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Would you like to see LTE in the next iPhone at the expense of battery life?

Jobsian

Jobsian

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 30, 2009
853
98
As much as I would absolutely love those crazy Mbps of LTE, from reading on Android LTE phones it's looking like it would seriously dent battery life.

Would you rather Apple include LTE at the expense of reducing battery life even more than it is currently?
 
Thats what everyone said about 3G draining battery.

Not that 4G wont drain the battery, but if it bothers you that much, turn 4G off until you need it. I remember having to do that with my 3G for a while...
 
What good is a phone if you can't use it? If after 6 hours your phone is dead, it becomes a paper weight. Lets be honest, who really needs LTE speed? But, how many need longer battery life?

Battery life all the way.
 
I'll take LTE at the expense of a lot of things at this point. I use way too many streaming services. It's essential. I'm so die-hard iPhone, but at this point I really have to purchase an LTE device next.

I understand the battery life argument, but I'll change my environment to adapt to the necessity for chargers. It's the 3G argument all over again.
 
I'm torn on the matter but I think I'd have a slight inclination towards yes, not sure if I'd regret that in practise.

For me, it'd take tethering to a new level, possibly render my modem redundant and put a final nail in the coffin to needing to have a landline.

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Hankster said:
What good is a phone if you can't use it? If after 6 hours your phone is dead, it becomes a paper weight. Lets be honest, who really needs LTE speed? But, how many need longer battery life?

Battery life all the way.
Click to expand...
It's a compelling argument. I wonder though, what kind of dent in battery life would we be practically talking about if we had LTE on something like the current iPhone?
 
The iphone4 is plenty fast enough. If they can somehow increase the speed without sacrificing battery I'm all for it but if it's at the expense of battery life, no way! Battery life is way more important imo. It's not like the iphone4 is slow by any means.
 
patorioto said:
I don't care about LTE. I can't imagine your average user really needs it that much.
Click to expand...

Can you really not imagine that? Or do you mean you're not the average user and can't imagine yourself being one?

I can easily imagine the average iPhone user needing LTE more and more over the next months and ensuing year. Streaming is becoming king.
 
Jobsian said:
[/COLOR]It's a compelling argument. I wonder though, what kind of dent in battery life would we be practically talking about if we had LTE on something like the current iPhone?
Click to expand...

I'm basing my LTE vs. battery life by looking at current phones with LTE. All of them cannot last more than 6 hours on a full charge if the phone is moderately used. The thing I hated about the 3GS was how I needed to charge the phone by 1-2pm and again at night. It's crazy. With the iPhone 4 I only charge it once and it lasts me all day even with moderate/high use.

A lot of people don't sit around desks or cars all day, so they can't charge their phones 1-2 times a day. And, I'll say no phone should ever have to be charged 1-2 times a day.

The speed of my iPhone 4 is more than fine. I don't have to wait long for any data transfer, so for me LTE isn't very important. Saving me 2-3 seconds does not outweigh 6-8 hours of battery life.
 
Hankster said:
Saving me 2-3 seconds does not outweigh 6-8 hours of battery life.[/B]
Click to expand...

You're still thinking in terms of file download though. Streaming services benefit from LTE a great deal. It's not about how fast you can download a track on iTunes, but rather the fact that I'll be able to watch the football game on NBC in high quality with no buffering when I'm cooking in the kitchen on my iPad. ;)
 
Mr. Pink said:
You're still thinking in terms of file download though. Streaming services benefit from LTE a great deal. It's not about how fast you can download a track on iTunes, but rather the fact that I'll be able to watch the football game on NBC in high quality with no buffering when I'm cooking in the kitchen on my iPad. ;)
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Can't you watch the football game in your kitchen with no buffering on wifi? When I'm at home streaming I stream on wifi just fine with no buffering when I'm cooking in the kitchen.
 
mpossoff said:
Can't you watch the football game in your kitchen with no buffering on wifi? When I'm at home streaming I stream on wifi just fine with no buffering when I'm cooking in the kitchen.
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What are you trying to say here? It could be his kitchen, it could be your kitchen, it could be waiting for the bus. You're taking it out of context. He'll get faster speeds with 4G, and his videos won't have to buffer.

