Why is My Phone Battery Life so Short

Recently, the media reported a mobile phone battery test result. In 2018, the life of most smartphone batteries is declining. For example, if you recently purchased a new flagship phone, its battery life may actually be worse than the old model.

According to the same battery test results on 13 mobile phones, most of the flagship models this year are worse than the previous generation. The new iPhone XS is 21 minutes shorter than last year’s iPhone X. Google’s Pixel 3 is one and a half hours shorter than the Pixel 2.

Why is my phone battery life so short

“Battery improvements are very slow, about 5% a year, but mobile phone power consumption is growing at more than 5%,” said Nadim Malouf, CEO of Silicon Valley’s Qnovo. 

The reason is due to the higher resolution of the screen, the more complex applications, and most importantly, we can’t seem to put down the phone.

The phone’s power supply situation may get worse. In the future, 5G’s new ultra-fast wireless technology will soon come, which has higher requirements for phone batteries.

Tests have found that special screens with high resolution or mobile phones using technologies such as OLEDs perform worse. So if you want your phone to last longer, turn down the screen.

Another way to extend your life: If you want to use the battery for a longer period of time, use WiFi whenever possible – or use airplane mode when you don’t need it. Apple and Android phones also offer a low-power mode that reduces some of the data transfer capabilities.

How mobile phone manufacturers solve the problem of battery life

Samsung’s Note 9 succeeded by filling more batteries. It has a battery capacity of 4,000 mAh, which is higher than the Samsung Note 8 battery (3,300 mAh). Huawei just launched the Mate 20 Pro, which has a 4,200 mAh battery. The iPhone XS battery is only 2,659 mAh.

Many mobile phones use a larger battery capacity. iFixit, a repair community that disassembles and analyzes mobile phone parts, says battery capacity has almost doubled in the past five years.

The iPhone XR takes a different approach. It greatly extends battery life by reducing screen resolution, reducing brightness and reducing color quality: iPhone XR is 3 hours longer than the iPhone XS.

For some manufacturers, faster and more convenient charging is a strategy. Many mobile phones now support wireless charging, but few cafes, offices and airport lounges offer wireless charging.

Then there is the charger itself. Apple has been using a 5 watt charger, however, Google has introduced a Pixel phone with an 18 watt charger. It is said that it takes only 15 minutes to get 7 hours of use.