Regardless this means if i bought a 6s i would be aiming for the TSMC version. Worst case its 3% better than the Samsung, in more extreme condition, like if you were watching a HD movie on a plane, you might notice large diferences.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple Claims TSMC vs Samsung A9 Chip Variants Result in Only 2-3% Difference in 'Real World' Battery Life
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Both issues had been proven to be overblown, at best a mere circumstantial.
Back to the topic, if the device behaves according to specifications, the advertised capabilities regarding battery life and CPU power, the individual variations between batches or "populations" is something you can fret about if you must, but for which there is also no recourse. Apple didn’t break the law. I would argue they didn’t really violate any promises, stated or implied. You pay for an iPhone that they promise does X, Y, and Z, lasts A long, and is B times more powerful than whatever else. As long as every iPhone they ship meets those metrics, they’ve done their job.
For a phone with 1810mAh battery 15.5 hours its fine, But that dude just came off reviewing the Z5 compact which lasts more than two days (having a 2700mAh battery does that to a phone).
Not saying Z5 Compact is a better phone (it's not), but I really really hate how Apple is so stingy with the batteries.
More thoughts on the 3%...
Here's something I don't really agree with..
If several iPhone 6S (Samsung) users post their results (and have) this is what it looks like (geekbench scores)
3hr50min
4hr:22min
3hr:58min
4hr:05min
Okay... those were some (Samsung) scores.. Those all look like "within tolerance" of each other. I get that..
But then TSMC times are like
5hr22min
6hr:05min
5hr:33min
Those all are very similar to each other as well. But there is big differences between the two.
Remember this apple said "average user" well we are not average at all we are freaking nerds for crying out loud. The average user is including my mom, grandma, inlaws, nongamers and all the millions of people that use their phone for imessage, phone calls, and light internet browsing.
If you are a gamer and play the latest games? What then?
If you bought the phone for 4K video and plan on editing a lot on your phone. What then??
You are getting cheated, potentially by quite a bit.
Here's something I don't really agree with..
If several iPhone 6S (Samsung) users post their results (and have) this is what it looks like (geekbench scores)
3hr50min
4hr:22min
3hr:58min
4hr:05min
Okay... those were some (Samsung) scores.. Those all look like "within tolerance" of each other. I get that..
But then TSMC times are like
5hr22min
6hr:05min
5hr:33min
Those all are very similar to each other as well. But there is big differences between the two.
Remember this apple said "average user" well we are not average at all we are freaking nerds for crying out loud. The average user is including my mom, grandma, inlaws, nongamers and all the millions of people that use their phone for imessage, phone calls, and light internet browsing.
If you are a gamer and play the latest games? What then?
If you bought the phone for 4K video and plan on editing a lot on your phone. What then??
You are getting cheated, potentially by quite a bit.
No, if you read carefully, the implication is that phones vary 2-3%, even with the same chip.
Is there a way to determine the ehich chip is in the phone within the settings? My wife and I have identical phones (except for the color) and I would love to run my own tests if we have different chips. I believe the difference would be nominal.
Watching movies is one of the least CPU intensive activity, especially in MP4 format.
To everyone bringing up lawsuits...there is absolutely NO case. Both chips preform as promised by Apple. If one of the chips were below specifications in either performance of battery life, then we could talk. But they're not. What is the case going to claim..."my iPhone performs as advertised, meets the listed battery claims by Apple, and is defect free, but that man over there has an iPhone that lasts a few minutes longer in REAL-WORLD usage. Compensate me for purchasing an iPhone that works as advertised." Not how lawsuits work, sorry.
yeah, there is no real prove of what is "average user usage", Apple can use this term to totally escape from the responsibility. Actually Apple can claim A7 and A9 have small different in anything in term of "real life usage".
Apple spec or promotion wordings are extremely board, basically as long as Apple put a chip with the name A9 on it then it is ok, all the spec is under Apple testing condition, which is extremely lab kind with Apple setting and in Apple definition. Apple can find a specific condition and setting to let those two chips have similar battery life for sure and of course that should be totally different from what we define "real life cases" and "benchmark", and Apple would say their lab condition is what "real life" is.
Apple has always been known for providing relatively accurate battery quotes on their products. The way I see it, each iPhone 6s owner has an efficient A9 chip that performs well and lives up to expectations. You can't pick up an iPhone and determine the chip just by using it and noticing battery or performance differences; you have to use an app to figure it out. That says a lot right there. We can expect future iOS 9 tweaks that will likely further close this minuscule gap.
Omg, when I wrote about this the other day saying largely the same thing someone accused me of having a TSMC chip. Now Samsung is the bad one. Just stop. Stop. It's done.Sounds like you have a Samsung chip
If you use iphone 6s plus and your wife/husband use iphone 6s plus too, it will be so easy to tell one battery goes much faster if one has samsang chip set but another is not! You said you cannot tell just because you have nothing to compare! You would think your bike is fastest before you see someone drives a car!
As long as I hear iPhone 6s has a smaller battery, I know I must do whatever it takes to prevent me from buying this iPhone.
The very first iPhone with a smaller battery than its predecessor, as I aware. And according to multiple posts, the real life battery impact is even worse than expected, no matter how Apple state.
Which iPhone should I buy when this iPhone 6 Plus goes down forever? I don't know the answer. Maybe, we should just wait.
The very first iPhone with a smaller battery than its predecessor, as I aware. And according to multiple posts, the real life battery impact is even worse than expected, no matter how Apple state.
Which iPhone should I buy when this iPhone 6 Plus goes down forever? I don't know the answer. Maybe, we should just wait.
ChipGate indeed! I have a Samsung chip. I have had acceptable battery life of 16+ hours IF i don't do much-- that is I stay mostly on wifi and do not make any phone calls (it is a phone after all) or use GPS as in Google maps. If I use GPS for an hour (no calls) and am on LTE my battery life is down to 7-8 hours despite turning apps off, turning brightness down etc. This is really marginally acceptable given I use my other phone for all my calls. I could really use another few % or hour of battery life. Otherwise I need to carry around an external battery or get a big clunky battery case or be one of those wall huggers in the Samsung commercials. How ironic....
Are people with the Samsung chip getting cheated, or are people with the TSMC chip just getting a small bonus?
I don't know about the 6 Plus. But my 6s Plus' battery isn't as impressive as I was led to believe. I do know I have the Samsung chip. I'm currently at 15hr 45 min standby and about 10hr 30 min of usage. And 24% remaining. My usage includes all day Bluetooth on the AppleWatch and about 2 hours of Bluetooth audio playing podcasts, Facebook, texting and various surfing.
Does this sound about right or a bit low? This is certainly better than my iPhone 6.
Attachments
Last edited:
So I am a serious mobile gamer (I have abandoned almost all my previously beloved desktop games), and a heavy Internet browser. I can barely get 10 hours of continuous use without seeking for charge on my iPhone 6 Plus. Assume I receive an upgrade program which could replace my current iPhone 6 Plus to iPhone 6s Plus with the addition of 200 US dollars, what should I do? Carry a battery pack or even two in order to keep my phone on all day long? Well...
Lol, Samsung can't catch a break. They had 7 consecutive quarters of losses, and now the only thing raising their revenue is their chip business. Well... so much for that haha. Btw, I'm glad Apple sourced Samsung for extra chips. The 99 percent of people who don't give a rat's rear got an iPhone faster than last year. And Samsung got hit hard in the media all stealth like. It's a two-for-one special
Ten hours of HEAVY use will deplete an iPhone's battery under normal conditions. That's beyond the usage pattern of most people. Heavy gamers like yourself should get a battery case