LG G3 Winning the Battery Life Contest, Despite Power Hungry Specs (Corrected)

[dgstorm]

Updated: PhoneArena issues correction to LG G3 Battery Life tests in which the G3 is no longer the top dog: Correction: new battery life results of G3 and S5

The picture we have chosen above is rather appropriate. While the LG G3 is definitely not lying down when it comes to the features and specifications race, there is one way in which the phone is taking a nap, but that actually helps it beat its competitors. Apparently, the phone uses its energy so efficiently it is actually beating all of the big competitors at the moment in battery life tests, and this is despite the monster specs, like the 2K QHD display.

In fact, it beat the next closest competitor, the Samsung Galaxy S5, by 30 mins in PhoneArena's "real world-like" battery usage tests. Here's a quote from PhoneArena describing these results further,

You read that right -- despite the numerous arguments (and concerns) that the G3's super pixel-dense, 1440 x 2560 (QHD) resolution display caused, it would seem that LG was quite serious when it said that the optimizations it has implemented in both the screen and battery would ensure an industry-leading endurance.

For example, the LTPS panel dynamically tweaks variables such as frame rate when viewing static images, in order to arrive at a lower power draw in the longer term. As far as the user-replaceable, 3000 mAh juicer is concerned, LG claims to have replaced a lot of metal on the inside with graphite, and to have also implemented further, unspecified battery optimizations.

On top of the long lasting battery, there is another optimization that LG has made to the G3. According to their testing, it also charges faster than many of its competitors. It's amazing to see just how far LG has been pushing their technological evolution in recent months/years. They are obviously very serious about gaining ground against Samsung and Apple.

 

[SpeJ3435]

Are they comparing this to the Droid Maxx or the Droid RAZR Maxx which is two years old?

 

[FoxKat]

Yeah... Chart says RAZR MAXX. Not really a fair comparison. The Droid MAXX is even more battery savvy than the RAZR MAXX was.

Also, any of the manufacturers could make their phones charge faster. The tradeoff is shorter battery lifespan. In fact, most manufacturers typically try to charge their phones slower for one very important benefit. Slower charging and charging not near actual battery capacity will extend the life of these batteries. This is less of an issue for phones with removable batteries but a big issue for those that don't.

Since most people charge their phones overnight from the time they go to bed, charge time isn't really a big concern for the great majority of phone users. The ones that really have a concern with how fast the phone charges are generally going to be those who run short on power mid day and need a quick boost.

Still, even a quick boost can be accomplished with 15 or 20 minutes plugged in, even with slower charging phones, and give you a considerable portion of power for the late afternoon and evening. Personally I trade longer charge times for longer run times in every instance.

What most people don't realize is that unlike older forms of rechargeable batteries such as nickel cadmium and a lesser extent nickel metal hydride, charging in multiple shorter bursts over the day actually result in a better battery life rather than one long charge each night. My advice to everyone is to practice the same procedures that I do. Plugin whenever and wherever you can, and keep your battery in much better condition for the day and also allow it to last longer. Mine is plugged in the moment I'm in the car and again when I reach my desk at work. I never run short..


Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk

 

[trestevenson]

Are they comparing this to the Droid Maxx or the Droid RAZR Maxx which is two years old?

That's a good question! The former is nearly a year old and has a 3500mAh battery, while the latter is over two years old and comes with a 3300mAh battery. The graph states that it's the Razr Maxx, which doesn't seem like the correct device to use in a comparison with the others on the list.

 

[Dusty]

Does anyone know what the root & bootloader situation is with the LG G3?

 

[bkdodger]

Does anyone know what the root & bootloader situation is with the LG G3?

I don't ..but I doubt it will be bootloader unlocked ..I hope I'm wrong ..I'm waiting it out till I see what development looks like ...very very happy with this M8 fully unlocked ..

M8 tap'd

 

[dgstorm]

Are they comparing this to the Droid Maxx or the Droid RAZR Maxx which is two years old?

They had a list of multiple devices that you could choose from. I just threw that one and the Galaxy Note 3 in the mix to show an older option and a bigger phone.

 

[wicked]

Nice. Can't wait to check out this phone. Thanks David!

