iPhone 5 vs Samsung Galaxy S3 Battery Life confrontation
Two of the hottest smartphones right now are undoubtedly the just-released Apple iPhone 5 and the Samsung Galaxy S3 (S III), launched earlier in the year. We’ve given comparisons of these two smartphones before but today we want to concentrate on battery power. With more and more of us increasingly using our smartphones for everyday activities, battery life is growing in importance so today we’re looking at the iPhone 5 vs. Galaxy S3 in a battery life confrontation.
We’ve already posted many articles about the iPhone 5 and also the Galaxy S3 and so if you want more details on other specs and features, insights and more, then hit the above links. One of the concerns that some had about previous iPhone iterations was battery life being not up to scratch so this time around many were looking for Apple to improve in that department. The iPhone 5 has a built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery while the Galaxy S3 has a 2100mAh battery so let’s see how they stack up.
Firstly the Galaxy S3 has been the subject of many reviews and the battery life seems to have gathered a lot of praise. This TechRadar review speaks about the “excellent battery life” of the Galaxy S3 after tests on the battery life as shown in a video. Although the screen is said to draw a lot of juice the Galaxy S3 still fared extremely well in tests (that didn’t involve the iPhone 5) and of all the devices that TechRadar has tested it had the second highest battery performance.
At the conclusion of their tests the HTC One X still had 60% power, the iPhone 4S had 74% and the Galaxy S3 still had a whopping 80% left, an impressive result. The test involved heavy use with both video and photography being used and still the Galaxy S3 held out for around 8 hours. All pretty good news then for Galaxy S3 owners.
Now on to the battery performance of the iPhone 5 and Apple has already touted this as having a better battery life than any previous iPhones. NBC reports on some Laptop Magazine tests included in an iPhone 5 review. The tests were extremely comprehensive and included one that involved continuous Web browsing over WiFi. It seems that Apple’s claims weren’t over the top as in this test the iPhone 5 on Verizon lasted 7 hours and 13 minutes before the battery was drained while its predecessor, the iPhone 4S on Sprint, lasted for 5 hours and 54 minutes. The Galaxy S3 on Verizon was also tested, among other phones, and lasted 6 hours and 55 minutes.
As the Galaxy S3 has had a lot of praise for the excellence of its battery performance it seems we can safely say that potential iPhone 5 customers have nothing to worry about when it comes to the battery life of the device, as it lasted even longer. In case you’re wondering, the phone that came out tops in this test was the Droid RAZR Maxx, lasting a total of 8 hours and 25 minutes. You’d imagine then that it would all be cut-and-dried as the tests seem to indicate the iPhone 5’s battery performs better than that of the Galaxy S3 but it seems there are some doubts.
Although the Laptop Magazine report concludes by saying the iPhone 5 has a “fairly good battery life,” it is also noted that some forum threads have arisen with customers concerns about the battery performance. In the meantime Smarthouse has come up with an article about iPhone 5 issues including inadequate WiFi and also the battery life. It seems many people are reporting a poor battery performance after their iPhone 5’s are being drained within a few hours. The report goes on to mention plenty of other issues being reported by iPhone 5 users including the build quality that we have touched upon ourselves.
To be frank it’s a rather confusing picture as far as the iPhone 5 battery life is concerned as the initial tests seem positive while consumer anecdotes are saying otherwise. That’s where we’d like to hear from readers on this. If you already have either the Galaxy S3 or the iPhone 5 are you completely satisfied with the battery performance of your device? If you had a previous iPhone and now have the iPhone 5 how does the battery life compare? Let us have your comments on this.
Comments
145 thoughts on “iPhone 5 vs Samsung Galaxy S3 Battery Life confrontation”
Samsung galaxy S3 has a powerful battery and i am satisfied with the battery performance of my galaxy S3 device…!!!
how long does it last for you. Mine is lasting only half a day with some decent use. I used to have iPhone 4 n that used to come full day w same amount of usage
Battery life is highly variable on Android, depending on your apps and settings. Admittedly, it takes some work to get apps that will do smart things like automatically shut off WiFi and 4G when the screen is off, and to avoid apps that constantly run in the background. However, on an iPhone 5, apps aren’t even allowed to do these things. There are no battery saver apps on an iPhone because they aren’t allowed to control system level settings like this.
Depending how I’ve got it set up, my S3 can go 2 days, or die in 4 hours. After a little learning by looking at the battery usage screen and seeing what is using it up, and installing some battery saver apps, and buying a backup battery that takes 5 seconds to replace, I am doing even better than my iPhone 4S, which admittedly had a very good battery life.
Apple remains the king of kings
SAMSUNG GALAXY SIII REMAINS THE KING OF KINGS, Guys whats wrong with you ? if company launches a phone ? and with the old theme old
SHAPE and old firmware.. LOL.. its not fear if you are still supporting iphone…….. IPHONE 4/10 SAMSUNG GALAXY 10/10 TRUST ME SAMSUNG GALAXY BETTARY TIMING, APPLICATIONS, SHAPE themes is Awesome
samsung s3 was never king.
very true
Ios is far better than better than android man! Ive compared both the iphone and the s3! Im not one of these iphone crazy fans! Im just comparing both and for me the iphone is better than the s3! Ive used the s3 of a friend for 5 mins…and the app crashed! Ok…its happens! But twice….theres a problem!! Ios is better than android as my dad has a 4s and ive used it! Seriously i had no problem with it! I have decided to buy the iphone 5 now! You know why?!? Its far more durable than the s3! The s3 is cool! Good features that you may not have on the iphone 5… But having apps that crashes…a plastic phone that when it drops…the screen cracks…!!!(if you dont trust me…go and watch all the drop test between the iphoen 5 and the galaxy s3) the iphone is far more durable..only scratches…thats all! Now for the battery life i dont know! In my opinion..i think that all depends on how you use your smartphone! Iphone is really good( again i say that im not of the apple fans…just a realistic guy!!)…and if someone want to buy a phone…i recommend the iphone! 5 million people can be mistaken!! And dont listen to dong fuller… He is just saying that the s3 rocks…with nothing to support what he is saying! Iphine is not for gays….samsung neither! Both are good product! Only one is more durable!
