Comparing the iPhone 3G's battery life

iPhone 3G

(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET Networks)

There's been some grumbling on the blogsphere about the iPhone's 3G's battery life, which Apple rates at five hours of 3G talk time. Indeed, five hours wouldn't get the most ardent road warrior through the day, but is five hours really that poor? Sure, it is quite low when compared with the iPhone's promised EDGE talk time of 10 hours, but when stacked up against other 3G handsets the iPhone holds its own. Below you'll find a selection of current 3G cell phones and smartphones and their tested talk time (in hours) from CNET Labs. Though not all the handsets listed here are direct iPhone 3G competitors, only the Nokia N78 beats Apple's device on the GSM side. Also, while 3G CDMA phones aren't exactly comparable, we've provided a few as a reference point.

Of course, as we say in our iPhone 3G review, real world use (where you're using several functions at once) will be a better barometer of the iPhone 3G's endurance. And in that regard the iPhone 3G's battery is draining quicker than we'd like.

3G talk time (in hours) of GSM phones
(Longer bars indicate better performance)

LG Vu

3.16 

LG Shine CU720

3.68 

Nokia N95

3.5 

Nokia N78

8.5 

Nokia N75

2 

Motorola Z9

3.16 

Motorola Q9h

4 

HTC Touch Dual

3.2 

AT&T Tilt

3.5 

Apple iPhone 3G

4.95 

Palm Treo 750

3 

Pantech Duo

4 

Talk time (in hours) of 3G CDMA phones
(Longer bars indicate better performance)

Verizon Wireless XV6900

4 

Samsung SCH-i760

4 

Samsung Instinct

6 

Samsung Glyde

3.5 

RIM BlackBerry Pearl 8130

3.6 

RIM BlackBery Curve 8830

5 

Samsung Ace

7.5 

LG Voyager

3.75 

LG Dare

5.15 

HTC SMT5800

4 

[jprandg]

You are correct, 5 hours of 3G talk time is not bad. One thing to mind though is that is straight up talk time, and this is a Smart Phone, so you have to factor other usage into the everyday battery life. For professionals, this includes PUSH e-mail, which kills the iPhones battery life by at least 25%, which is fairly major if you do a lot of e-mailing + talking + web browsing + what little time you have left for music/videos. This is a little talked about draw back yet is a deal killer for someone like myself. I use a Blackberry 8330 (which is the model I think you were referring to for the 3G CDMA Blackberry Curve) and do a lot of all of the above and it can stand up to a 14 hour day (work + play) without a change (thanks to the BES PUSH e-mail).

Just trying to point out that although talk times are close for the 8330 and iPhone 3G, real world battery life for someone like myself is far different. This is why I think the iPhone 3G is the best phone on the market for your average end-user while the Blackberry is still king for professionals.

[bigmc6000]

Just 1 question - are you basing the killing of the iPhone battery for PUSH based on experience or just based on other phones? I'd say basing it on average Blackberry performance isn't really that good of an indicator. I'd like to see CNET do a test and have a fully comprehensive battery study

[mk3_nyc]

I totally agree with jprandg. I have an 8830 for work and bought the iPhone 3G for personal use. I love the iPhone, but you do need to make sure you carry your charger with you if you're going to use it heavily during the day.

iPhone Batttery life under real world usage (music, browsing, push, SMS, calling, etc.) cannot compare to battery life under real world usage on the CrackBerry (push, sms, calling, etc.).

If there's a way for Apple to optimize power usage for iPhone 3.0 (or hopefully 2.5 :-) ), that would be great.

[jpsalerno]

I have a Treo 750 through my company and the battery life is an absolute joke. I'm never in the office and, unless I'm not doing my job, there's no way I can make it through the day on one single charge. For this reason, it's pretty much plugged into my car charger whenever I'm driving. Would I prefer a battery that could withstand at least one day's worth of work/play without the need to constantly charge it? Of course. Is it really THAT big of a deal? If you're in and out of the car a lot like me... not really.

[someguyineagle]

The 3G talk time for the CDMA phones is a moot point as EV-DO is just that, Data only and voice isn't carried on the 3G signal, but on the network's voice network. It would then reason that CDMA phones would have a longer battery life.

Also, many GSM phones will switch to which ever signal is better. if GSM has the stronger signal, the phone will use the GSM radio, if the 3G signal is stronger, it will use the 3G radio.

While this comparison isn't totally invalid, it is not a good basis to make a buying decision off of. Comparing 4 different technologies (GSM, 3G GSM, CDMA, EV-DO) it like comparing Apples to oranges to Pineapples, and while they're all fruit they have very different attributes just as the technologies.

