Samsung Galaxy S7 battery life

We've been through it a lot - the Samsung Galaxy S5, as all Galaxy S's before it, had a user-replaceable battery, and the S6 didn't, which sucks. Not only that, it actually had a smaller battery than the model it replaced.

The first part of that story doesn't seem likely to change, as design constraints have been forcing manufacturers to seal batteries inside devices, not just smartphones. Well, good thing then, that Samsung actually fitted a higher capacity power pack inside the Galaxy S7 than it did in the S6. It is, in fact, the most juice a vanilla Galaxy S-series model has had - specialty editions like the S6 active and S6 edge+ don't count.

The Galaxy S7 has a 3,000mAh battery, which is the most that 5-inch (or thereabout) smartphones have these days, matched by the latest Xiaomi Mi 5. The current, and likely last of its kind, Sony Xperia Z5 packs 2,900mAh of juice, mated to a marginally larger 5.2-inch display.

The LG G5 has a 2,800mAh cell for an even larger 5.3" screen, while the outgoing G4 relies on the same 3,000mAh capacity to power a 5.5-inch display. Yes, both LG smartphones are bigger, but who's to blame if the company doesn't have a flagship offering close to the 5" mark? In their favor though, both models feature a removable battery. Now, LG does make the Nexus 5X, and that's a flagship of sorts with a 5.2-inch display and a 2,700mAh cell.

The iPhone 6s, on the other hand, has a lowly 1,715mAh battery to feed a 4.7-inch display.

It's what the Galaxy S7 does with its 3,000 milliamp hours that matters as we've seen plenty of impressive spec sheets that couldn't transfer into reasonable battery life. So, as usual, we carried out our array of battery tests, and while the summary can be found in the review, we'll get into a little bit more detail in these few paragraphs here.

The Galaxy S7 does very well, to put it simply. Starting with voice calls over a 3G network, the S7 can outlast all of the above (well, we can't be sure about the Mi 5 and G5 just yet). And even then, it's the Galaxy S6 that comes closest, not one of the competing brands. The Xperia Z5 follows, at a distance of almost 5 hours behind the S7. The iPhone 6s fares rather miserably in this respect with less than 10 hours of talk time on a charge.

Talk time

• Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 10.1 LTE
  46:44h
• Gionee Marathon M5
  38:07h
• Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro
  33:20h
• Huawei Ascend Mate2 4G
  33:19h
• Samsung Galaxy A9 (2016)
  32:54h
• Xiaomi Redmi 3
  32:53h
• Oppo R7 Plus
  30:46h
• OnePlus 2
  30:29h
• Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+
  30:29h
• Motorola DROID Turbo
  30:09h
• Microsoft Lumia 640 XL
  29:46h
• Microsoft Lumia 640 XL LTE
  29:46h
• Microsoft Lumia 640 XL LTE Dual SIM
  29:46h