I'm not saying whether I think 4G is a worthy tradeoff for battery or not, I'm just expressing how you seem to be arguing for the sake of arguing, by nitpicking this person's post.
 
I can't answer this.

Maybe two months ago, I would have told you no and go with battery life all the way. But I tend to work at home and always have a charger around, so I am starting NOT to mind if it got compromised a bit. These batteries do need to get topped off anyway. I was guilty of not charging it until it went dead or under 10%. I now charge it even at 50% left on it and will do a full calibrate at least once per month.

http://www.onemoretap.com/2009/06/04/tips-calibrate-and-prolong-your-iphone-battery-life/

But it DEPENDS on how much battery life gets taken away. If it takes away 40-50% (like 6 hour battery life), then no. I am willing to lose an hour or two of battery life, but nothing more than that. Battery life used to be a big worry to me, but not as much as it used to be since I charge it more often and have the charger always around. Then again, I rarely use 3G on my phone. So LTE isn't that important either since i am usually on Wi-Fi.
 
I own a Droid Bionic and as nice as it is, it takes the extended battery, the size of a car battery to get a full day of hard use to keep it going. My iPhone 4 gets almost as much with a regular battery. LTE is nice but it is a gas guzzler.
 
Yumunum said:
What are you trying to say here? It could be his kitchen, it could be your kitchen, it could be waiting for the bus. You're taking it out of context. He'll get faster speeds with 4G, and his videos won't have to buffer.

I'm not saying whether I think 4G is a worthy tradeoff for battery or not, I'm just expressing how you seem to be arguing for the sake of arguing, by nitpicking this person's post.
Click to expand...

You mentioned watching a football in the kitchen and I commented on it. Why can't you use wifi while watching the football game on wifi while cooking?
 
Why on earth are some of you people putting no? There is no downside to LTE. If you want longer battery life.. turn it off. Off... off... oFf... OfF... ofF.... OFF. You have the option to turn it off. Wow these forums are full of :confused: monkeys. This entire thread is really pointless. There is no downside to have the option of using if you need it.

I used an evo 4g for a long time. Wimax was nice to have. I don't have wimax at my house, but I never wished it was absent from my phone. When I was out and needed it I had the option to use it.
 
Last edited:
Hankster said:
What good is a phone if you can't use it? If after 6 hours your phone is dead, it becomes a paper weight. Lets be honest, who really needs LTE speed? But, how many need longer battery life?

Battery life all the way.
Click to expand...
i have lte with verizon and its the best. Watch youtube in hd with no buffering! Can't stand 3g anymore
 
Well we won't even have 4G in the UK for probably at least 2 years or so, so either way I wouldn't care because if it does then it would be effectively off anyway :p

But if I did have 4G access, I would still say no, although it depends on the how much battery life it would sacrificed, but I find 3G more than fast enough, for the very few times I need when I don't have wifi access, I would definitely take battery life improvement :)
 
LTE would be nice but the battery would suck.
I don't understand why people need LTE. You have WiFi at home.
Plus LTE is not available in all areas.
I understand HSPA+ yeah its fast and doesn't kill the battery as much.
 
Greatbape said:
Why on earth are some of you people putting no? There is no downside to LTE. If you want longer battery life.. turn it off. Off... off... oFf... OfF... ofF.... OFF. You have the option to turn it off. Wow these forums are full of :confused: monkeys. This entire thread is really pointless. There is no downside to have the option of using if you need it.

I used an evo 4g for a long time. Wimax was nice to have. I don't have wimax at my house, but I never wished it was absent from my phone. When I was out and needed it I had the option to use it.
Click to expand...

While this is a very valid point, I still voted "no" in the poll. However you are very correct in saying turning off LTE would be the ideal solution, but quite honestly, how many people are actually gonna remember to turn it off regularly and only turn it on when they need it? Not that many (and I'll admit I wouldn't always remember to turn it off either). And then they'll complain about battery life when the solution is right in front of them. Apple wouldn't want people complaining about the battery life on the iPhone, they want people talking about how awesome it is. Plus, Verizon is really the only network that has a decently spread out LTE network. All the others are still rolling them out to necessary areas. It really wouldn't make sense to put LTE in right now.
 
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