In Search Of Long Battery Life

In a world where we can close the curtains from a distance of 10 miles with the push of a button, why are we still yet to receive a smartphone which lasts the whole day?
When choosing which smartphone to buy, most people look at a long list of features and specs to decide which model they should select. Camera quality, weight, thinness, overall style and aesthetic, storage space and operating system are all key factors. But one of the things that often gets overlooked is battery life.
Battery life is not a particularly exciting feature of a phone, but in terms of functionality and practicality it is certainly the most important. It doesn’t matter if your phone takes the best pictures and is customisable to your every whim and taste—if it only lasts for a few hours while you’re out and away from your charger, it’s not going to be very useful to you. Most people are used to charging their phones once a day or in the evenings when they get home, but the sheer amount that we use our smartphones—such as for browsing, maps, reading, social media, texting, and listening to music and podcasts— throughout an average day means that increasingly, people are having to use extra battery packs or mobile chargers on a regular basis. The number of these charging gadgets on the market has increased considerably for good reason
Interestingly, one area where the iPhone, which is the leader in the smartphone market, consistently falls behind is with battery life. The critiques of iPhone’s battery are many and varied. With each new software update of iOS comes a slew of articles listing hacks and trips to help maximise battery life. These can include closing out apps that are silently running in the background (even though an Apple employee is unlikely to admit this helps) and taking your notifications out of “push mode” so your phone is not constantly searching for data. However, critics say that if you have to avoid using your phone to its maximum ability in order to use it for any reasonable length of time, what exactly is the point?
The fact of the matter is that the smartphone market is in need of a “battery breakthrough”. Engineers and innovators have not come up with a way to make a powerful battery that doesn’t take up too much space. The premium consumers place on sleek, thin and lightweight phones means that packing in a more heavy duty battery that provides more than the 1,500-3,000 milliamp-hours (mAh) that is currently in most phones is simply out of the question as it will take up too much space.
There are some phones on the market that offer better battery life, but at a premium. The Oukitel K10000, which runs on Android 5.1 Lollipop, is said to have a battery life that lasts far longer than most mainstream smartphones. This is achieved by packing a much more powerful battery (10,000 mAh battery), which in theory could last 10-15 days, but in practice probably lasts more like 5 days with normal smartphone usage. While this is a promising option for people who constantly find themselves on the go and in need of a charge, the phone’s bulkiness, thanks to its robust battery pack, is unlikely to give it mass appeal.
There are other leaders on the market in terms of battery life too. According to review website expert reviews, the top three phones on the market in terms of battery life are the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge,  the Samsung Galaxy A5 and the Motorola Moto X force, which all top 15 hours of battery life with regular phone usage. It’s interesting that the iPhone doesn’t appear once in the top three here, being the most popular smartphone on the market.
However, the reality is that until a breakthrough in battery life technology occurs, smartphone users who want a sleek and minimalist phone will have to keep on carrying extra battery packs or constantly looking for an electrical plug. Apple has recently gone as far as to release a branded “official” battery pack, which attaches to your mobile like a phone case. As these devices have been on the market for years it seems sensible that Apple has chosen to release their own, although it does highlight their recognition of the battery life shortfall. Perhaps with the upcoming iPhone 7 we might be able to leave our chargers at home, but it doesn’t seem likely.
Which smartphone has the longest battery life in your opinion? Let us know on Twitter @VPSNET.