Neil Hughes
Revamped internal components in Apple's iPhone 5s have allowed the company to cram in a slightly larger battery, resulting in higher projected usage times — even with the more powerful A7 processor.
Apple has advertised that its new flagship iPhone 5s will boast up to 10 hours of talk time on 3G, and up to 10 hours of LTE Internet use. Both of those numbers are two hours greater than the estimates Apple provided for its predecessor, the iPhone 5.
Remaining battery estimates are largely the same: Apple estimates the iPhone 5s will offer 8 hours of Internet use on 3G, 10 hours on Wi-Fi, 10 hours of video playback, and up to 40 hours of audio playback.
But the iPhone 5s does gain an additional 25 hours of estimated standby time over the iPhone 5. According to Apple, the iPhone 5s can be in standby mode for up to 250 hours before a recharge will be necessary, compared to 225 hours for the iPhone 5.
The improvements are made possible, in part, by a slightly larger battery in the iPhone 5s that offers nearly 10 percent more capacity. Filings with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, detailed by AnandTech on Wednesday, reveal that the iPhone 5s will sport a 5.96-watt-hour battery with about 1,570 milliampere-hours, compared to a 5.45 Whr, 1,440 mAh battery in the iPhone 5.
The iPhone 5 battery. Source: iFixitBattery performance and size gains have also been realized in the iPhone 5c over the iPhone 5, with the new, colorful iPhone sporting a 5.73 Whr, 1,507 mAh battery. Apple advertises that the iPhone 5c offers up to 10 hours of talk time on 3G, up to 250 hours of standby time, and up to 10 hours of LTE or Wi-Fi Internet use.
Battery estimates provided by Apple were conducted in August using preproduction iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c units and software. In Apple's tests, features such as auto-brightness and "Ask to Join Networks" are turned off.
Charles Martin
Malcolm Owen
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67 Comments
...and yet we still are gonna hear battery complaints....
Lies. Straight up lies. I love Apple, but I've found that their battery claims with iPhone 5 to be total BS. Everyone I know with an iPhone 5 complains about how it bleeds battery life even when its in sleep mode, even with auto brightness off, and with brightness at 40%. Now with iOS 7, I'm getting 3-4 hours of battery life. Awful.
My 5 doesn't bleed battery at all.
[quote name="AndrewofArabia" url="/t/159505/10-bigger-battery-in-iphone-5s-to-boost-talk-lte-use-times-by-2-hours#post_2395764"]Lies. Straight up lies. I love Apple, but I've found that their battery claims with iPhone 5 to be total BS. Everyone I know with an iPhone 5 complains about how it bleeds battery life even when its in sleep mode, even with auto brightness off, and with brightness at 40%. Now with iOS 7, I'm getting 3-4 hours of battery life. Awful.[/quote] Yes, if you have 100 apps all running location services constantly, you will experience shorter battery life, but that's true of any phone. If you're getting 3-4 hours, you've either set it up so the phone is constantly searching GPS/WiFi/BT/etc or you have a defective phone. Either way, the problem can be fixed. Independent tests show that Apple's estimates are quite accurate.
4S and 5 are both really poor for battery life, my old 4 was much better. The biggest benefit for Apple producing a bigger screened iPhone would be so they can fit in a larger battery. Having a phone that can last all day shouldn't be too much to ask.