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Battery beyond useless. Which iPhone model has good battery life?

Hi iPhone users :hello: I'm upgrading but I can't afford to repeat the mistake of getting a model with catastrophically poor battery.
My iPhone4 was great. I had it nearly 5 years. No issues. Battery was fine. Only got rid of it sometime after it became obsolete and I began to struggle to get apps onto it because of the iOS freeze.
So how on earth they managed to make the iPhone5S (my next phone) way worse on the battery front is beyond me. So... if you have an iPhone and the battery lasts a decent amount of time, please tell me which model it is.

If you are here to:
a) Tell me why Android/Samsung is better
or
b) Show off your tech knowledge by posting a whole bunch of details I never asked about in this thread,

Then... neg might be disabled but I'm negging you in my mind :wink:

And yes I am reading reviews online, but I always find it really helpful to hear from TSRers who actually own a device.

Thanks very much - I really appreciate it :smile:
(edited 6 years ago)

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Original post by Craghyrax

Hi iPhone users :hello: I'm upgrading but I can't afford to repeat the mistake of getting a model with catastrophically poor battery.
My iPhone4 was great. I had it nearly 5 years. No issues. Battery was fine. Only got rid of it some time after it became obsolete and I began to struggle to get apps onto it because of the iOS freeze.
So how on earth they managed to make the iPhone5S (my next phone) way worse on the battery front is beyond me.So... if you have an iPhone and the battery lasts a decent amount of time, please tell me which model it is.If you are here to:a) Here to tell me why Android/Samsung is betterorb) Show off your tech knowledge by posting a whole bunch of details I never asked about in this thread,Then... neg might be disabled but I'm negging you in my mind :wink: And yes I am reading reviews online, but I always find it really helpful to hear from TSRers who actually own a device.Thanks very much - I really appreciate it :smile:


Hasn't there been some scandal about the iPhone batteries - upgrade etc. Apparently you can get a new battery really cheaply because apple were threatened with court case.

I have a samsung - A3 - I think - it is ok - battery life about 3 days if I don't use it too much
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Original post by squeakysquirrel
Hasn't there been some scandal about the iPhone batteries - upgrade etc. Apparently you can get a new battery really cheaply because apple were threatened with court case.

I have a samsung - A3 - I think - it is ok - battery life about 3 days if I don't use it too much


Really? :eek:
That sounds worth looking into :s-smilie:
I had the 6S Plus and that could do 3 days without needing a charge depending on how much you used it now I have the iPhone X and that can do 2 days + without needing to be charged I think they have got better with battery life. Anything made within the last 2 years will have good battery life on iPhones.

I wouldn’t worry about the iPhone battery “scandal” it’s only been affecting devices from the 6 or newer where the battery management will slow down the device to maintain its battery life and prevent it restarting all the time.

The 5s is 5 years old this year, the technology in it is dated and not as energy efficient causing battery life to suffer also the reason it’s probably worse than your 4s is because it has a larger display and 4G devices seem to use more power.
(edited 6 years ago)
Hi! :smile:

I have the iPhone 8 Plus and the battery does last all day. But in general, the Plus iPhone models have better batteries as the battery itself is larger. If you're looking to upgrade to another iPhone, definitely try a Plus model!!
If you’ve just got the 5s then give it a few days to index itself and settle down as the system will be running background tasks on new devices to locate where information is on it so it will have worse battery life for a few days but this should improve (guessing its a new 5s and not 2nd hand otherwise the battery may need replacing)
I've had my IPhone 5 for nearly 5 years - it might be worth buying a new battery rather than new phone if the phone itself still runs decently. That's what I did back in 2016 when my phone kept switching off randomly and it still works fine to this day (may have just jinxed it though :s-smilie:)
Just get a Samsung. Preferably one that doesn't blow up in your pocket.
The best models for battery life are the 6S Plus, 7 Plus and 8 Plus, they have the largest batteries relative to their display size and always yield the best results in battery tests.

Now for the bit you didn't want to hear: Apple are known for putting fairly small batteries into their phones relative to the rest of the high end smartphone market, with the largest battery they've ever used (2900 mAh) coming in smaller than even the smallest battery used in an Android flagship this year (the Galaxy S8's 3,000 mAh cell). While this is mitigated somewhat by their rigorous optimisation, iPhones have never been able to get anything more than average battery life that just about makes out through one day in the hands of an intensive user. If your definition of "a decent amount of time" means you want something that can push through to a day and a half or more with a solid amount of screen-on time, you are going to need to look to Android these days. If you're irreversibly tied into Apple's ecosystems then i can appreciate why you'd stick to that path, but any other qualms you have with Android can probably be mitigated with the right choice of phone.

Original post by squeakysquirrel
Hasn't there been some scandal about the iPhone batteries - upgrade etc. Apparently you can get a new battery really cheaply because apple were threatened with court case.

