Most people use their smartphones all day. But, even with light use, very few phones can take you from morning to midnight on a single charge.
With current flagships being priced at a thousand dollars and beyond, you'd think that manufacturers would find ways to make your smartphone last throughout the day. However, most phones have the same battery lives as their previous iterations.
Here's why your phone's battery can't last the whole day without needing a recharge.
1. More Power, More Power Consumption
You may already know how batteries work. But why isn't battery life improving?
The most apparent reason is that smartphones consume more power. Take, for example, the Samsung Galaxy Note series. These phones are typically noted for their exceptional battery life. However, very little has changed since Samsung released the first Galaxy Note.
In 2011, Samsung released the original Galaxy Note with a 2500mAh battery. It could last roughly a day, depending on usage. The most recent version of the phone, the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, is equipped with a 4500mAh battery. While theoretically, that means it can store 80% more juice, that's not true in practice.
The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra is equipped with a much larger, brighter, higher-resolution AMOLED screen with a dynamic 120Hz refresh rate. It also has a much faster processor, more powerful GPU, and more RAM. The larger screen on its own takes a significant toll on potential battery life.
In addition, our phones run more apps than ever in the background. While this means that we get our notifications on time and our photos automatically sync to the cloud, it also means that our devices are continuously consuming power.
Add to that all the additional forms of connection that might be running on a phone at any given time. 3G, LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and NFC all precipitously consume your battery juice throughout the day.
Manufacturers have been adding power-saving features to phones. Some devices have adjustable screen resolutions that dip the number of pixels being displayed. And with the advent of high refresh rate screens, dynamic refresh rate comes in handy. Dynamic refresh rate ensures that your screen only cranks up to the highest supported rate when performing tasks that need such capabilities.
However, there is no doubt that the more powerful a device, the more power it uses up.
2. Thinner and Thinner Phones
Phones have also been getting thinner and thinner over time. The original iPhone released in 2007 was 0.46 inches thick. On the other hand, Apple's latest flagship, the iPhone 13 Pro Max, shaves off about 40% of that, at 0.30 inches thick.
While the thinner form factor makes modern phones sleeker, easier to hold, and more pocketable, they also leave less room for a phone's internals. To compensate, manufacturers include smaller-sized batteries.
Even if battery technology is getting slightly more compact, that means little if companies are committed to slimming down their devices.
Most flagships have battery lives from 2800mAh to 4000mAh. The flagship smartphone with the largest battery cell in 2018 was the Huawei Mate 20 Pro, with its 4200mAh battery. However, it's important to note that the Mate 20 Pro was a 6.5-inch device. In 2021, that rose to 5000mAh with the Galaxy S21 Ultra.
There are still phones with battery lives over 5000mAh. However, they are all generally thicker and bigger than a typical flagship. In a space where aesthetics can be essential to consumers, major smartphone manufacturers likely aren't eager to introduce thicker phones into the mix.
3. Power Packs and Charging Speeds
Another reason your phone has a short battery life is that smartphone makers have no incentive to increase it.
Many devices nowadays tout their charging speeds and wireless charging functionality instead of battery capacity. Phones charge much faster now than they did before, with several flagship devices having the ability to finish charging in under an hour. In addition, wireless charging is also becoming faster and more ubiquitous in the market.
Therefore, instead of including larger batteries, companies push additional devices that improve the charging experience. For example, Apple and Samsung do not include power bricks out of the box in their flagship devices. To get one, you have to purchase it separately. Apple also sells battery cases that extend the iPhone's battery life.
On the other hand, Samsung sells wireless charging packs that work with their device lineup.
4. Deteriorating Over Time
If you've owned a smartphone for more than two years, you probably already know that lithium-ion batteries eventually deteriorate. Although they are rechargeable, they only retain their max capacity for a limited number of cycles. Smartphone batteries stay "fresh" anywhere from one to three years, depending on use.
This tended to be less of a problem in early Android devices. You could easily take off the back panel in an older phone and purchase a replacement battery from the manufacturer or a third party. You have to go straight to the manufacturer or an authorized dealer to get a battery replacement.
Apple, for instance, does warn you if you replace your iPhone parts from third-party shops that are not part of its Independent Repair Program. Taking your product to Apple or an Apple service provider is safe, although it's usually time-consuming and expensive. Apple charges $69 to replace the battery on the iPhone X series and later.
5. Battery Development Has Fallen Behind
Battery technology development is a slow process. The lithium-ion technology that has been used for decades is improving, but it's not quite as fast as you'd want. That is why current iterations still wear out over time. They are also just as size-dependent as their predecessors.
With the ubiquity of smartphones, as well as electric cars and wearable devices, there's a push to improve battery technology as soon as possible. Researchers have been working on improvements and potential replacements for years, while companies have poured millions into fixing this problem.
In Search of Better Battery Life on Phones
It's not too unrealistic to think that a radical improvement will come to battery technology in the near future. For now, before buying a device, you should always take into consideration its battery life. You can do this by checking the battery capacity or viewing battery tests that pit a device's usage against other batteries.
The five key reasons why your smartphone can't last the entire day as highlighted above. In summary, modern devices consume energy faster, smartphones are getting slimmer and have less space for batteries, manufacturers have no incentive to add bigger batteries, lithium-ion batteries deteriorate over time, and battery technology isn't keeping up.
Of course, there are things you can do to get more use out of your devices. If you feel that you aren't getting enough battery out of your smartphone, there are some ways to improve your smartphone.