Battery Life Compared: Galaxy S8 Plus Vs iPhone 7 Plus Vs Pixel XL Vs S7 Edge

Updated on

Every year the requirements placed on our smartphones grow, it doesn’t matter if you surf the web, call, work, or play they’ve become an indispensable part of modern life. However, while they become more powerful in regards to computing power, what about battery life? It’s often been referred to as the poor relative when it comes to internal components. So, much so, that, big hitters like Samsung with it’s Galaxy S8 Plus have promised improved battery life even with smaller capacities. Is this possible?

Galaxy S8 Plus Vs Galaxy S7 Edge

Back when Samsung first announced the Galaxy S8 Plus and S8, we were surprised to hear that both devices had similar battery capacities to the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus. However, that wasn’t the only surprise; it’s clear that 2016’s Note 7 battery problems have had an effect on the Korean manufacturer. Now, we’re not talking about monetary; instead, we mean technically, how? You only have to look at the battery capacity of last year’s flagship the Galaxy S7 Edge. Its battery mAh was 3600, and that was with a power hungry 5.5-inch Super AMOLED display.

In comparison, the S8 has a 5.8-inch Super AMOLED, but its battery capacity is only 3000mAh. Which is much less than general upgrade theory would have you believe it should have been, nevertheless, the same reduction in size can be seen on the Galaxy S8 Plus. Yes, it has a larger battery than the standard S8, but, with a 6.2-inch Super AMOLED, you would have expected it to have surpassed the S7 Edge in capacity. But, it doesn’t, even with a larger more power hungry display it comes in at 3500mAh compared to the 3600mAh of the Edge. Has this put a dent on handset owners hopes for improved battery life?

Fortunately, the answer would appear to be “No”, thanks to Phone Arena’s testing of the S8 Plus battery. Compared to the S7 Edge with its respectable 7-hour 18-minute usage time. The new device fared much better coming in with an on the nose 8-hour battery life result.

How is this possible? Two factors come to mind, one, Samsung had talked about the S8’s both having improved power management software. Two, it’s quite possible the Snapdragon 835 chipset is so power efficient that it allows for gains even with smaller battery capacity.

Galaxy S8 Plus Battery Life test result

Battery Life Compared To The Competition

So, it has been determined that Samsung’s latest big device surpasses the battery performance of its predecessor. However, now it’s time to find out how it compares to the competition?

It’s evident that among Android handsets, not all are created equal, so we’re going to start with Apple’s handsets. It worth noting that this test had each device with its display set to a brightness of 200 nits. That’s what is considered a typical brightness for everyday indoor use. So, when being tested, some web use, watching movies, listening to music, taking pictures, etc. the iPhone 7 died after 7-hours and 5-minutes.

However, the iPhone 7 Plus lasted for an amazing 9-hours and 5-minutes, 55-minutes more than the Galaxy S8 Plus. How is this possible, especially as the 7-Plus being the older device? It could be due to its smaller and less hungry IPS LCD and the enormous power efficiencies gained by the use of an A10 Fusion chip. Although, more real world testing is required to determine the reason.

As for the S8 Plus and Android rivals, the above table shows the Google Pixel, OnePlus 3T, and Huawei P10. All of which fall short of the S8 Plus and its 8-hour battery, some by minutes, the 3T by 2-hours. Which ultimately means the Samsung should get you through a working day on a single charge, even with reduced capacity.

Leave a Comment