No that’s Jesus, but it is the King of phones. Lol
I film weddings and on Saturday I was doing so… It lasted me about 10 hours in the field. (For about 6 of those hours I was out in the boonies though and I was on Edge.) i have the new iPhone 5 on AT&T and I was doing GPS Turn by turn navigation on the way down, frequent eBay checks on the status of my auctions, lots of email checking (periodically between reception events LOL), opening and closing a few apps, speed tests, a phone call, etc.. All of this without a car charger. I took it off its charger at about 2:20 PM and I put it back on the charger at about 2 AM and it had 17% left. Maybe this is a moot review because I was on Edge for so much of that time, but I was pleasantly surprised.
I got my I phone 5 on the 21st and I am sending it back today and replacing it the Galaxy s111 because the battery life doesnt last 8 hours
Dude, how long have you had an iPhone? Trust me. YOU WILL COME RIGHT BACK TO THE IPHONE. I’ve tried the Skyrocket, the GS2, the GS3, etc., and NONE of their batteries do what is promised…they are not very good batteries and won’t last as long as they say they will!
THAT’S BS Galaxy S3 rocks and when you need more Juice for camping trips or whatever, slam another one. Simple Easy and MAC didn’t have to tell me what to buy. I bought the best phone on the market the Galaxy s3
Well now that’s very strange… I seem to have purchased the best phone On the market, and your cheap ripoff looks a lot like my iPhone 5! The numbers will prove me out. Believe me dude, I tried the SGS3 (And the SGS2, and the skyrocket) and they simply can’t match the iPhone with its fluidity or it’s user interface or its intuitiveness or its durability or its longevity. The SGS3 and Samsung were sued for a specific reason and that Is that they blatantly copied the iPhone design and elements of the operating system. If you’re satisfied living with a cheap rip off then so be it. Enjoy your Honda while I’m cruising in my BMW. And the only reason I can say that is because I’ve switched from the BMW to the Honda… And back to the BMW. Once you own an iPhone, everything else pales by comparison. You can try to tempt me with all your little gimmicks and specifications but it really doesn’t matter in the end if your phone freezes or apps crash or you have to force close every seven or eight minutes or you run out of battery all the time. Long live the iPhone, the undisputed king of the smartphone hill. And the sales numbers will back me up. And you know it.
first – iPhone might beat out Samsung itself, but it’s getting creamed by Android in all sales figures. Really, the number doesn’t mean too much when you figure how many different Android devices are out there.
This whole fluidity and design crap is so overblown. iPhone comes with a very refined interface, some of which you can change. Although some Android manufacturers attempt to put out a decent UI, it is still mostly based on stock OS. Any Android user that knows their product understands that the are many alternatives to the stock UI, and Android offers the flexibility to change almost every single one of them, and we are not talking themes and colors.
It all comes down to this: if your phone does what you want it to do, then it’s right for you. I am a tinkerer, I enjoy being able to change nearly ever facet of my phone, which is why I use Android. People tend to forget that this impacts the battery life as much as hardware (not including network seeking).
Anyway, If I had a car dealer telling me what options I WILL pay for , and only letting my purchase one model of BMW, I probably would be happy going to the Honda dealership where they let me choose any option I want.
Well said. People DO forget that. I am neither an Apple nor an Android Fanboy. I just love technology. Let’s look at the facts of the convo: I was actually saying what you ended up reiterating with “It all comes down to this: if your phone does what you want it to do, then it’s right for you.” EXACTLY. I told @c38636453625cc5fd1afda0d22529e68:disqus that he would regret switching away and he would probably switch back because he was by this time doubtless used to iOS and its buttery smoothness and ease of use. It was at that point that @facebook-1172366372:disqus decided to chime in with some ridiculous nonsense about the GS3 being the best phone. I didn’t say that it wasn’t. Nor did I say that the iPhone was, until I decided to counter what he had insinuated. To each his own.
totally agreed, samsung may have the specs but nothing beats the sleekness of the apple user interface. Everting else looks like dirt in comparison, much like windows compared to mac. Samsung fanboys just complain because they cant afford being with apple. If you can afford to pay a premium for this then do. If not, have fun with your S GS 3’s
Dong Fuller your talk ?ull?hit , your name should be DUNG FULLER cause your full of it
Ok dong fuller…samsung s3 rocks! How is it better than the iphone 5? I want to buy the iphone 5! I really want to know how the s3 is better than the iphone 5? So what are the features that the samsung has …and not the iphone?
Couldn’t disagree more. Had the i5 and returned it. S3 does everything and more. It just doesn’t feel as nice, but all things considered it’s superior.
I took my iPhone off the charger at 6 am this morning, now at 8.45 pm at my place (about 15 hours) I still have 56 % left in the battery. During this time I used it to watch Youtube videos (30 mins), surf the net (30 mins) and text messages. I am more than pleased with its battery life.
I can carry an extra battery for my Samsung Galaxy S3. Can you do this for the iPhone?
does the galaxy s 3 come with an extra battery?
No but you can buy an original battery for under £30.
so you go around with a case that holds all your extra batteries and Sim Cards, who needs the hassle.
Yeah actually , I can carry an extra battery -if i want to- can you do that?
yes i can… there are external battery which charges the internal battery. problem?
HAHAHAHA i think its funny that I-Phone user’s can walk around with a WART hanging from the phone (external battery charger) UNLESS THEY ARE GONNA HIDE TO CHARGE THEIR PHONE ,
HAHAHA – that’s adult!
I used to carry spare batteries for my Sony-Ericsson. It used to have 3-7 day battery life except with a heavy day of use it would die in hours.
