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Which? iPhone battery life comparison test deeply flawed
AppleMac ^ | October 3, 2016 | By Jonny Evans

Posted on 10/03/2016 5:34:22 PM PDT by Swordmaker

How would an iPhone with half the battery of competing smartphones ever have won the test, and why didn’t Which test a similar device?

Which? is getting lots of attention today on strength of its report that claims smaller batteries don’t last as long as larger batteries. That’s the only logical discovery the organization made in a flawed-by-design smartphone battery life test that’s being widely reported.

What the report’s headline doesn’t make clear is that the iPhone 7 in the test has a 4.7-inch display, while all three of the other smartphone models tested are larger (5.1-inches, or more), and equipped with larger batteries. The iPhone could never have won this unequal comparison.

In other words, the larger the battery the longer the battery life. Which? even admits this, saying, “it should hardly be surprising that one battery nearly half the size of another offers roughly half as much charge.”

It’s easy to imagine the test was set up precisely to deliver the conclusion the magazine chose to run as its headline. After all, if Which had really wanted to run a truly comparative test, it would have tested the larger alternatives against iPhone 7 Plus, a 5.5-inch display device with a Li-Ion 2900 mAh battery. That’s a fair test.

The test it ran is an unfair test, a perfect example of selective testing

Accepting Which? chose not to review a comparative device in a comparative review, then how can it possibly justify a conclusion that could never have gone in Apple’s direction?

I’m declaring the report to be yet more of the FUD and nonsense that passes for Apple coverage these days. Cheap and tawdry sensationalist clicktivism from an organization I expect much more from. In my opinion, at it’s best the test is flawed, at worst, unethical.

No link provided as none is deserved.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Computers/Internet
KEYWORDS: applepinglist; iphone; iphone7battery; iphonebattery; iphonetest; testing
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To: aMorePerfectUnion

Thanks. We have done most of that but I will have someone check the whole list - thanks very much


21 posted on 10/03/2016 6:52:53 PM PDT by faithhopecharity ("Politicians are not born. They're excreted." Marcus Tullius Cicero.)
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To: Swordmaker

Is there a problem with iPhone battery life? We have iPhone 7+, 6+, 5c, and lots of others and really have no problem (presuming we charge them overnight). I set screen at lower brightness, which I think has the biggest single impact on battery life. Killing open applications likely helps as well.


22 posted on 10/03/2016 6:56:02 PM PDT by Reno89519 (It is very simple, Trump/Pence or Clinton/Kaine. Good riddance Lyn' Ted, we regret ever knowing you)
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To: Shanghai Dan
All phones are close to the same dimension, aren’t they?
There are different models of iPhone which have different sizes of display and, concomitantly, different size batteries. The article indicates that Which? compared a big competing phone with a smaller iPhone, despite the fact that Apple offers a more comparable-sized iPhone.

IOW, by design the test disadvantaged the iPhone. In Apple or in other phones you choose the size of the phone as big as you are willing to carry routinely - and as small as your appetite for power allows.

Just reading the article - I don’t own a smart phone.


23 posted on 10/03/2016 6:56:10 PM PDT by conservatism_IS_compassion ('Liberalism' is a conspiracy against the public by wire-service journalism.)
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To: Swordmaker
What the report’s headline doesn’t make clear is that the iPhone 7 in the test has a 4.7-inch display, while all three of the other smartphone models tested are larger (5.1-inches, or more), and equipped with larger batteries. The iPhone could never have won this unequal comparison.

Actually, that wasn't really a fair comparison at all. Given the prices, the iPhone should be much better in most specs considering it is so much more expensive than the other phones:
iPhone 7: $750
HTC 10: $600
LG G5: $450
Galaxy S7: $700

Or, you could try comparing it to a phone of similar size, like my Xperia Z5 compact. It has a smaller screen (4.6"), but only costs about $400, and I bet my battery lasts longer (2-4 days depending on usage), and that's even without me installing a custom ROM that will generally improve the battery life.
24 posted on 10/03/2016 6:57:33 PM PDT by Svartalfiar
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To: faithhopecharity

Is this all on new iPhone 6’s an 7’s? That is extremely bizarre. I’ve been using iPhone since my first 3GS and I find them highly productive and useful in business and for fun. I’ve been an Apple guys since my first Apple //e in 1984 or so, and have been very happy.