I have a samsung - A3 - I think - it is ok - battery life about 3 days if I don't use it too much


Original post by Craghyrax
Really? :eek:
That sounds worth looking into :s-smilie:


The scandal was that Apple were deliberately reducing the performance of older iPhones in newer versions of iOS in order to better conserve battery life, as progressively newer versions of iOS become more resource intensive than those phones were originally built to handle. In future versions of iOS users will be able to make their own choice between optimising performance or battery life in the phone's settings menu.
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Original post by Fudgey123
Hi!
I have the iPhone 8 Plus and the battery does last all day. But in general, the Plus iPhone models have better batteries as the battery itself is larger. If you're looking to upgrade to another iPhone, definitely try a Plus model!!

Thanks for that. Pity... I was hoping the SE would be ok, because I'm much more inclined towards smaller phones.
Original post by Fresher18
I had the 6S Plus and that could do 3 days without needing a charge depending on how much you used it now I have the iPhone X and that can do 2 days + without needing to be charged I think they have got better with battery life. Anything made within the last 2 years will have good battery life on iPhones.
Impressive
Fresher18

I wouldn’t worry about the iPhone battery “scandal” it’s only been affecting devices from the 6 or newer where the battery management will slow down the device to maintain its battery life and prevent it restarting all the time.
Ah yeh I did hear about that. I mean how much are they slowing it down... because I don't mind too much about speed so long as apps aren't freezing or anything. Also doesn't that mean I have to worry about older models?
Fudgey123

The 5s is 5 years old this year, the technology in it is dated and not as energy efficient causing battery life to suffer also the reason it’s probably worse than your 4s is because it has a larger display and 4G devices seem to use more power.
Heh, interesting :hmmmmm: Do you think maybe it also just can't handle the newest iOS battery wise? Thanks for that context. When I got the phone I remember reading that the 5S was the one where they made a bunch of big changes. I guess I should have gone for a 5. It was a 4 I had that did so well, by the way. Not even 4S, haha!
Original post by Fresher18
If you’ve just got the 5s then give it a few days to index itself and settle down as the system will be running background tasks on new devices to locate where information is on it so it will have worse battery life for a few days but this should improve (guessing its a new 5s and not 2nd hand otherwise the battery may need replacing)

Alas no. I've had the phone for nearly a year now (fresh out the box) and its been puny on the battery front from the get go. I've just gotten fed up... I went snow shoeing yesterday for the first time and it went from around 75% charged to dead after precisely 2 photos :facepalm:
Mesopotamian
I've had my IPhone 5 for nearly 5 years - it might be worth buying a new battery rather than new phone if the phone itself still runs decently. That's what I did back in 2016 when my phone kept switching off randomly and it still works fine to this day (may have just jinxed it though )
I suspect the critical difference here is that you had a 5. Your story is the same as me with my 4. It's the 5S I have, which is just trouble.
Crocodile chute for you :banned: Come back when you read.
Goffrrre! You always give the best advice :jumphug:
And its amazing that you're still doing it :smile:

Spoiler


That's a bummer about the size thing. I've really never been a fan of mini-tablets instead of phones :sad:
Oh well, good to know.
Honestly an afternoon of heavy use would be enough to change my life. My phone can go..... 90 mins? At the very most 2 hours from fully charged to dead if being used constantly. So... every train journey etc. So 1 day would be fine honestly. It's having the thing bail on me each time I go hiking or off the grid for more than an hour that's really just becoming a royal pain in the unmentionable (I'm in Canada for a brief stint).
I don't understand how that's a scandal... sounds like it was the only way for people to keep their devices and for software to still be accessible? :confused:
(edited 6 years ago)
Original post by Craghyrax
Thanks for that. Pity... I was hoping the SE would be ok, because I'm much more inclined towards smaller phones.
Impressive
Ah yeh I did hear about that. I mean how much are they slowing it down... because I don't mind too much about speed so long as apps aren't freezing or anything. Also doesn't that mean I have to worry about older models? Heh, interesting :hmmmmm: Do you think maybe it also just can't handle the newest iOS battery wise? Thanks for that context. When I got the phone I remember reading that the 5S was the one where they made a bunch of big changes. I guess I should have gone for a 5. It was a 4 I had that did so well, by the way. Not even 4S, haha!

Alas no. I've had the phone for nearly a year now (fresh out the box) and its been puny on the battery front from the get go. I've just gotten fed up... I went snow shoeing yesterday for the first time and it went from around 75% charged to dead after precisely 2 photos :facepalm:
I suspect the critical difference here is that you had a 5. Your story is the same as me with my 4. It's the 5S I have, which is just trouble.
Crocodile chute for you :banned: Come back when you read.
Goffrrre! You always give the best advice :jumphug:
And its amazing that you're still doing it :smile:

Spoiler


That's a bummer about the size thing. I've really never been a fan of mini-tablets instead of phones :sad:
Oh well, good to know.
Honestly an afternoon of heavy use would be enough to change my life. My phone can go..... 90 mins? At the very most 2 hours from fully charged to dead if being used constantly. So... every train journey etc. So 1 day would be fine honestly. It's having the thing bail on me each time I go hiking or off the grid for more than an hour that's really just becoming a royal pain in the unmentionable (I'm in Canada for a brief stint).
I don't understand how that's a scandal... sounds like it was the only way for people to keep their devices and for software to still be accessible? :confused:

In my defence, you amended you original post after I had already commented. I wouldn't have put what I did if you lead with the ammendment. I still stand by my point. Samsung and even other brands like HTC have more reliable battery lives.
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Original post by Guru Jason
In my defence, you amended you original post after I had already commented. I wouldn't have put what I did if you lead with the ammendment. I still stand by my point. Samsung and even other brands like HTC have more reliable battery lives.

