Average 4S Battery Performance

[willmtaylor]

All,
I've seen many people complaining about the 4S's battery compared to the 4. Since the wife & I are both upgrading from basic feature phones to iPhones (I'm getting the 5 & she's getting the 4S), I'd like to know if this is a case of a very vocal minority or if it's really as bad as people say.

Please vote in the poll & then explain in the thread.

Thanks,
Will

 

[cyks]

If you play graphic intensive games, apps that require GPS/ location services often, or spend most of your time where there is a very low cell signal, you're phone will die relatively quickly.

If you simply use it as a phone, you could go days.

I'd wager that the 'average' user can get between 18-36 hours on a charge and, since most people charge their phones nightly, there's no problem.

The biggest mistake that most people make while upgrading from a basic phone is that they expect the same battery life (where you only need to charge it once or twice a week). A smartphone is completely different, uses far more power, and you'll use it for that much more as well.

 

[Mr Hill]

I usually get a full day's use out of a full charge. That's good enough for me. Battery life one of the reasons I switched back to the iPhone from Android.

 

[xArtx]

About a day's use.. play some music on it daily.

Got some programs that can flatten the battery in a few hours though (GPS).

 

[Irish Rose]

The battery life on my 4S is perfect. This is with 2 hours of music use, and 6 hours of calls, email, and browser usage.

 

[Geckotek]

Where and how you use it will make a great difference. In my old office I used to easily get through a day. Now, in my new office, while it appears that I get a good 4G signal, the truth is something is very wrong. It takes forever to load anything that requires a web connection. So the iPhone burns through battery like crazy constantly trying and re-trying to connect. By the end of an 8-5, I can often be below 20%. My coworkers with Sprint iPhones don't have the same issue.

So I honestly think some of the complaints are not the fault of the iPhone. But there have been some actual comparison tests done. What was concluded was that the 4s performed on par with the 4 except for a drop when using 3G data. While noticeable, it's not exactly terrible.

Edit: this might be helpful
http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/reviews/entry/apple-iphone-4s-16gb-32gb-64gb/P5

 

[cynics]

I use my phone too much to ever get a full day.

If I don't use it the standby will get me a through a day easy.

 

[SpyderBite]

I get a full day and sometimes more on my 4s. "average" is a rather subjective term though. I got a friend who watches 10 hours of Netflix and Hulu, charges his phone 3x a day and calls me a casual user cause his usage is typical of the "average" smartphone owner.

 

[willmtaylor]

I get a full day and sometimes more on my 4s. "average" is a rather subjective term though. I got a friend who watches 10 hours of Netflix and Hulu, charges his phone 3x a day and calls me a casual user cause his usage is typical of the "average" smartphone owner.

I understand that it varies wildly by user, that's why I was hoping poll voters would qualify their votes by explaining their usage habits.

 

[cyks]

I use my phone too much to ever get a full day.

If I don't use it the standby will get me a through a day easy.

Based on your images, you average between 18-21 hours a charge... so, unless you never sleep, you DO get a full day between charges.

 

[TM WAZZA]

7-8 hours

Usage consist mainly of WiFi browsing, YouTube, some messaging, no calls, music while browsing

Honestly I think with 5.1.1 my battery improved. Not to mention I'm jail broken as well. I skipped 5.1 and when I was on 5.0.1 I was getting 6 hours usage.

 

[Roessnakhan]

I usually keep my phone plugged in while at work and when I'm home, so it is rare that my phone ever gets below 80%. On vacation, however, I get about a day's usage (using Maps, searching for stuff, using social networks, etc.).

 

[AAPLinc]

I currently have 5 hours usage, 21 hours standby and have 25% left. Id say typically you get about 8 hours of usage with a day standby before it'll start warning you to charge. (10% warning) at least for me. I'm probably a "mild user".

 

[Geckotek]

Today I listened to music over BT while using Waze GPS and driving around. Read a few e-mails and read a few messages using Kakao. Sure there was a bit more, but don't recall. (Most of my web surfing was on the iPad).

Usage: 4 Hours, 52 minutes
Standby: 14 Hours, 39 minutes

Started day a little before 9 AM
Battery was @ 2% around 11:30 PM

 

[willmtaylor]

Today I listened to music over BT while using Waze GPS and driving around. Read a few e-mails and read a few messages using Kakao. Sure there was a bit more, but don't recall. (Most of my web surfing was on the iPad).

Usage: 4 Hours, 52 minutes
Standby: 14 Hours, 39 minutes

Started day a little before 9 AM
Battery was @ 2% around 11:30 PM

Thanks for the input. That's helpful.