Now that the iPhone 7 has been out for a while, we’re starting to hear reports about problems with it. Comparison articles are also starting to pour in as people compare Apple’s latest lineup with models from the company’s competitors. One of the most recent comparisons is on the iPhone 7’s battery, which apparently isn’t as good as that of other recent flagship smartphones.
However, it’s pretty tough to make an even comparison here, given that we’re talking about phones with different display sizes.
iPhone 7 in last place in the battery stakes
The U.K.-based website Which? pitted the iPhone 7 against the Samsung Galaxy S7, the LG G5 and the HTC 10 to determine which smartphone’s battery performed the best. Not only did Apple’s newest model come in last place, but it wasn’t even close where 3G call time is concerned.
The website clarified that the iPhone 7 it used was running iOS 10, while the three Android phones were running Marshmallow 6.0. In order to keep things as fair as possible, it used a phone network simulator to ensure that the strength of the signal was the same for each of the tests. The reason is because phones that struggle to get or keep reception use more battery than those that don’t.
The testers also set the brightness of each phone’s screen to the same level and ran a power cycle of each handset’s battery before running the tests. For the phone call tests, they made a continuous 3G call on each of the phones, and for the 3G internet test, they went to a special webpage that updates regularly.
iPhone 7 battery again in last place in internet use
According to Which? the iPhone 7’s battery will provide 712 minutes of 3G call time, which was the worst of the four handsets that were compared. The HTC 10 performed the best with 1,859 minutes, while the LG G5 came in second with 1,579 minutes. The Samsung Galaxy S7, which was released earlier this year, was in third place with 1,492 minutes of 3G call time, meaning that Apple’s iPhone 7’s battery didn’t even provide half as much talk time as the Galaxy S7.
Luckily for Apple, the iPhone 7 did better in the 3G internet usage comparison, but it still came in last place. The competition here was much close, with the HTC 10 again on top at 790 minutes. The Samsung Galaxy S7 came in second place this time with 677 minutes, while the LG G5 offered 640 minutes of 3G internet usage. The iPhone 7’s battery only lasted for 615 minutes while using 3G internet.
More to the story
It should be noted here that the HTC 10’s battery lasted even longer with 3G internet usage than the amount of time the iPhone 7’s battery lasted while talking on the phone. It’s also pretty clear why the HTC 10 lasts so much longer than the iPhone 7 because it has a 3,000mAh battery, compared to the iPhone 7’s 1,960mAh battery.
Of course this isn’t an even comparison, given that the HTC 10, Galaxy S7 and LG G5 are all larger than the iPhone 7. While Apple’s phone has a 4.7-inch display, the others have displays that are slightly larger than 5 inches in size. Some debate that the 5.5-inch Plus-size iPhone should be used instead. Bigger displays need bigger batteries to provide ample battery life, and the 7 Plus has a 2,900mAh battery, which is more in line with that of the HTC 10. However, the HTC 10 isn’t as big as the 7 Plus.
So in short, there isn’t an even comparison to be made here. Different screen sizes and the fact that we’re talking about two different operating systems make it impossible to run an even test. Battery life is important to consumers, but so is the Apple brand. Many consumers will let things slide just because they consider the iPhone to be the gold standard in smartphones—even though lots of Android phones have specs that look better on paper.