25 posted on 10/03/2016 6:59:24 PM PDT by lefty-lie-spy (Stay metal. For the Horde \m/("_")\m/ - via iPhone from Tokyo.)
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To: lefty-lie-spy

http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2016/10/03/iphone-7-slammed-as-having-worst-battery-life-compared-to-rivals.html


26 posted on 10/03/2016 7:25:24 PM PDT by faithhopecharity ("Politicians are not born. They're excreted." Marcus Tullius Cicero.)
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To: Pikachu_Dad

Yes, there are portable charger power banks for use with recharging the iPhone’s (as well as other smart phone’s) internal batteries. As far as I know it would be a rare consumer who would carry around spare (internal) batteries for the actual smartphone.


27 posted on 10/03/2016 7:26:13 PM PDT by House Atreides (Send BOTH Hillary & Bill to prison.)
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To: MarineBrat
This is a crybaby report from a loser who wants to redirect blame to an imaginary boogie man.

“Our battery is undersized and that’s why we don’t last as long so you shouldn’t blame us because we don’t last as long.”

The iPhone 7 battery isn't undersized for the space available. Do the math, which doesn't lie like some posters on threads like this one. . . like you are.

28 posted on 10/03/2016 7:36:13 PM PDT by Swordmaker (This tag line is a Microsoft insult free zone... but if the insults to Mac users continue...)
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To: SoCal Pubbie; faithhopecharity
You carry a spare battery to charge from ,,, usually an 18650 device like this...

Disney now sells those portable chargers at vending machines throughout the parks for apple users ...


29 posted on 10/03/2016 7:40:14 PM PDT by Neidermeyer (Bill Clinton is a 5 star general in the WAR ON WOMEN and Hillary is his Goebbels.)
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To: Swordmaker

Maybe they chose by a criteria most consumers would find relevant ,,, similarity of price? Generalizing that it is anti-Apple bias is unfounded at this time.


30 posted on 10/03/2016 7:41:59 PM PDT by Neidermeyer (Bill Clinton is a 5 star general in the WAR ON WOMEN and Hillary is his Goebbels.)
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To: Shanghai Dan
All phones are close to the same dimension, aren’t they?

Are you that mathematics challenged? Space inside increases by the cube of the dimensions. A small increase in the diagonal dimension results in a fairly large increase in space available for battery space. In this instance, it is 11% more volume, which can be dedicated to battery, which means that the battery can be DOUBLED IN SIZE. Pay attention to the engineering, Dan.

Apple chose to put some of their additional miniaturization savings and the space they saved by removing the audio jack into adding a haptic engine. They could have opted to use that space for more battery, but they did not. That was an engineering choice.

Apple is getting no special dispensation. The "form factor" has nothing to do with it, but the volume does. Why does Apple make a 4.7" screen size? because it sells in enormous numbers, far better than any of the three they compared it against. Customers LIKE that size better than they like the larger size.

You ask idiotic questions from little knowledge. . . because the iPhone 7 Plus with the same form factor blows the three other testees away in battery life with the same size screen the largest one of them has, yet has a smaller battery than any of them.

31 posted on 10/03/2016 7:54:17 PM PDT by Swordmaker (This tag line is a Microsoft insult free zone... but if the insults to Mac users continue...)
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To: Pikachu_Dad
The original iPhone battery life was pretty good.

The current phones life sucks !

Apple needs to put bigger batteries in their phones.

I'm not having a problem with my iPhone 7 Plus and iOS 10.0.2. It's 8 PM and my battery percentage is currently 79% after a full day of work using my phone multiple times during the day. . . and using it during the morning to stream Rush. I took it off charge at 8:30AM.

32 posted on 10/03/2016 8:01:13 PM PDT by Swordmaker (This tag line is a Microsoft insult free zone... but if the insults to Mac users continue...)
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To: Reno89519
Is there a problem with iPhone battery life? We have iPhone 7+, 6+, 5c, and lots of others and really have no problem (presuming we charge them overnight). I set screen at lower brightness, which I think has the biggest single impact on battery life. Killing open applications likely helps as well.