I was a bit nervous about getting a phone without a removable battery.
My iPhone 3GS was a bit tight for battery life but I only ran out once, less than with my Sony Ericsson.
My iPhone 4 was fine for battery life although I ran out once.
My iPhone 5 I am thoroughly testing the battery life, and the 4G speeds, so far haven’t run out even with a lot of running around and running speed test.
iPhone 5 I get 1-2 days on weekends on one charge. less during the week. I have quite a few apps using location running. Too early for me to call the battery life, but I have a lot of data.
As for a ‘wart’ – no the cases are just a bit thicker than the already thinner iPhone. How is it worse to have a slightly thicker phone than to be carrying a battery loose in my pocket, where a key or coin shorting the terminal would result in major inury?
@Steve you have made your mind up already without considering the facts – good for you!
Personally I intend to test the SIII when I can – but I haven’t heard anything approaching a true argument from an android user except larger screen – which for me is balanced against the wider phone which I don’t like.
Richard , it would be stupid to carry a battery around in a pocket full of change in the first place , that would be something that would cross my mind so i would avoid , Apple should have thought this through because going by other Apple forums this is something that iphone user’s wanted to have the option of BUT Apple being who they are say that YOU USE WHAT WE GIVE YOU !! well it is an American company , Regards
Wow, Steve you’re retarded. You say it’s stupid to carry around a battery in your pocket, but carrying an extra s3 battery amounts to that. I don’t know about you but I don’t have a fanny pack to put it in and therefore if I did want to carry an extra battery, it would go in my pocket. Which is bad. Therefore, the attached iPhone battery pack is a good idea.
Yea, and the asian companies going with bigger screens is SO ground breaking… Hell, at this rate we’ll be carrying tablets for phones. What happened to portability? And lol, funny coming from an asian when most of your countries are far more oppressive than America.
Hey Mr unregistered read the posts before you comment , your Another Apple user i suppose 🙂
whats so bad about putting a battery in your pocket? Ive done it and its not dangerous and not going to explode or short out. As for asians switching to bigger screens, Didnt the iphone just switch from a 3.5 inch display to 4inch? hmmm, seems their following the lead of asian companies. They also swore they wouldnt switch to 4g because its a battery hog and the iphone is fast enough on 3g , that sure didnt last long when iphone fan boys started crying about slow data speeds. I have an iphone for work and as long as you dont use it , it can last for 2 days, but so can pretty much every other phone. Its what happens when you actually USE your phone that makes a difference. Im willing to bet the iphone 6 or 7 will be 4.3 inch display, till everntually they start making them 5 inches like everyone else. Btw, nokia and other companies made touch screen phones before apple did, and there was a little device called a dynabook back in 1968 that the ipad ripped off. You should all go get educated before claiming your company is innovative. Steve jobs was just a creative thief, not an innovative genius.
Keep a spare battery and charger: 1. At your house. 2. At your office. 3. In your car. Switch out whenever dead in 5 seconds flat. This is a lifestyle not possible with Apple. The lifestyle of NEVER being on a dead battery, NEVER worrying, and just using your smartphone in luxurious carefree abandon. All for less than the price of a SINGLE extended battery case for the iPhone.
Well you can but you also need the special tool
To get the battery out kinda a pain
My dads bigger than yours! Lol u guys need to quit it bothe party’s
hahahahah you will never amount to anything.
Well, you can carry a spare iPhone 🙂
I have kept my iPhone5 in my bookself and using SGS3 🙂
nice one! that’s what the Iphone is good for! for a substitute when sgs3 is dead! hahaha
I have a samsung and an iphone.. There’s pros and cons for both the phones. Honestly i like the fact that i don’t need to always have to take the case off the iphone. For the samsung, you gotta take off the case, open the back cover, take out the battery, put a new one in, put the cover back on, and then the case back on again. It’s just such a big hassle doing that over and over. eventually you get tired of it and the case starts to wear from the constant yanking and pulling. Had a couple cases that broke because of this. Eventually i started carrying my charger wherever i went. So i would say it’s not all that bad having an iphone because all you have to do is to carry the charger around and plug it in the phone. If you think about, you still have to charge your samsung battery at home so why not just carry the charger with you wherever you go? But the spare battery would still be useful in case of emergencies. Regardless, everyone should always have their phones charged to the max before they head out to avoid these problems. First world problems.
I got my iPhone 5 on Monday and so far the battery life isnt fairing too well. Fully charged at 9am I used it to make 3 call each lastting approx 5 mins; sent 2 text messages and went onto Facebook about 5 times for no longer than 2 mins each time. At 3pm battery is at 53%. I find that quite poor in comparision to my iPhone 4 (which had same apps on it).
I have switched off some of the notification settings in the hope this will help.
Remember to turn LTE off when you are not using it or are not in coverage. Made a huge difference to me!!!
I’m still testing performance of the iPhone 5 battery – so far not convinced it is same as iPhone 4 – but I’ll have to test against the 4 after iOS 6.
I would have thought LTE wouldn’t affect when out of LTE coverage – I will test that.
Longest run time so far was 41h 9m and still going when I charged.
This is one thing I am tired of hearing. “Turn off ‘feature X’ to get reasonable battery life”. I’m a week from upgrading my iPhone 3GS and am so sick of managing my use of Bluetooth/3G/Location/Brightness/Push Notifications/etc. in order to get reasonable battery life from my phone. I want to use ALL the features available at almost ALL times.
Now that we have LTE speed, we need to turn it on/off?? I hope that people commenting here are reporting battery times with all these things ON or else you can never have an true comparison.
I’m leaning heavily towards an S3 upgrade to my 3S for many other reasons, despite the fact that I do love and respect Apple’s design of all their products. Always have and likely always will.