[ironman5000]

Granted the iphone batter doesnt last that long if you actually are a heavy user. BUT comparing it to a blackberry isnt exactly realistic either. Mobile os x im sure is a little more needy in the battery department than blackberry os. Not to mention the blackberry proccesor runs at around 312mhz....the iphone aprox. 624mhz. The iphones proc is TWICE as fast, and it needs to be. Theres alot more graphical eye candy to push around. Thats where I believe a big draw comes from.

[BLipman72]

With all the talk about the iphone battery life, you neglect to mention the itouch. I have upgraded mine to 2.0 (same os as the iphone) and with heavy use of the apps the battery drains much faster that i would like. My itouch battery is less that a year old and i would think is still good. Drains especially fast on the radio apps like aol radio and pandora. Hold em app after one tournment drains 3/4th of the battery. The smaller ones like the ipint and phonesaber don't seem to affect it as much. Apple should definately release a patch to help manage the battery life better with the applications. Probably won't see it till the iphone 3.0. In the meantime i will just have to plug it in wherever i can.

[latichever]

It doesn't matter whether the iphone battery life compares favorably or unfavorably with its competitors. For most of the competition, you can carry spare charged battery or two and just pop them in when you have low battery. For the iphone, it's not an option. So the iphone remains a loser as far as batteries are concerned.

[jpsalerno]

I can see the advantages being able to swap batteries provides. However, you need to remember that Apple values the aesthetic qualities of its products far more than any mfg I can think of. Being able to swap batteries means you'll have a cover that can slide on and off. Having a cover means the unit won't feel nearly as solid in one's hand (don't you just love how the battery door flexes and crunches under pressure?) This is the main reason Apple went the route they did. Sure, there's a trade-off... but for many, including myself, having a unit that's rock solid and embodies such a high level of craftsmanship makes it totally worth it.

[texan1977]

Aesthetic reasons? Really? Or could it be that apple wants that 89 dollar battery replacement fee.

[latichever]

It's a very benign view to say that they don't let you swap batteries for design reasons. It's more like spin. They do it so you have to generate more revenue for them when you need a new battery. It's also true that Apple likes to tottally control their environmnet. If they allowed you to swap batteries, there would be after market companies selling you batteries. Apple wouldn't like that. There is the option of an extended battery but that makes the device much more clunky than a batter cover would.

When generation one iphone came out, in response to the issue of facttory replacement of failed batteries only, an Apple official said by the time the battery fails we'll have a new iphone to sell them. That's what's happening.

(Full disclosure: I do own a modest chunk of apple stock and have enjoyed makeing money off the apple cult.)

[natsuissa]

i have a iphone 3g and the battery is really really bad
never let 3g enabled and it will never last more than one day
so if you are lost in the desert, it will maybe not save you

nath
http://www.themostpowerfulcompany.com

[standa06]

One thing to remember (for those who complain about iPhone's short talk time) is that the 3G could be switched off. It makes no sense to have the 3G antenna on while using the iPhone only as a phone. For faster data transfer, that is another thing, of course. But anyone can achieve longer talk time by simply switching the 3G antenna off and turning it on only when using features that need over the air data transfer.

[audiopainter]

Push technology doesn't decrease battery life, it increases it. How? Normally, your phone would have to initiate a connection to the email server every 15, 30, or 60 mins. but when using Push, the server is the one that initiates the connection between device and phone, thus reducing the amount of work the phone has to do to get your email.
As for overall battery life, the iPhone 3G has great stamina. Most of people's concerns about having to charge it everyday fail to notice that compared to all of those other phones, you're actual USAGE is more on the iphone. What is usage? Usage is anytime you turn the screen on to check the time, listen to music, make calls, check your email, IM, create a note, or basically anytime the screen is on. When you add all those minutes up, you get more usage than your average smartphone user...including those on Blackberrys. I've had my iPhone last as long as 3 days with very minimal usage and 8 hours when I was using it non-stop after charging. Overall, battery life is how you use it and how much you use it. I'm definitely not dissapointed!

[jihoon526]

my brother just got iPhone 2.0 and i have the CDMA blackberry curve 8330. our usage is about the same, including music, emails, browsing, etc. blackberry does last whole lot longer.

someone had mentioned that EV-DO is data only and CDMA do not provide 3G voice. what advantage does 3G voice have over regular voice? Doesn't 3G matter only in terms of data, because of the bandwidth it requires? Sure it might be comparing apples to oranges to some people's mind, but i think it's more of comparing Gala Apples to Fuji Apples. The end usage is the same.

And with amount of recharging I do with phone, even the Lit-Ion battery dies off quickly after 1 year of usage. I would hate to send my phone in for few days just to get my battery replaced. And it's not about the looks. There are many other great looking phones with user-replaceable batteries (at least in Korea). So there are ways to do it. It's just that apple doesn't want anyone else to take their profit away by providing aftermarket stuff.

[dealfreak]

The one thing to note is that even if the results are unbiased the fact that you can't change the battery is the biggest problem.

This is coming from someone who has an iphone.