the 2021 or 2022 iPhone, that is when I’ll upgrade. 5G will be more built out and hopefully more efficient by then too.

I thought we were past the years where Apple only gave mediocre battery life and kept reducing battery sizes with each iteration. The sad part is, Apple probably reduced battery size to make room for the useless MagSafe.

These battery challenges (due to first gen 5G) is exactly the reason why Pro-motion was cancelled this year

 

[luckystar101]

But, can I disable 5G if not available in my area and keep phone on 4G? Something like dei 4G option that is now available in settings.

 

[JoshBoy]

I would be more than happy to have a slightly thicker phone with more battery on it. Not sure what this fascination with thinner is. If I don’t have a case on my phone I find the phones too slim and slippery.

 

[Gherkin]

Yikes. 5G is a gimmick in 2020. Sad that Apple pressed this as the BIG UPDATE to the phone. Spotty network and terrible battery performance. They should have waited a year or so like they did with 4G.

 

[Voyageur]

One word: China. China's 5G network is far more developed than most of the western world (especially the US) and Chinese citizens aren't buying phones without 5G capability.
According to reports, Apple's decision was the right one because it looks like iPhone 12 sales may be in for an iPhone 6-like super cycle... spurred by, yup, Chinese demand. So it kinda depends on who and where you are whether or not 5G is needed today.

You are talking about the preferences of people depending on their desires, regional position and about marketing component, and I am talking about technical necessity and validity. In fact, today there is not a single critical reason for the strict need for 5G.

The only excuse would be to it today if this
A) Not much more expensive than previous technology
B) Does not have a greater negative effect (battery, coverage quality, etc.)

5G does not yet correspond to these two points.