Samsung has a bigger screen, more powerfull processor. Diff of 18 mins are nothing. Dont forget you can replace the battery at any time :), S3 rocks!
ss
It needs the “more powerful processor” to get within about 60% of the iPhone 5 performance. You are not getting anything out of that “more powerful processor”.
Sometimes, the newest features don’t matter as much as the simple features. The biggest thing iPhone has going is that in fewer finger taps you can be doing exactly what you most often want to. Simple, easy, it just works. The biggest thing Androids have going for them is THE SCREEN IS ACTUALLY BIG ENOUGH to use it as an actual smartphone. Plus custom keyboards and widgets and open ecosystem. I can’t even tell you how much a keyboard like Swiftkey or AI Keyboard kicks the iPhone’s ass like Mike Tyson going against a kindergarten girl… I text a lot, and to have my average text message of 100 characters get reduced to 30 is just priceless. People mention things like NFC or removable batteries and what not, but what am I doing most? Texting WAY better on Android, and actually having a good web surfing experience on a decently sized screen that’s able to do it well. To be able to use my smartphone like it’s an actual computer AND have it be handheld, I find myself using my Galaxy S3 for serious stuff AS OFTEN as I use my MacBook Pro, because it is just SO damn convenient to hold it in my hand and go anywhere.
Samsung galaxy S3 still the best
there are other 5 year olds saying the same as you.grow up .baby!mines better than yours.please grow up
it’s his opinion. you’re the five year old. grow up.
No you’re 5 yr olds – cause you quote no actual data except to deny the data presented and to say ‘mine’s better than yours cause it is’.
The tests show iPhone 5 processor is faster. You have no basis for assuming the Galaxy’s processor is faster, just some comparison of not actual speed.
I agree with Richard. PROVE the s3 is better. Don’t just quote specs.
If you have access to wifi, you probably have access to a charger.
Wouldnt a 4g test be more meaningful?
so far since friday i have have charged my iphone 5 one and a half times.from my first charge which i let drop to 50% and then plugged it in to my pc to install videos which charged it back up to 100%.today is wednesday and have been listening to tune in radio for nearly three hours and made some calls and my battery is at 37%
I don’t get the apple cult. want a big screen or any kind of screen shop around. Want to replace your battery do it there are also many choices of batteries. Apple comes out with one type of phone and people just say yes sight unseen regardless of screen size. Say if you like the 3.5 inch screen of the previous iphone but need a new phone. Apple says tough to you. Do apple owners buy cars from the same manufacturer and they can only choose from 2 colors and the size and make etc. I guess they do.
Car buyers with sense don’t read a spec sheet and buy a car.
Car buyers buy what works.
Car buyers don’t buy a truck cause the windscreen is wider.
I want a larger screen – but much larger.
I don’t want a phone design that takes me back to the 90’s and the 2nd phone I had.
Do I buy a phone cause it’s blue? No!
Do I buy a phone becaue they make 1,2 5 or 20 different desings? No.
Why do you buy a phone?
I’m just a someone passing on the internet and and iphone owner. You, Richard, are far too emotional about all this and making things a fight. Calm yourself down. And your comments don’t have any sort of logical flow. And it’s not a car, it’s a phone.
To make calls. 🙂
The s3 also only has 2 color options idiot…..
S3 comes in White, Black, Red, Brown, Gray, Dark Blue, and Medium Blue, depending on carrier. Because it can be easily disassembled, you can buy a plethora of actual case housings (not covers) to customize it exactly how you want. Do you want a metallic candy apple brushed aluminum case housing (not cover) that has a kick stand? You can get that on the S3.
I have a Galaxy S III, my wife has an iPhone 3GS. I placed an order for the iPhone5 to replace my wife’s 3GS, about a week ago but i’m having second thoughts. Last night, our grandson came over for dinner holding his iPhone5 and wearing a charging cable around his neck. He said the battery life is not great. After reading this article and others, I’m fairly certain I’ll be cancelling my order.
I forgot to mention that I’m very happy with the battery life of the Galaxy S III and that I can carry a spare battery if I wish.
“iPhone 5 customers have nothing to worry about when it comes to the battery life of the device, as it lasted even longer.”
So this causes you to cancel your order?
Did you read the article before posting?
Do you care really?
Before I address your rather nasty comments, yes, I did read the article and if you had read my comment before jumping to reply, you would have noticed that I said that I did.
Neither my wife or I browse the web for hours on end. We’ve discovered that phones can be used for things other than web browsing.
The topic regards battery life and I addressed that in my comment. I know a lot of iPhone lovers who would, probably like you, be happy with 2 hours of battery life as long as it’s an iPhone.
The most important factor that has influenced the cancellation and subsequent purchase of another S3 is its great voice navigation and more specifically the ability to chose to bypass freeways which I suppose iPhone has decided we should not have available.
You still did base your judgment on the fact that your cousin ‘said’ that the battery Is not ‘great’. There are always people who will use their phones so much that no phone battery is good enough for them, especially if your cousin really has to hang on a battery on the go. And some peple will just always diss the iphone. i have not at all criticized the S3 and i personally think its a decent phone. but the iPhone 5 is an awesome phone and that wont change. Trying things out gives us a lot of enlightenment. I’ve tried both.
actually, he didn’t, he clearly stated “based on this and other articles”, meaning he based it on articles, not his nephew. Its rather disappointing that some people just don’t read and instead react on one catch word only…
battery life sucks for iphone 5 – not as good as my iphone 4 – I am only getting 5 hrs and 15 min usage time with normal usage –
Sgs3 What a phone i dont think i would have ever said this but Sgs3 i love ye. Sent from my unscratched sgs3 brilliant fantastico sexy phone. Sgs3 have my babies please. Yabbadabbadoo i luv ye. Iphoneys need to use some of that 1 billion weve given them on r&d and to advance onto a anodized back plate, also please pay the factory workers a decent paypacket after all the profits u declare modern day slave drivers honestly u iphoneys baa baa baa.
