Smartphone Battery Life May Be on the Decline Because Lithium Ion Batteries Can't Keep Up With New Technology

[MacRumors]

Overall smartphone battery life may be declining due to the increasing demands new technologies place on lithium ion batteries, according to smartphone testing done by The Washington Post.

In a series of battery life tests where multiple smartphone models from the past few years were set at the same brightness and forced to reload the same sites, newer smartphones were not able to last as long as older devices.

When it comes to the iPhone, for example, the iPhone XS died an average of 21 minutes earlier than the previous-generation iPhone X. Battery life impact was most noticeable with the Google Pixel 3, which lasted an hour and a half less than the Pixel 2.

According to The Washington Post, the iPhone XR, which uses an LCD instead of an OLED display, was a notable exception, performing well on the battery life tests. The iPhone XR boasts the longest battery life of any iPhone with 25 hours of talk time, 15 hours of internet use, 16 hours of video playback, and 65 hours of audio playback.

It lasted the longest in the battery test, besting the Pixel 3XL, the Samsung Galaxy Note 9, and the iPhone XS Max.

Apple's iPhone XR, the new phone I recommend to most people, has a different approach. It scales back on the screen tech -- lower resolution, less bright and lower-quality color -- in ways that benefit battery life tremendously: The XR lasted 3 hours longer than the top iPhone XS, even though the its screen is actually a smidge larger. (Bonus: It also costs $250 less.)

Nadim Maluf, CEO of battery optimization firm Qnovo, told The Washington Post that batteries improve at about "5 percent per year" but smartphone power consumption is growing faster than that.

The Washington Post consulted with other tech sites like Tom's Guide and CNET, and came to the conclusion that high-resolution OLED displays and cellular connectivity are major factors that impact battery life.

Turning down display brightness and using WiFi when possible, two well-known techniques for preserving battery life, are among the site's recommendations for eking more juice out of a smartphone.

The Washington Post's battery life test focused on the display, but other battery life tests, such as one conducted by Consumer Reports using a machine that opens up apps, had different results, with the iPhone XS beating the iPhone X due to improvements Apple has made with the processor.

Variations in battery life due to different tests and different real-life usage situations can make it difficult to tell whether overall battery life is increasing or decreasing over time, says the site.

Battery company Onavo's CEO believes that consumers should "start getting ready for compromise," settling for smartphones with increasingly bigger batteries that result in larger, heavier devices or lesser technologies like the LCD display in the iPhone XR.

Article Link: Smartphone Battery Life May Be on the Decline Because Lithium Ion Batteries Can't Keep Up With New Technology

 

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

Get a crappier phone to get improved battery life. Brilliant. Time for us all to go to flip phones single-color displays and we'll get a couple weeks of battery life.

 

[B4U]

Or just put a bigger, I mean BIGGER battery!
Since they don't give a damn about those of us who like smaller phones anyway!

 

[zorinlynx]

If companies weren't obsessed with making everything as thin as possible, this wouldn't be an issue.

 

[Christian 5G]

Here's a billion dollar idea if you find a way to challenge a new era with powering smartphones.

 

[Victor Mortimer]

There really is a very easy fix, the article even covered it.

Just make the phone thicker. There, problem solved.

There's no benefit to having a phone as thin as current iPhones anyway.

 

[levitynyc]

Guessing Solar panels on the back are still a decade away?

 

[TMRJIJ]

Always knew this would be a problem at some point. Looks like my dream of having a paper thin smartphone is not happening in my lifetime.

 

[matticus99]

I'll take a bigger phone, thanks.

 

[drumcat]

Wait, I thought OLED was supposed to save power versus LCD?

 

[JPack]

Apple went from 9.3 mm (iPhone 4) to 7.7 mm (iPhone Xs). That's a lot of anode and cathode layers that could be used for battery capacity.

 

[unchecked]

Eh, 2018 may be the year we finally start coming to terms that specs aren’t everything.

 

[TallManNY]

This is incredibly dumb:

Battery company Onavo's CEO believes that consumers should "start getting ready for compromise," settling for smartphones with increasingly bigger batteries that result in larger, heavier devices or lesser technologies like the LCD display in the iPhone XR.

First, the LCD screen in the XR is better than any LCD screen shipped by Apple in prior iPhones.

Second, the battery life issue is solved for iPhones for regular users. If you use your phone for about 1 to 2 hours per day of screen time, you won't possibly run it out during the course of the day. If you are using more than that, well, then it is because you really get a ton of use out of your phone. That isn't a compromise, that is someone who bought a phone that is just turning out great for them.

It is like complaining that you love to drive your sports car but hate that it uses more gas the more you drive it.

 

[Moonlight]

Its not about thickness, it is weight that is the issue with a bigger battery. Too heavy to hold. The X is already too heavy.

 

[TallManNY]

Guessing Solar panels on the back are still a decade away?

That solar panel ain't going charge much with the phone sitting in my back pocket. Nor will it charge much behind a case.

Wireless charge stations regularly situated where you work, live or in your car are going to solve the batter issue for phones in about a year. In the US, they will be everywhere once the masses upgrade to the XR.

 

[delonholmes]

Guessing Solar panels on the back are still a decade away?

Just gonna lay on the ground and point the phone to the sky to get a charge?

 

[JPack]

Its not about thickness, it is weight that is the issue with a bigger battery. Too heavy to hold. The X is already too heavy.

Is that really true? On a balanced device like iPhone XR, the battery represents less than 25% of the weight. The X has more stainless steel which is the heaviest material in the device.

 

[AngerDanger]

I remember back in 2015 there was a rumor about company making hydrogen fuel cells that could fit inside of iPhones and provide a week of charge. One drawback was that it required a small vent for water vapor exhaust.

I say Apple embrace it like they did the notch; I've already got a brilliant ad campaign for them:

 

[newdeal]

But I need a 4k screen on my smartphone!! LOL

 

[Moonlight]

Is that really true? On the XR, the battery represents less than 25% of the weight.
View attachment 800426

Does it take up more than 25% of the volume though? That ratio is what matters.

 

[341328]

lower resolution screens always get better battery life.

 

[Michael Goff]

Or just put a bigger, I mean BIGGER battery!
Since they don't give a damn about those of us who like smaller phones anyway!

They are putting bigger batteries in their phones. What are you talking about?

 

[cibonak]

This is incredibly dumb:

Battery company Onavo's CEO believes that consumers should "start getting ready for compromise," settling for smartphones with increasingly bigger batteries that result in larger, heavier devices or lesser technologies like the LCD display in the iPhone XR.

First, the LCD screen in the XR is better than any LCD screen shipped by Apple in prior iPhones.

Second, the battery life issue is solved for iPhones for regular users. If you use your phone for about 1 to 2 hours per day of screen time, you won't possibly run it out during the course of the day. If you are using more than that, well, then it is because you really get a ton of use out of your phone. That isn't a compromise, that is someone who bought a phone that is just turning out great for them.

It is like complaining that you love to drive your sports car but hate that it uses more gas the more you drive it.

Hahahahhahahhahahhahaha i love your quote

 

[dannyyankou]

I'm strongly considering the XR over the XS.

 

[McTaste]

Wait, I thought OLED was supposed to save power versus LCD?

If the UI and all apps and websites were OLED-friendly black, you would see a difference.