The Effect of 4G on SmartPhone Battery Life

March 4, 2014 5:27 PM

You may remember and perhaps even have entered the competition we launched in partnership with EE and Testmodo to test out some of the very latest 4G smartphones. Well the results are in and the first phone, the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, has been put to the test by the competition winners to see how exactly their 3200mAh capacity battery manages with extensive use on the EE 4G network.

samsung galaxy note 3

Initial assumptions would have you believe that 4G would probably use more battery life than 3G because, ultimately, it is a more powerful connection. But testing of the products by competition winner, Craig Russell, showed that whilst streaming the same video under the same conditions, the smartphone actually used less battery life on the 4G network than it had on the 3G network. If you think about it, that actually makes sense. If a phone constantly has to struggle to stream something at a pace with which the user is watching, then it would probably have to use more power. With 4G, on the other hand, the phone ends up “downloading” the stream for a far lesser amount of time which means it does not need to use maximum power for such a lengthy period.

The competition winners also found that battery life was much improved in comparison to other smartphones. Most people with an iPhone, who are using it a considerable amount, will have to charge their battery at some point during the day despite waking up with 100%. With greater use, the battery life barely even lasts half a day, so it is refreshing to see that the reviewers have ascertained you will be able to wake up and not have to charge your battery once during the day before midnight with the Note 3. Even then you will supposedly be left with around 20-30% by bedtime.

galaxy note 3

There are those that will argue that battery life that lasts only a single day still has a very long way to go, and they are absolutely right. There has to be, at some point in the future, a complete revelation of entirely new battery options that give us a week’s life or perhaps even more. However, for now, I think smartphone creators have a duty, at the very least, to ensure that our batteries will last us for one whole day and it is a huge plus to Samsung that their Galaxy Note 3 can do that, using 4G, when many other smartphones are failing.

What do you think about the reviews? Have you had a different experience with your Note 3, or could you beat the battery life tested!? Get in touch and let us know.

Stay tuned for more upcoming Testmodo posts.

Read the full Testmodo test here.

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