You people crack me up. Why would you wanna carry another battery? If thats the case then just buy an external battery pack. Makes the same amount of sense. Which brings us back to the point. The battery life is about the same. Geez…. mines better than yours is right!
Dude you have to live in the real world. I travel to India and Europe. You leave your house at 7 pm to get an 11 pm flight. You fly to Dubai, get a two hour layover with wifi but no plugs and different current to catch up on work, the fly another 10 hours to Bangalore. Between the use on the ground to JFK, in between in Dubai, a quick movie and using maps in Bangalore to find the hotel your battery is killed. A second replaceable battery is a godsend. And it’s better than having all the juice built into the phone because 1) it’s lighter for everyday carrying 2) new batteries work better, little memory effect (though this has gotten better) and you can carry a third old old battery for backup in your bag. It’s like arguing that the Samsung removeable SD isn’t better than no expansion. So many Apple sheeple…
If you fly business class you can recharge on the go
depends on the flight and whether you happen to get e-power the one time you forget the stupid adapter…
I love the mine’s better than your’s arguements. I’m just a couple of days in with my GSIII and I will say this. iOs out of the box is superior in pretty much everyway to android. GS3 Mail client is garbage, predictive text is garbage, even the camera is garbage, I havent taken a decent pic yet. But, then I purchased a new keyboard app and things like that and it started to take shape. I jumped to the samsung for a bigger screen with good resolution. I’m a network admin and I have to do a lot of remoting into things from my phone and the screen helps.
The other thing I will say, so far I am pretty surprised with the GS3 battery life. I pulled it off the charger at 7am i’m posting this at 4:41 and i’m at 52%. My buddy got the iphone 5 and he’s getting great battery too. The difference is with iOs you dont have to stay on top of it like you do with android since android really cant manage the power. The reality is, nobody is going to really notice the difference in processor between the two, you’re never going to use the 2gb of ram in the SIII. NFC has no practical application yet. They’re both fine devices. But in the end its about how well it performs and notoriously apple functions more reliably without user intervention.
Apple is for kids with tight jeans and who listen to Justin Beiber. Iphones are gay
Not sure from where you got this. but from the apple community we think, most android (at least not all) are retarded, non-socialized and their hobby is to say “mine is better”
Good – I have an iPhone 5 – can I be a kid again and wear tight jeans for the first time?
Now I’ll never be you!!!
Its not that it doesn’t manage battery power well its that it keeps updating your apps and Widgets through the day so you can get your info faster instead of waiting our app to load every time. If you want your phone to run more “efficiently” like apple then turn ur 3g or 4g off and nothing will stay up to date.
Regarding your comment “But in the end its about how well it performs and notoriously apple functions more reliably without user intervention” I respectfully disagree. Apple is far too resistant to adopt a UI that will allow a user to take control of the device without jailbreaking it.
I too am a tech professional and hold Microsoft and Apple certs. I find it insulting that you have to jailbreak an iPhone to use the same task bar feature that is native to Android devices. Why do I have to click three screens to toggle on/off WiFi/Bluetooth when I can swipe and click more easily with Droid?
Until I bought the S3 I was a true iSheep. I used it for a week in the same capacity I used my i5, by 4 pm my iPhone was already recharging since noon. At the same time my S3 had over 60% battery remaining. Good thing Apple offers a 30 day return on iPhones.
Size matters. So does performance. Android has overtaken Apple. Let’s see how Cupertino responds.
do they make SIII cases with little pockets for extra batteries and sim cards?
yes they do actually
Lol! Fany packs will be in style for the Samsung users 🙂
I got my iPhone 5 Saturday morning and have nothing but good things to say about the battery life. Pulled the phone off the charger this morning at 8am and still have 53% at 7:30pm. 9 hours were spend roaming while I was at work. My wife’s is currently at 72% as we work the same hours but she does not roam. Big difference over my old Samsung epic. So far it’s been a great device.
I hear an Iphone can fit up your ass and it vibrate still works.
Galaxy S3 all the way. you can keep your gay Iphone
dude, you have the best name, just fyi
LOL that name and that comment.
Do you represent the intelligence of SIII users?
Funny.
Are representing the hypocritical nature of iphone users or are you just plain idiocy and rudeness?He said S3 all the way,keep your iphones in a slightly vulgar manner.And you hate his name for it and the fact he doesn’t want an iphone?Also,considering how you can only transfer from apple to apple,that would make that single nature gayish.
I bought the i5 and returned it after 3 weeks. The phone is definitely not gay, it is a wonderfully engineered and designed device. It just sucks battery like it was gay! Now have two S3’s and we are very pleased.
I have an iPhone 4S which I was quite happy with. I recently upgraded it to iOS6 and have found the battery life to be very poor now. I’ve turned off all the ‘searching’ components on the operating system and the ‘apps’ but the battery life is still poor. I’m hoping there’ll be a ‘fix’ for it shortly as there was on a previous upgrade.
Most likely there are some iOS 6 battery issues – that is my suspicion at the moment.
It’s quite usual for a whole pile of new features to introduce some battery issues, and have fixes come out in the .0.1 update.
Apple went to GM test without a test release of a stable Beta – so I wouldn’t be suprised.
My brand new S3 – battery when taken off charge at 7am, requires recharging at 2.30pm with very little use. I understand that a smart mobile phone uses more energy even when not in use but the clue is in the name, mobile and phone (‘smart’ comes a second). I am not sure that the phone would last for a reasonable period if I have a day out. Yes I have switch off as many apps as it will allow me to but not much improvement, but then what’s the point of buying an ‘smart’ phone if you can’t use apps. I have now ordered a 4300mA battery and I am hoping that will at least give me some reasonable use between needing to find a mains or car supply. Presumably if the battery need to get any bigger than ‘mobile’ may also be questionable. Looks like back to a blackberry !!!! PS I need the emails for work, so I haven’t swithced the ‘push’ facilty off.