• Microsoft Lumia 640 XL Dual SIM
  29:46h
• Huawei Honor 5X
  29:40h
• Samsung Galaxy Note5
  28:34h
• HTC One (M8) for Windows
  28:34h
• Nokia Lumia 1520
  28:34h
• Samsung Galaxy Note 4
  28:31h
• Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet LTE
  28:25h
• Sony Xperia Z5 Compact
  28:23h
• Huawei G8
  27:44h
• Samsung Galaxy S5
  27:37h
• Sony Xperia Z1
  26:53h
• Huawei Mate 8
  26:45h
• Samsung Galaxy S6 active
  26:29h
• Motorola Moto X Play
  26:28h
• Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016)
  26:01h
• Samsung P6800 Galaxy Tab 7.7
  25:45h
• LG G3
  25:38h
• LG G Pro 2
  25:37h
• LG G Flex
  25:19h
• Sony Xperia T2 Ultra
  25:16h
• LG G2
  25:15h
• Samsung Galaxy A7
  25:12h
• BlackBerry Passport
  25:12h
• Huawei Ascend Mate
  25:12h
• Samsung Galaxy A7 Duos
  25:12h
• Motorola Nexus 6
  25:03h
• Samsung Galaxy A8
  25:02h
• Samsung Galaxy A8 Duos
  25:02h
• Alcatel Hero
  25:02h
• Oppo N1
  25:01h
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo
  24:52h
• Sony Xperia Z Ultra
  24:23h
• Oppo R7s
  24:03h
• Apple iPhone 6 Plus
  23:49h
• LG AKA
  23:20h
• Sony Xperia Z3
  23:13h
• Meizu PRO 5
  23:10h
• Microsoft Lumia 640 LTE Dual SIM
  23:09h
• Microsoft Lumia 640 LTE
  23:09h
• Microsoft Lumia 640 Dual SIM
  23:09h
• Oppo R7
  22:58h
• Samsung Galaxy S7
  22:57h
• Samsung P6200 Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus
  22:42h
• Motorola Moto E (2nd gen)
  22:36h
• Motorola Moto X Style
  22:23h
• ZTE Nubia Z9
  22:20h
• Huawei MediaPad 7 Vogue
  22:16h
• Nokia Lumia 1320
  22:13h
• Samsung Galaxy Core LTE
  22:13h
• Lenovo ZUK Z1
  22:13h
• Sony Xperia Z2
  22:13h
• HTC One Max
  22:13h
• Nokia Lumia 1020
  22:13h
• Sony Xperia C3 Dual
  22:11h
• Yota YotaPhone 2
  22:09h
• Meizu MX4 Pro
  22:09h
• Samsung ATIV SE
  22:05h
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (MediaTek)
  22:02h
• Xiaomi Redmi Note
  21:41h
• Samsung Galaxy Note Edge
  21:39h
• Motorola RAZR MAXX
  21:18h
• Xiaomi Mi 4i
  21:02h
• Meizu m2 note
  20:55h
• Huawei Nexus 6P
  20:50h
• LG Optimus G Pro E985
  20:45h
• HTC One M9
  20:44h
• Sony Xperia Z1 Compact
  20:42h
• Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016)
  20:40h
• Sony Xperia Z5 Premium
  20:27h
• Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX
  20:24h
• Asus Zenfone Selfie ZD551KL
  20:22h
• Motorola RAZR i XT890
  20:07h
• Huawei Ascend Mate7
  20:06h
• Samsung Galaxy A3 Duos
  20:04h
• Samsung Galaxy E7
  20:04h
• Samsung Galaxy A3
  20:04h
• Oppo Find 7
  20:03h
• Samsung Galaxy S5 Active
  20:01h
• BlackBerry Q10
  20:00h
• OnePlus One
  19:56h
• Samsung Galaxy Grand 2
  19:55h
• Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 I9200
  19:54h
• Sony Xperia SP
  19:49h
• Sony Xperia T3
  19:48h
• Samsung Galaxy S6 edge
  19:48h
• Samsung Galaxy S6
  19:48h
• HTC Butterfly 2
  19:23h

