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Batteries in smartphones are lasting longer than ever. But it’s inevitable that, eventually, they’ll run out. It’s always helpful to have a spare, but some phones outshine others in terms of their ability to last longer before creeping into the red.
Which Phones Have the Best Battery Life?
We spent time with some of the most popular smartphones on the market to find the phones with the best battery life. These phones were rated not just on length of battery life, but also how likely they are to malfunction in conditions like when it’s cold out. Battery meters can also be deceiving, as some companies show the display at “100% charged” for longer than it actually is, and same goes for the opposite end when it’s almost out, displaying less power than you really have.
Manufacturers are in tight competition against each other to win the recognition of best phone battery life, with tests running neck and neck and finishing around the same time. Here’s what to consider when searching for your next phone with a long-lasting battery.
Power Amount: Smartphone batteries are measured in mAh, or milliamp hours. Something around 4000-7000mAh is what you’ll find in most phones nowadays, give or take. In previous generations of phones, 5-7 hours of use might zap your battery. But newer phones should, at the very least, get you through the day without having to charge it up (with normal usage) often stretching past 8-10 hours.
Drainage: Having things like WiFi and Bluetooth switched-on is a drain on your battery; same goes with display settings, including resolution and especially refresh rate, when it’s set too high. Typical usage around 60fps should be fine for simple games, but detailed games, particularly ones with energy-eating bright screens on an OLED display, eat up a lot of power. Other features like a camera with intense magnification can be power-eaters as well.
Charging: Just as important as a long battery life is how fast it charges up. A 20W, 25W or higher fast-charger speeds up refueling, but don’t count on it being included when purchasing the phone. Magsafe, a new magnetically attached way of charging, is still going to be a little slower than wireless charging, at about 15W (and can often drop to 7.5W or even 5W). Reverse charging is a neat feature too, allowing you help out a friend in need and provide some of your power to their dying battery.
Think ahead and consider what you’ll be using your phone for. If using a battery-eating application is a big part of your day, we’ve rounded up our picks below of phones that’ll last long without skimping on features.