I also wonder whether those that say the S3 battery life is ok work for Samsung because it is clear that many do not think the life is acceptable.
Absolute nonsense. As an owner of both I can confirm the S3’s battery is definitely better. I don’t see much difference in battery longevity between the iPhone 4s and 5.
I got the extended battery for the Samsung Galaxy s3 and I also own an Iphone 5 and a droid razr maxx and the Samsung totally beat the the iphone 5 and sometimes the razr maxx. So if battery life is your thing then go for the Samsung Galaxy s3.
how is that possible when another website is saying 5 has a badder battery life then a 4s? who do you believe?
I dont believe a person that thinks ‘badder’ is a word.
Hahahahah
my gs3 battery life is ~6 hours. compared to all phones I have had, it is by far the phone with the worst battery life.
Agree, same here
The galaxy performs much higher than the iphone5, with that point, it will consume more battery life than the iphone5. 17 minutes over the galaxy is trivial. and the fact that the galaxy has a removable battery, you can buy batteries and battery extenders. the battery extender i got for my galaxy adds an additional 8 hrs to my phone. i can run the phone at max settings for the entire day nonstop.
I guess if your going camping that’s nice. As for me I’m not much for camping but I’do have a wart that sticks on the end for now. This is all trivial. I feel silly for read these post.
So I’m a former productive control analyst. (I’m qualified to perform technical tests) Keep in mind that heat is an important factor when doing tests. Because the iPhone 5 has an aluminum backing it may perform as a heat shrink, thus locking out external heat on hot days. However if both devices were tested in a closed temperature environment let’s say 60 degrees F, I believe the Galaxy S3 would out perform the iPhone significantly. I own the GS3 and average 20 to 30 hours per charge every day! NOT LYING. I run two businesses so I am a moderate user.
Also I would like to see a test when both devices are in 4G LTE. But remember that the signal strength and tower location needs to be accurate along with controlling the climate.
First of all, it is a “heat sink” not a “heat shrink”. Unless you are referring to the Iphone case as some little plastic stuff that shrinks when you heat it up. Also, on a hot day the aluminum case would hold heat, since AL has a low coefficient of emissivity. While you may be a PCA, i’m an EE with proper schooling and work experience.
my battery life has been great on my old iphone and new iphone5. And yes i’ve owned two droid phones and the batteries both drained way way faster with the same amount of usage on all of them. What’s the point in having any kind of phone if it’s gonna be dead in 3 hours? I like my iPhone because of the battery life not because of the brand or the logo…quit arguing over a stupid phone. You’re not taking it to the grave with you..get what works for you and if it makes you happy i’m all for it, whether it be windows, android, or apple…the only thing worse than arguing about a stupid phone is arguing over politics and religion..wait, I take that back..arguing over a phone is way worse!
Just bought iPhone 5. Had iPhone 4 for two years and no battery problems. The 5 is terrible and on airplane mode overnight lost 20%. This phone is being replaced by Apple after my complaints about this and overheating.
Is it normal for d galAxy s3 to get hot after only 5mins of use?
Is it normal for d galaxy S3 to get hot after 5mins of use? Nd pls hw can one tell if something is wrong wit d s3?
S3 is 16gigs but mine is displaying 13.5gigs why is dat?
two people I know with GS3’s consistently complain about battery life and are always near a charger. My iPhone 5 can go 2 days.
This is false gs3 lasting more than the iPhone I have both that’s how I know plus read other reviews it’s going to tell the same thing!!
Idk why I got the iPhone5 there nothing cool about it
My iphone 5 lasts exactly 2 days of normal usage with some music, push emails, news and shares prices checks throughout the day and constant whatsapp and Wifi at home. That’s a bit less than iphone 4, more than 3GS and of course with faster speed and larger, brighter display. S3 has bigger screen but offset with bigger battery. Horses for courses. You like big screen you’ll enjoy S3. I have never had to carry spare batteries but I’m seriously thinking about those 2000mAh charger with 30pin dock connector for my next holiday trip – which is no different than carrying a spare battery and probably way cheaper (not unique to Apple of course).
I just bought the i5 and wish I hadn’t. Owned the 3GS for 2.5 years and this new phone’s battery is no better. It’s also a PITA to have to go through 3 taps to turn Bluetooth and WiFi on and off. Why can’t they program Siri to do it? Why didn’t Apple incorporate NFC and use smart tags? Why don’t they put an app in the task bar like Android does? Blah blah blah. I love Apple, am Apple certified in various products but I’m not an iSheep. The GS3 is just a better phone. I can but a second battery and charger and carry it with me to swap out if need be. My wife is getting my i5, I’m buying the GS3!
Your battery life would probably suck on a GS3 in the same conditions. It sounds like your phone is trying to find and maintain connections to the cell towers as you travel on the train. Some days when I stay home (work from home), and work on WiFi with the phone and I have a cell tower near my house so it always has a good connection, I end the day with 20%-30% batter after a full days use. Other days, when I am out and about, traveling a lot, and in lots of areas with bad cell tower access, after one or two hours of use, the phone is at 20%.
Thanks for your reply. Cell indicator said LTE the entire trip without switching back and forth to 4G/3G. The battery drains while sitting in my home office all day connected to my WiFi for internet and my Micro Cell for voice. Since I posted this comment I have also spoken with several other iPhone users who also feel the battery is not up to the task. LTE drain was a concern of many people and so far their apprehensions seem to be very well warranted.
There are Android apps that shut off 4G, 3G, and Wifi when the screen goes off, then turn them right back on when it comes on. There are no Apple apps that do the same. Hence, what you should have said is, “With a little tweaking that’s not allowed on Apple, your battery life on the GS3 would dominate over the iPhone.”