Samsung's latest nearly hit the 15-hour mark in video playback, a result the rest here can't even dream of coming close to. The S6 puts up a semblance of a fight, but is dead in about 12 hours, and the iPhone 6s can't make it to 11 hours. The 8-hour endurance of the Xperia Z5 is mediocre, but Nexus 5X with 6:23h is the real disappointment here.

Video playback

• Gionee Marathon M5
  26:24h
• LG G Flex
  19:57h
• Samsung Galaxy A9 (2016)
  18:36h
• Oppo R7 Plus
  18:04h
• Samsung Galaxy S6 active
  18:03h
• Meizu PRO 5
  18:02h
• Huawei Ascend Mate2 4G
  18:01h
• Samsung Galaxy Note 4
  17:52h
• Xiaomi Redmi 3
  17:50h
• Motorola RAZR MAXX
  16:35h
• Samsung Galaxy J7
  16:22h
• Sony Xperia Z3 Compact
  15:03h
• Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet LTE
  14:58h
• Samsung Galaxy E7
  14:57h
• Samsung Galaxy S7
  14:50h
• Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX
  14:17h
• Lenovo ZUK Z1
  14:14h
• Oppo R7s
  14:05h
• Huawei Ascend Mate7
  14:04h
• Apple iPhone 6s Plus
  13:57h
• Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+
  13:53h
• Samsung Galaxy Note5
  13:51h
• Motorola DROID Turbo
  13:41h
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3
  13:32h
• Samsung I9190 Galaxy S4 mini
  13:12h
• Nokia Lumia 1020
  13:12h
• Sony Xperia T2 Ultra
  13:12h
• HTC One Max
  13:11h
• Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016)
  13:08h
• Sony Xperia Z5 Compact
  13:04h
• Motorola Moto E (2nd gen)
  13:04h
• Sony Xperia C
  12:53h
• Samsung Galaxy S5 Active
  12:51h
• Samsung Galaxy Premier I9260
  12:51h
• Huawei Honor 6
  12:51h
• Samsung Galaxy A8
  12:45h
• Samsung Galaxy A8 Duos
  12:45h
• Meizu MX4 Pro
  12:41h
• Huawei Mate 8
  12:34h
• Nokia Lumia 1520
  12:31h
• Samsung I9505 Galaxy S4
  12:30h
• BlackBerry Q5
  12:28h
• Sony Xperia C3 Dual
  12:22h
• Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016)
  12:21h
• Huawei Ascend Mate
  12:18h
• Sony Xperia Z2
  12:16h
• Samsung Galaxy S6
  12:12h
• Samsung Galaxy S6 edge
  12:12h
• Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 10.1 LTE
  12:10h
• Motorola Moto X Play
  12:06h
• LG AKA
  11:54h
• Sony Xperia Z3
  11:47h
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo
  11:38h
• Samsung P6800 Galaxy Tab 7.7
  11:37h
• Asus Zenfone Selfie ZD551KL
  11:32h
• Samsung I9500 Galaxy S4
  11:29h
• Samsung Galaxy Note II N7100
  11:27h
• Huawei Mate S
  11:26h
• OnePlus One
  11:23h
• HTC One (E8)
  11:16h
• Samsung Galaxy S5
  11:15h
• Apple iPhone 6 Plus
  11:15h
• BlackBerry Q10
  11:15h
• Oppo N1
  11:15h
• HTC One (M8) for Windows
  11:15h
• Meizu m1 note
  11:09h
• Samsung Galaxy S5 mini
  11:02h
• Asus PadFone X
  11:01h
• Xiaomi Mi 4c
  10:47h
• BlackBerry Passport
  10:46h
• Apple iPhone 6s
  10:46h
• vivo X5Max
  10:44h
• vivo X5Pro
  10:41h
• Samsung Galaxy Note Edge
  10:41h
• Microsoft Lumia 950 XL
  10:38h
• Microsoft Lumia 950 XL Dual SIM
  10:38h
• Samsung Galaxy J2
  10:35h
• HTC Desire Eye
  10:35h
• LG G Flex2
  10:35h
• HTC Desire 816
  10:34h
• Apple iPhone 5s
  10:31h
• HTC Butterfly 2
  10:26h
• LG G2 mini
  10:23h
• Huawei G8
  10:20h
• Nokia Lumia 735
  10:20h
• Apple iPhone 5
  10:12h
• HTC One (M8)
  10:11h
• Xiaomi Mi 4i
  10:11h
• Samsung Galaxy K zoom
  10:08h
• Samsung ATIV SE
  10:07h
• Sony Xperia M2
  10:04h
• HTC First
  10:03h
• HTC One
  10:02h
• Motorola Moto X
  10:01h
• Sony Xperia Z1 Compact
  10:01h
• Motorola Nexus 6
  10:01h
• Nokia Lumia 635
  10:00h
• Nokia Lumia 630
  10:00h
• Huawei P8lite ALE-L04
  10:00h
• Samsung Galaxy Express I8730
  10:00h
• Sony Xperia Z5
  7:53h
• LG Nexus 5X
  6:52h

It's just web browsing that left us wanting, and not because the result is particularly bad, it's just not better than the S6, and better than the S6 is what it should have been. The S7 calls it quits after 9 and a half hours on the web over Wi-Fi, when its predecessor can stay online for an hour and a half longer.

We typically carry out the test with whatever proprietary browser there is pre-installed, and if the outcome is troubling, we repeat with Chrome to rule out any poor optimization from in-house software engineers. So we did on the S7 (just in case, not that we doubt Samsung's team) and the result came out at a little over 10 hours - an insignificant difference to warrant the Chome numbers making it to the score card.

All that said, the S7 still manages to outlast the LG G4 and the Nexus 5X, by an hour and an hour and a half respectively. The iPhone 6s shows impressive efficiency and despite the significantly smaller capacity manages a massive 3 hours more than the S7, and yet it's no match for the Xperia Z5's 14 and a half hours.