Nope that was in the original post. :lol:

Your point is fine, but this isn't the right thread for it :p:
Original post by Craghyrax
Nope that was in the original post. :lol:

Your point is fine, but this isn't the right thread for it :p:

In which case, my bad. My mind must have got lost along the way.
Original post by Craghyrax

Goffrrre! You always give the best advice :jumphug:
And its amazing that you're still doing it :smile:

Spoiler




Yeah I'm still kicking around :ahee: I work on cruise ships now so I usually disappear off the face of tsr for six months and then post loads for a few weeks while I'm on leave and bored out of my mind :h:

That's a bummer about the size thing. I've really never been a fan of mini-tablets instead of phones :sad:


Unfortunately the bigger the phone, the more space you have inside for battery cells after all the other components have been crammed in!

If you want the best battery in the smallest body and have the cash to get it, then the IPhone X has an even larger battery the IPhone 8 Plus while cramming everything into a body only a couple of millimetres taller than the normal IPhone 6/7/8. Apple literally had to cram in two battery cells to fit that much capacity.


Oh well, good to know.

Honestly an afternoon of heavy use would be enough to change my life. My phone can go..... 90 mins? At the very most 2 hours from fully charged to dead if being used constantly. So... every train journey etc. So 1 day would be fine honestly. It's having the thing bail on me each time I go hiking or off the grid for more than an hour that's really just becoming a royal pain in the unmentionable (I'm in Canada for a brief stint).

Apple are currently offering significantly discounted battery replacements in the wake of the scandal (£29/$29US if I remember correctly), your S would definitely benefit from that and might be worthwhile to gives it a few more years of life.

I don't understand how that's a scandal... sounds like it was the only way for people to keep their devices and for software to still be accessible? :confused:


The reasoning is sound and ii think if they have people the option to choose between battery and performance when they first began doing it, nobody would have cared and they would probably have even been praised for the move. The controversy is that they implemented the changes without telling anyone, which is being interrupted by some as deliberately devaluing the user experience of older iPhones and as an example of planned obsolescence in the smartphone industry which they're now trying to backtrack from.
(edited 6 years ago)
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Thanks @Gofre
Well... the smartphone market sucks. But at least now I have a bit of perspective. This was really useful.

And cool re the cruise ship thing! For our honeymoon we sailed over the northern coast of Norway. I loved it! Hoping to do a ferry journey up the coast of British Columbia and maybe as far as Alaska too, if we can :smile: May as well while in the region.
Anyhow... I hope your time off gets more interesting.
Just putting it out there, I have a 7, and use apples smart battery with it which I find well worth it as it means when I’m working a night shift it isn’t dead at 4am when I’ve been using it for almost 24 hours...
Original post by Craghyrax
Thanks @Gofre
Well... the smartphone market sucks. But at least now I have a bit of perspective. This was really useful.

And cool re the cruise ship thing! For our honeymoon we sailed over the northern coast of Norway. I loved it! Hoping to do a ferry journey up the coast of British Columbia and maybe as far as Alaska too, if we can :smile: May as well while in the region.
Anyhow... I hope your time off gets more interesting.


Yeah unfortunately small phone fans have been getting slowly forgotten about for the last few years, Sony and Apple are the last two brands making any halfway decent small phones and it's very likely that this is the last year Apple will produce a 5S/SE sized model. People have been voting with their wallets and big phones are where the money is!

Nice choice, Norway is one of my favourite destinations for cruising :smile: Yeah I've had my allowed week of laziness (when you work every single day for six months you need a few days of lying in bed binging netflix :ahee:) but I'm actually going to start doing stuff now :ahee:
Reply 17
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The popular vote sucks. I have an iPad. It's great (was a gift... I wouldn't justify an extra gadget otherwise). But it means that I prefer my phone to fit safely into a back pocket without being crushed or struggling. And I don't like having to use two hands to navigate. But c'est la vie. Tempted to get the SE just to dig my heels in. Ah well. And yeh 3am here. Ought to sleep :o:
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Oh one last thing... you can't do a hackbook non-iPhone right? I'd switch to Android, but only if I didn't have to leave iOS. :sigh:
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This article is telling me what I want to hear... :lol: Screen Shot 2018-02-14 at 03.19.55.png

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