A study revealed that among current flagship smartphones across certain brands, Apple's iPhone 7 turned out to have the worst battery life.
The study, which was carried out by the United Kingdom-based consumer testing organization Which?, showed that among the iPhone 7, Galaxy S7, the LG G5 and HTC 10, Apple's current flagship placed last in terms of battery life.
For the comparison, Which? used an iPhone 7 running iOS 10 while all the other Android-powered device were powered by Android 6.0 Marshmallow.
According to the testing, it was the HTC 10 that had the best battery life among the four devices in terms of 3G call time, lasting 1,859 minutes. The LG G5 placed second at 1,579 minutes and the Galaxy S7 placed third at 1,492 minutes. The iPhone 7, meanwhile, was far and away in fourth place, lasting only 712 minutes.
In terms of 3G internet use time, the HTC 10 still came out on top with 790 minutes of usage, followed by the Galaxy S7 with 677 minutes and the LG G5 with 640 minutes. The performance of the iPhone 7 was not too far away this time, but still not good enough to get out of fourth place with only 615 minutes recorded.
Before the test is dismissed as a random comparison found online, it should be noted that Which? is actually a well-respected organization that uses scientific methods to try to remove most of the variables that are found in casual comparisons.
As Which? noted in the blog post announcing the study, it used its own phone network simulator for the battery life comparison among the four smartphones. With the simulator, the signal strength is ensured to be consistent, an important factor because smartphones use up more power if its reception is weaker. The brightness of the screens of the devices were also set on the same level, and the smartphones were also subjected to a full power cycle before the testing, which means fully draining the battery and then recharging to maximum.
The 3G call time was measured through a continuous call, while the 3G internet use time was measured by accessing a special website that regularly updates.
One of the chief explanations for the discrepancy in battery life, however, is the fact that the iPhone 7 is the smallest of the four smartphones, which also means a smaller battery. The Galaxy S7 and the HTC 10 come with a 3,000 mAh battery, and the LG G5 comes with a 2,800 mAh battery. The 4.7-inch iPhone 7, meanwhile only has a 1,960 mAh battery.
Bigger smartphones carry bigger batteries with longer lives, but for consumers making a choice among the flagship devices, the battery life difference will stand out. It may have been better if the iPhone 7 Plus, with a 2,900 mAh battery, was used in the place of the iPhone 7 for the comparison.
Ominously missing from the study carried out by Which?, however, is Samsung's Galaxy Note 7. Perhaps because it was worried that the smartphone's battery might explode during testing?
