Battery life is consistently one of the most important aspects taken into consideration when a consumer purchases a new smartphone; it is also one of the greatest causes of smartphone owner dissatisfaction.
In a technical evaluation from the Mobile Device UX group at Strategy Analytics, where the battery performance of flagship smartphones from Apple, HTC, Huawei, LG, Google, Nokia/Microsoft, Samsung, and Sony was benchmarked, SA found that the smartphones with the largest battery capacities did not provide the longest battery life.
In other words, bigger did not mean better.
“As the test results demonstrate, simply having the largest battery capacity does not automatically mean having the longest battery life,” says Chirag Upadhyay, Report Author and Analyst.
“It is important for smartphone manufacturers to optimise the performance of a device to give the longest possible battery life, in order to improve user satisfaction.”
In testing designed around the profile of a ‘typical’ smartphone user, the battery of the Apple iPhone 6 Plus lasted on average longer than competitor flagship smartphones, despite not having the highest capacity.
Importantly, Strategy Analytics evaluated all devices concurrently, using the same setup and test protocol; testing was repeated to measure average performance.
“Ways in which smartphone manufacturers can help manage consumer’s battery expectations, include a battery saver mode to provide greater control for consumers whose battery may be getting low, without the option of immediately charging it; and fast charging, to enable the process to be completed much more quickly,” adds Paul Brown, Director, Mobile Device UX.