 

[droidprincess]

I am so ready for the G3!

sent from my hot Note 3

 

[Bara65]

It's nice to see G3 doing well in this test but it would be better if PA revealed more details on their testing method.
It seems odd that G2 does almost 30% worse than G3 here though it beat G3 on GSMarena battery test, especially on browsing. They noted that KK update nicely improved G2 battery life. This makes sense as G2 has the same battery size but slightly smaller screen and 1080p resolution with the same generation chipset 800 vs 801.

 

[Jeffrey]

I don't ..but I doubt it will be bootloader unlocked ..I hope I'm wrong ..I'm waiting it out till I see what development looks like ...very very happy with this M8 fully unlocked ..

M8 tap'd

The international version is Sim unlocked but the bootloader is locked. You can be sure the US version is totally locked.

 

[Vepaot]

Also, any of the manufacturers could make their phones charge faster. The tradeoff is shorter battery lifespan. In fact, most manufacturers typically try to charge their phones slower for one very important benefit. Slower charging and charging not near actual battery capacity will extend the life of these batteries. This is less of an issue for phones with removable batteries but a big issue for those that don't.

Most people that buy flagship phones though, are people that get new phones at least once a year. By the time they've ruined the battery, it's on to the next phone anyway. And a lot of these carriers have trade up programs that don't check the status of the battery. Most likely when they refurbish it, putting a fresh battery in it is part of that.

 

[cr6]

Very impressive! Thanks Mr Storm! :thumbup:

...on a side note...
Hey bkdodger....You have developer edition M8 right? What do you think of the camera in real world use?
I thought it was odd the Google Play Edition M8 still has a locked bootloader.

 

[FoxKat]

Most people that buy flagship phones though, are people that get new phones at least once a year. By the time they've ruined the battery, it's on to the next phone anyway. And a lot of these carriers have trade up programs that don't check the status of the battery. Most likely when they refurbish it, putting a fresh battery in it is part of that.

Vepaot, I would agree with all your points. IMHO though, the issue is that "most" people don't buy flagship phones, and "most" people don't upgrade at least once per year. Those that do are the type that are on the "cutting edge" of technology, and would often be on forums like this, and for them (us), it better be the most powerful, fastest, highest resolution, longest-lasting, cutting edge, and often most expensive or they (we), are not happy. Virtually any of the metrics we gauge phone popularity and success by would have severely skewed results if we only based those categories on what those on the cutting edge do. They (we) aren't the bulk of sales and aren't the widest in the profit margins of buyers.

It's the masses that the manufacturers try to cater to most, and for good reason. It's because they buy the greatest percentage of phones during the highest profitability periods - after the production runs have increased, the production costs have dropped, parts sourcing has expanded at lower price-points and the re-tooling expenses have been recovered, and before the prices have been slashed so dramatically that it's obvious they're simply trying to liquidate excess stock in advance of the next up and coming phone. Or in other words, during the 3/6 month to 1 year period of a particular phone's production run. Those people are also (IMHO), the ones most likely to charge once per day, overnight, and are less likely to be "battery gurus" carrying portable power packs, having multiple wall warts all around the house, plugging in whenever and wherever possible.

I still say, give me a phone that charges in no less than 6 hours, but that lasts both all-day and into the next on one charge, and also will still do that at least 1 - 1.5 years from now. Now, when this (This Battery Could Charge Your Smartphone In 30 Seconds | Innovation | Smithsonian), or this (Charging portable electronics in 10 minutes: New architecture for lithium-ion battery anodes far outperform the current standard -- ScienceDaily) makes it to market then we'll be looking at battery life in a whole new way. We may ultimately go backwards in battery size and capacity to save weight and size, simply because charging can happen in from 10 minutes to as little as 30 seconds.

 

[bkdodger]

Very impressive! Thanks Mr Storm! :thumbup:

...on a side note...
Hey bkdodger....You have developer edition M8 right? What do you think of the camera in real world use?
I thought it was odd the Google Play Edition M8 still has a locked bootloader.

I have a retail AT&T actually..you can unlock the bootloader through the htcdev website and terminal commands ..I was also able to s-off ..I'm hearing some peeps not able to s-off on a few of the latest updates ..but you can unlock no problem..camera is good for me ..but I'm hardly the photo type user to go by ..I thought the N3 took better pics ..but this phone is not as bad as some advertise either ..I don't use half the settings. Haha

M8 tap'd