Web browsing

• Gionee Marathon M5
  30:51h
• Huawei Mate 8
  17:05h
• Huawei Ascend Mate2 4G
  16:41h
• Sony Xperia E4
  16:40h
• Samsung Galaxy S6 active
  16:25h
• Xiaomi Redmi 3
  15:11h
• Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet LTE
  15:05h
• Sony Xperia Z3 Compact
  14:52h
• Sony Xperia Z5
  14:35h
• Meizu MX4
  14:06h
• Huawei Ascend Mate7
  13:53h
• Huawei P8
  13:32h
• Samsung Galaxy A9 (2016)
  13:26h
• Samsung Galaxy S5 mini
  13:14h
• HTC Butterfly 2
  13:11h
• Meizu m1 note
  13:05h
• Huawei Honor 6
  12:59h
• Meizu PRO 5
  12:51h
• Sony Xperia C
  12:45h
• Motorola Moto E (2nd gen)
  12:42h
• Nokia Lumia 1520
  12:40h
• Sony Xperia Z1 Compact
  12:37h
• HTC One (M8) for Windows
  12:31h
• HTC Desire 700 dual sim
  12:30h
• HTC One (M8)
  12:29h
• Apple iPhone 6s
  12:27h
• Samsung Galaxy A8
  12:18h
• ZTE Nubia Z9
  12:18h
• Samsung Galaxy A8 Duos
  12:18h
• Sony Xperia T2 Ultra
  12:17h
• Sony Xperia Z3
  12:03h
• Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016)
  11:55h
• Nokia XL
  11:54h
• Motorola Moto X Play
  11:52h
• Sony Xperia Z3+
  11:51h
• Apple iPhone 6s Plus
  11:51h
• HTC Desire 816
  11:48h
• Sony Xperia C3 Dual
  11:47h
• LG G2
  11:42h
• Samsung Galaxy A5
  11:36h
• Samsung Galaxy A5 Duos
  11:36h
• Meizu m1 metal
  11:33h
• Sony Xperia E4g
  11:32h
• Sony Xperia Z2
  11:32h
• Motorola DROID Turbo
  11:31h
• Sony Xperia E1
  11:30h
• Sony Xperia ZR
  11:20h
• HTC One Max
  11:20h
• Sony Xperia Z5 Compact
  11:20h
• HTC Butterfly S
  11:07h
• Asus PadFone X
  11:07h
• LG G2 mini
  11:02h
• Samsung Galaxy Note 4
  11:01h
• Nokia Lumia 1320
  10:58h
• Samsung Galaxy S6 edge
  10:56h
• Samsung Galaxy S6
  10:56h
• HTC Desire 510
  10:53h
• Microsoft Lumia 532 Dual SIM
  10:52h
• Motorola Moto G 4G
  10:52h
• Microsoft Lumia 532
  10:52h
• Microsoft Lumia 950 XL
  10:50h
• Microsoft Lumia 950 XL Dual SIM
  10:50h
• Lenovo ZUK Z1
  10:46h
• Samsung Galaxy Note5
  10:43h
• Oppo R7 Plus
  10:39h
• Huawei Honor 7
  10:38h
• LG AKA
  10:38h
• Nokia Lumia 830
  10:36h
• Apple iPhone 6
  10:29h
• Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+
  10:25h
• Meizu MX4 Pro
  10:24h
• Microsoft Lumia 640 LTE Dual SIM
  10:23h
• Microsoft Lumia 640 LTE
  10:23h
• Microsoft Lumia 640 Dual SIM
  10:23h
• Nokia Lumia 630
  10:18h
• Microsoft Lumia 640 XL
  10:14h
• Microsoft Lumia 640 XL Dual SIM
  10:14h
• Microsoft Lumia 640 XL LTE
  10:14h
• Microsoft Lumia 640 XL LTE Dual SIM
  10:14h
• BlackBerry Passport
  10:12h
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (MediaTek)
  10:12h
• BlackBerry Q5
  10:04h
• HTC Desire Eye
  10:02h
• HTC One (E8)
  10:02h
• Nokia Lumia 635
  10:00h
• Huawei G8
  10:00h
• Huawei Honor 5X
  10:00h
• Apple iPhone 5s
  9:58h
• HTC One
  9:58h
• Apple iPhone 5
  9:56h
• Samsung Ativ Odyssey I930
  9:54h
• Meizu m2 note
  9:54h
• Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016)
  9:52h
• Sony Xperia E3
  9:48h
• Sony Xperia M2
  9:48h
• Samsung I9190 Galaxy S4 mini
  9:47h
• OnePlus One
  9:46h
• Huawei Mate S
  9:43h
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo
  9:43h
• Alcatel Hero
  9:40h
• Samsung Galaxy S5
  9:39h
• Samsung Galaxy S7
  9:34h
• LG Nexus 5X
  8:32h
• LG G4
  7:54h

The numbers above add up to a combined endurance rating of 80 hours, still better than any of the other devices we mentioned. The Galaxy S6 and the Xperia Z5 both have a 73-hour endurance rating, for a shared second spot. No bronze will be awarded.

Oh, wait, Always On display. You see, our proprietary battery testing procedure includes a standby test, which is included in the formula for overall rating, but we don't post it on the scorecard. Standby is rarely the dominant contributor to power consumption, with large displays being a far heavier burden on the battery.

Well, with the Always On display enabled a part of that display is being lit up, and that inevitably has a detrimental effect on battery life. Samsung says that it runs in the ballpark of 1% battery drain per hour, and our findings seem to corroborate that.

A clock and background image was our choice (those pictured above, actually) - sort of a middle ground in terms is content volume being displayed. With AOD on, overall rating takes a huge hit and drops to 49 hours. Whether the trade-off is worth it is largely up to you.