Not that I have ever experienced except when I first downloaded iOS 10 before I force restarted my iPhone to clear all things running in memory. Then it was running the battery down rapidly. After the restart, everything was back to normal.

33 posted on 10/03/2016 8:06:55 PM PDT by Swordmaker (This tag line is a Microsoft insult free zone... but if the insults to Mac users continue...)
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To: faithhopecharity; Swordmaker; SoCal Pubbie

Not my experience either.


34 posted on 10/03/2016 8:23:03 PM PDT by Mark17 (Calvary's love has never faltered. All it's wonder still remains. Souls still take eternal passage.)
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To: Svartalfiar
Or, you could try comparing it to a phone of similar size, like my Xperia Z5 compact. It has a smaller screen (4.6"), but only costs about $400, and I bet my battery lasts longer (2-4 days depending on usage), and that's even without me installing a custom ROM that will generally improve the battery life.

That's called standby. The iPhone 7 has a listed standby time of 10 days. So, no, you wouldn't win your bet. These listings are for using the phones for the stated purpose constantly. . . i.e. talking on a two-way 3G cellular connection for 10-12 hours nonstop until the battery gives out.

Then you have to consider other factors. The iPhones have been the fastest phones on the market for the past five years in the vast majority of the bench mark testing.

When you compare pricing, you also have to compare trade-in pricing to get actual cost of ownership. For example, I could have bought an iPhone 7 for $649 and traded in my iPhone 6S for $400. . . which meant my total cost for an iPhone 7 would have cost me only $249. I opted instead for an iPhone 7 Plus this time at $749. . . so it cost me with my trade in $349. Therefore, my iPhone 7 Plus cost me less than any of those Android phones to own.

None of those Android phones have much trade in value at all. Sorry, but that is just the truth.

I've always been able to trade in or sell my iPhones for a considerable value when upgrading.

A friend, who was very dissatisfied with his three month old top of the line Samsung Android decided to go iPhone. . . but the trade in value was only $60, after he'd paid over $600! He bit the bullet and still went Apple and has been exceedingly happy ever since.

35 posted on 10/03/2016 8:28:50 PM PDT by Swordmaker (This tag line is a Microsoft insult free zone... but if the insults to Mac users continue...)
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To: Swordmaker

What’s this, a new report explaining how Apple is the best? I guess I’ll skip Rush tomorrow, no need to hear about this for a couple of hours straight.


36 posted on 10/03/2016 8:41:07 PM PDT by pepsi_junkie (ui)
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To: faithhopecharity
http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2016/10/03/iphone-7-slammed-as-having-worst-battery-life-compared-to-rivals.html

Did you bother to read the article on this thread?

The phones they were comparing the 4.7" iPhone 7 against were all at least 11% larger in interior volume capacity than the iPhone 7. . . which means they had ROOM for twice as large a battery. Try comparing the iPhone 7 Plus, which is the phone they ACTUALLY compete against and see which one lasts longer!

The dimensions actually show of the show the LG-G5 has 27.7% more volume, and the HTC-10 a 5.2" Android phone's it has even more volume at 41%, than the much smaller dimensions of the 4.7" iPhone 7 does! That's a LOT of volume to stick a bigger battery in which will have more capacity.

If you compare an Android phone with a 4.7" screen, they have WORSE battery life. . . if the case and weight are at all similar.

The test was not comparing equivalent sized phones at all. The test should have been those three Android phones against the Apple iPhone 7 Plus.

37 posted on 10/03/2016 8:46:17 PM PDT by Swordmaker (This tag line is a Microsoft insult free zone... but if the insults to Mac users continue...)
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To: Swordmaker
iPhone 7: Li-Ion 1960 mAh battery

What an insult to customers with such a pathetic battery at that high price point.

38 posted on 10/03/2016 9:57:56 PM PDT by montag813
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To: Swordmaker

Sniffle…


39 posted on 10/03/2016 10:33:51 PM PDT by MarineBrat (Better dead than red!)
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To: Swordmaker

I have the 7 and the battery life is MUCH improved over my 5s...


40 posted on 10/04/2016 3:30:03 AM PDT by Shady (We are at war again......this time for our lives...)
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