Maybe then the Android phones might match the iPhone battery, at the loss of functionality. I, for one, have my phone check email and receive network notifications and all sorts of stuff, when the “lights are out” and the screen is off. Android phones already have much bigger batteries just to try and match the battery life of the iPhone because they use brute force to try and achieve performance, which sucks away battery.
My galaxy Note 2 wipes out the floor with your small-screened iCrap 5 in battery life, funcionality, ease of reading, customization, and many more things (NFC; swappeable battery, sd card, multiwindow, SPen, USB on the go) and works like a charm. Very stable, very fast, no lags, zero reboots.
Your icrap has NOTHING on a Galaxy Note 2. Nothing. I can make more than 2 days of heavy usage. And Note 2 is also cheaper! Apple sucks so much, dude!
Wise choice. I am an iOS programmer. I have iPod, iPad, Apple TV, Macbook Pro, and 4 iPhones. I’ve owned the 1st iPhone, the 3G, the 3GS, the 4, and the 4S. I did not get the 5 because this is the first year that there is simply no question about it, Android has taken the clear lead and is widening that lead faster. This is a good thing. Apple will have to take a reality pill and some humbling, and come back fighting hard. Competition is good for us consumers.
I never upgraded from the 3GS until Apple offered full 4G/LTE. The A6 processor was a substantial improvement. I waited over 4 months longer than I should have. My wife reminded me Apple has a 30 day return policy and I exercised it. We both have upgraded to the S3 and couldn’t be more pleased. I’ve used mine as much or more than the i5 for a week now and the battery life just rocks the socks off the iPhone.
What about syncing data? Forget Google synch, it simply DOES NOT work! Do I miss iCloud? A little, but I found two apps by SmoothSync that work flawlessly syncing my Calendar and Contacts (about $2.50 each). For iTunes I found Easy Phone Synch (free). Picasa Web Albums syncs my iPhoto albums simply and quickly.
It took a little more work to set up, but once you are set up it takes very little effort to maintain, and the extra work is worth superior battery life, an interchangeable battery, the option to expand the internal memory to 64 GB ALL FOR THE SAME COST! Apple needs to catch up if they want my business in 2 years.
Very helpful useful post! Thx!
Anecdotal battery life stories have no real use as there is no control over the conditions that you are testing in. If the phone is moving around a lot and is in areas where there is bad cell tower access, the battery will drain fast as it tries to find towers and maintain connections to towers. That affects all cell phones. For a given carrier, if your daily routine drains the iPhone fast (due to commute or working in a place where there is poor cell reception), it will drain the GS3 or any other phone fast as well (assuming same carrier and same routine). When I take my son to his swimming team practice, and use the phone while waiting, for some reason it drains the battery really fast. And has terrible network connectivity. On those days I am not at his swimming, doing the same level of web or email use for the same 1.5 hours, the battery barely takes a hit.
iPhone 5 is decent, not a huge leap from my previous 4. The battery life is terrible with wifi, LTE, and some Bluetooth use. Yes that sounds like I am pushing it but I am doing nothing more than what I did with the 4. I have to carry charge cables with me to make a full day.
iPhone 5 battery is giving me maybe 5 hours. My previous Droid Bionic gave me two days on the extended battery and a full day on the standard battery using the phones in the same manor. Apple says one way to ow the drain is to shut the phone off until you need to use it. REALLY!
With 3G off I got 10,5 hours wifi surfing with the iPhone 5. Low light conditions.
I have been a iPhone fan from the very first iPhone until the iPhone 5, just got the galaxy s3 and I have to say IT ROCKS!!!!! wish i changed sooner
I have had the iPhone 5 for a month now and I can say that my iPhone 4 was much better battery life. I am typing this with 15% left when I used to have 60%. I am disappointed.
I bought the iPhone5 and switched to SIII – and this is why I really can tell the difference between the two. Being a heavy user of phone camera (plus lots of Instagram) and tons of web surfing, I can summarize my observation that SIII works better for me.
Again, I repeat, SIII works better FOR ME. Not anyone else. And I am not bashing on iPhone users because even I bought one at one point. It’s just that SIII is a lot better for my type of usage and I have to say, I really am more satisfied with the flexibility and connectivity-related functions of SIII. In general, for me, SIII is the winner.
That’s all I can say and I am just speaking from observation. PEACE!
Hammer, meet nail. Well put Dan. That’s why we have vanilla and chocolate. Some like one or the other, some like both. I like both phones, it’s just the S3 works better for me too!
What’s the point of this argument when neither teams will agree with each other? This thread was also meant to give your experience with your phone so please use it correctly.
I have just purchased the iPhone 5, upgrading from the iPhone 4. To my disgust the battery life of the iPhone 5 is not even half of what my old iPhone 4 had. After a full charge overnight I would be lucky to even make it home from work without the battery dying on me. I’m no tech head but feel it could be the 4G network that is chewing through the juice. I am so dissapointed with this phone as I have always been a loyal apple fan. I am going to swap for the Samsung galaxy in the hope of getting a days use from a full battery charge!
I can only go off personal experience and I had a I phone 4 which was the best phone I’ve ever had and compared to the galaxy 2 it was better as most g2 owners after a year had lots of problems with the plastic backs falling off and battery life had diminished. Due to this I know loads of people who have had Samsung who are now switching to apple as they want a phone that will last throughout there two year contract.
The proof is the re sale of a two year I phone 4 compared to a galaxy 2 check out ebay and if you get a chance have alook at at both devices after two years wear.
iPhone 4 £200
S2 £80
This why I’ve opted for a iPhone 5 as I had considered s3 put can’t imagine it still being in the same condition after two years like the iPhone and still running as smooth.
