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No matter what you’re looking for in your next smartphone upgrade, we bet you’ll want a battery life that lasts a full day from one charge.
In reality, this isn't true for a lot of smartphone users. It seems almost everyone has experienced a dead battery from a full day of regular phone usage - but maybe this is because what we used to deem as "regular" is higher than ever before with the demands of our busy lives.
For example, the iPhone SE doesn't even last half a day coming in at 3hr 59mins! See how your iPhone ranks in our article The Best iPhones for battery life ranked [2022].
But like most things in consumer tech, if you want the best specs, you usually have to be willing to pay for them. Although opting for a refurbished or preloved phone through reboxed® is a good way around this. Check out the best deals from reboxed® here.
It’s also important to note that big batteries don’t always translate to long-lasting phones. If it’s longevity you’re after you’ll need a device with great power management to optimise the length of time your phone will last on a single charge.
There's a lot to consider when it comes to battery life, so we're relying on YouTuber MrWhosTheBoss to inform our breakdown of the best smartphones for battery life. In his YouTube video, he tests phones based on the highest intensity use, gaming, streaming, switching apps etc, consistently over the period of time up until the batteries of each device died. What we love about this experiment is it's real, not what the manufacturer specifies. Check it out here.
Alright, let's get into it.
1. iPhone 13 Pro Max: 10 hours 27 minutes
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2. Samsung S21 Ultra: 8 hours 15 minutes
Get a refurbished Samsung S21 Ultra from just £619 with reboxed® here.
3. Samsung S22 Ultra: 8 hours 8 minutes
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4. Xiaomi 12 Pro: 7 hours 34 minute
5. Google Pixel 6 Pro: 7 hours 6 minutes
Best of the rest:
1. OnePlus Nord CE 2: 19 hours
2. Nokia XR20: 17 hours
3. Moto G9 Play: 16 hours 44 minutes
4. Motorola Defy (2021): 16 hours
5. Asus ROG Phone 5: 15 hours 44 minutes
Smartphones ranked for battery life (2022)
|
Best of the rest for battery life
| Rank | Model | Battery life (Hours) |
| 1 | OnePlus Nord CE 2 | 19hrs |
| 2 | Nokia XR20 | 17hrs |
| 3 | Moto G9 Play | 16hrs 44mins |
| 4 | Motorola Defy (2021) | 16hrs |
| 5 | Asus ROG Phones 5 | 15hrs 44mins |
Still unsure? Here are the most pressing questions you need to answer before making a decision about your phone.
Is It Worth Upgrading to the Latest Model For Its Battery?
From an overarching perspective, the smartphone market’s innovation curve has flattened within the past few years. With every phone that’s released, we seem to only get incremental design and feature improvements.
With this being said, is it always worth upgrading to the latest model? Well, this decision largely depends on whether that model has unique features which are worth taking advantage of. For example, if a new handset differentiates by offering unparalleled battery life it’s certainly worth considering.
However, if like many of today’s upgrades you’re set to only experience the slightest of differences, do these negligible upgrades justify the price increase? The short answer would be no, although there are many other factors to consider.
Let’s take this year’s iPhone 13 as an example; despite being Apple's flagship device, the new model only offers minor upgrades to specs and design compared to its predecessor. However, what we do see improve over the years with each release: power and capability.
These two features can transcend a phone’s battery life to create a longer-lasting user experience. With some truly next-level models surfacing by the second, there are some incredible phones from over the past few years which are well worth contemplating.
What Is Your Phone Powering?
Your phone battery is responsible for powering everything under the hood of your device, comprising all features, the display, and the processor.
However, some phones have hardware that drains more juice than others. Low and mid-range processors consume significantly less power than higher-performance models. This means that the greater the load your phone has to power, the more powerful the battery will need to be to keep it functioning.
Affordable phones usually have better battery lives because they won’t need to process as many functions and retain as much power. Additional hardware can drain battery life too, but that doesn’t mean to say that all flagship models are drainers. Some of today's high-end models differ in power consumption.
Some handsets can optimise the battery and alter the CPU for preferred performance. Additionally, other features are prone to draining more battery life than others, meaning it's important you consider what you’ll be using your phone for.
How Do Battery Lives Differ Between Models?
The battery lives of today’s models have become a focal point for buyers. Although historically a phone’s camera was its unique selling point, nowadays people are looking for impressive battery life to power their increasing demands. After all, with most phones having remarkable cameras it is the battery that can differentiate one model from the next.
With the focus shifting to battery life, it’s interesting to get a professional overview of which devices are worth the extra money and which aren’t. YouTuber MrWhoseTheBoss is an avid mobile device tester who empowers consumers to make well-informed decisions regarding their latest purchases, so we felt pretty confident using him to inform our rankings.
Having tested the latest models on the market, he was able to uncover significant differences in the battery lives of today’s latest models. This confirms that battery life should be a significant determinant of the phone you buy.