Time will tell like I say I can only go off my experience
I own a iPhone4 and purchased a Galaxy S3 last weekend. The Galaxy is an amazing tool no doubt and the call quality and clarity of the calls blows Apple out of the water. The customization you get with the Galaxy S3 is head and shoulders above any iPhone on the market. Just an amazing tool. With that said, the battery performance in the Galaxy S3 is a nightmare and down right embarrassing. The iPhone4, has much, much better battery life than the S3 and to me, what good is call quality and customization if your phone is dead and unable to use it. I have a tough decision to make as I really don’t want to tote an extra battery around being a single dad with thee kids is hard enough to handle. I love the S3 but 3/4 day of full battery drain with normal use is a head scratcher for me. Can’t speak for the iPhone 5, but if it’s anything like the S3 battery wise, I’ll choose the S3 everytime.
I absolutely hate the battery life on the Galaxy 3. I talk for a few minutes and 5% is gone. I send a text and another 1-2 % is gone. Forget about using the internet. I won’t even go there. I just use it for my work emails, texts, and talking and I limit it. I’m living in fear every day. Verizon has looked at it several times, gave me a new phone, 2 new batteries and still horrible. I am a light user. I’m also an old blackerry guy and although this is a smarter phone, it is dumb for business guys and of no use to me.
I have had my S3 for a few months now and battery life isn’t an issue with me.I have had mine unhooked from the charger for 12 hours and with moderate use,I still have 40% of the battery left.
I have also seen iPhones lock up to a white screen and all you can do is wait for it to go dead and reboot it then.At least on my S3 I can pull the battery to reset the phone if this were to happen and not have to wait 2-3 hours for the battery to go dead.
i see so many people crying over built in battery. so i will make one suggestion. google isound 16000mAh. its 70 bux on amazon. im planning a trip to peru and will have no access to electricity for two weeks. i can charge my iphone 4s like 11times with this.
one thing i do want to mention is how much i like the built in battery. well not exactly, but the unibody design that requires a built in battery. i have dropped my phone from 5th floor on to grass and is everything in place? yes and it works fine (though dropping it on to asphalt would be a totally fldifferent story) with plastic non unibody casing of galaxy s3, it feels hollow and not well made in my hands. though i have not owned a galaxy s3, i have played around with my friend’s phone enough too say that the weight and size does not feel like a premium product that i feel with my iphone. the volume to weight ratio or the density of the parts doesnt feel “right”. it feels as if im holding my plastic tv remote (feels cheap). though i understand if u dont feel the same way, i just like to have a brick solid feel on the nice things i buy.
The iphone5 battery life is great i don’t know what you guys are talking about the especially the people with the iphone5s. It looks like these people don’t know their phone well enough to change the settings on their phone to further prevent battery from draining. That’s just sad. The iphone is just a simple piece of technology and it’s very user friendly. I would understand if android users had a difficult time getting used ti to their phone.. but c’mon? the iphone5? smh. I’m tired of hearing people saying that their iphones having battery issues. Regardless both the s3 and the iphone5 are great phones. It’s just a matter of preference.
I must have a dud SIII. Phone is 2 days old and I have to charge it every 6 hours if I use it the way I used my old iPhone 4. The iPhone gave me a good 2 days use. The SIII is rubbish so far.
Personally speaking, my iPhone 5 battery Life last a very long time. But in my opinion, it all depends on how you use the phone. If you’re heavy on Instagram and photo apps, use the S III, but if you’re an all around type like me, go for the iPhone 5. Preference is key.
My galaxy S3 has lasted 1 day 19 hrs and 17 mins and I have the screenshot to prove it. All just by toggling LTE on and off as I need it from my notifications, keeping brightness to auto whenever I’m outside and its daylight. And keeping WiFi off when the device is asleep. Also to those who say the iPhone 5 triumphs the galaxy S 3 in performance. According to early benchmarks yes. However these benchmarks were using ice cream sandwich 4.0 and most of them have the quad core exynos which is slower than the Snapdragon S4. I’ve done my own geekbench testsand while the iPhone 5 wins some it also loses some. IPhone has a better graphics solution then the American S3’s by far though.
I got to sprint had the Galaxy S3 brand new from the box. The S3’s battery is so disappointed, especially if you on the sprint’s network or simply just let the screen litup. I don’t use it very much but have to carry the charger with me all the time in case i am out, after like four days i brought it back to the sprint’s store asked for an Iphone5 instead. I am so happy with the battery life of iphone5’s comparing S3, i don’t care what other people say and I just know my new iphone5 battery just better than S3’s.
I agree with Zhanghu. I just came back from a week trip . My partner has an iphone 4 and I have a Galaxy S3. Compared to her iphone my battery life is running out much quicker than hers! It is very disappointing especially as I put the brightness at its lowest and did not use the mobile data either. Nearly forgot to mention that I also bought a new battery at the Samsung store (just two months ago!) with little difference with the old one.
I like my S3 but have to agree that as far as battery life is concerned Iphone is better. I will have to go back to the Samsung store and see if they can do something about it.
I had the s3 and now own an iPhone 5 but I will be changing back to an s3 as my iPhone dies so soon
I have a galaxy s3 i9300 running android 4.1.2 and the battery life is not bad. Although I did have problems previously with the battery being charged at 100% at night and then left off charge for about 6 hours and the battery was down to 40%. This was unacceptable and I had to reset my phone and then the phone was fine. The major problem with android phones is that they get bogged down with loading of apps and get laggy which I hate. It’s not smooth and project butter isn’t up to the mark. I suggest they make better software instead of concentrating all the time on hardware that the phone has a quad core or a octacore. Software is the key, not the hardware.
I had some battery life issues with my iPhone 5, but they ended up being related to iCloud sync, with my iPad and iPhone caught in some sort of a Safari syncing fight. I got rid of all my Safari bookmarks and Reading List items on my Mac (exported them) and then put them back manually, and battery life has been wonderful ever since!
An 86% battery depletion in just 4 hours is not normal at all. There must be something wrong with your S3, or maybe you’re just one more iSheep troll, abducted by apple. I know several ppl who have S3 and they can make more than 24hrs phone usage.