Lenovo Vibe Shot battery life test

The Lenovo Vibe Shot packs a surprisingly beefy battery for a 5-incher. 3,000mAh rivals the Xperia Z lineup, which is known for great battery life. The Snapdragon 615 chipset should do quite well too.

"Should," but the Endurance rating of 54 hours is less than we expected. The ZTE Nubia Z9 mini (2,900mAh, S615) lasted 10 hours longer, while the OnePlus X matched it (2,520mAh, old S800 chipset). What went wrong? Let's investigate.

The Talk time of 16 hours and a bit is less than the Z9 mini, but beats out the OnePlus and the Huawei Honor 7 (3,100mAh, Kirin 935). The Xperia Z5 Compact lasts almost double this time with a smaller battery though, so the Vibe Shot is average but there's plenty of room to optimize.

Talk time

• Oppo R7 Plus
  30:46h
• OnePlus 2
  30:29h
• Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+
  30:29h
• Microsoft Lumia 640 XL
  29:46h
• Microsoft Lumia 640 XL Dual SIM
  29:46h
• Microsoft Lumia 640 XL LTE
  29:46h
• Microsoft Lumia 640 XL LTE Dual SIM
  29:46h
• Samsung Galaxy Note5
  28:34h
• Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet LTE
  28:25h
• Sony Xperia Z5 Compact
  28:23h
• Huawei G8
  27:44h
• Samsung Galaxy S6 active
  26:29h
• Motorola Moto X Play
  26:28h
• Samsung Galaxy A7 Duos
  25:12h
• Samsung Galaxy A8 Duos
  25:02h
• Samsung Galaxy A8
  25:02h
• Oppo R7s
  24:03h
• LG AKA
  23:20h
• Meizu PRO 5
  23:10h
• Microsoft Lumia 640 Dual SIM
  23:09h
• Microsoft Lumia 640 LTE
  23:09h
• Microsoft Lumia 640 LTE Dual SIM
  23:09h
• Oppo R7
  22:58h
• Motorola Moto E (2nd gen)
  22:36h
• Motorola Moto X Style
  22:23h
• ZTE Nubia Z9
  22:20h
• Lenovo ZUK Z1
  22:13h
• Yota YotaPhone 2
  22:09h
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3
  22:02h
• Xiaomi Mi 4i
  21:02h
• Meizu m2 note
  20:55h
• Huawei Nexus 6P
  20:50h
• Sony Xperia Z5 Premium
  20:27h
• Asus Zenfone Selfie ZD551KL
  20:22h
• Samsung Galaxy S6 edge
  19:48h
• ZTE Nubia Z9 mini
  19:08h
• Samsung Galaxy J7
  18:37h
• Xiaomi Mi 4c
  18:31h
• Huawei P8lite ALE-L04
  18:25h
• LG G Flex2
  17:51h
• Huawei P8lite
  17:38h
• Sony Xperia Z5
  17:13h
• Lenovo K3 Note
  17:13h
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 2
  17:09h
• LG Nexus 5X
  16:57h
• vivo X5Pro
  16:57h
• Microsoft Lumia 950 XL Dual SIM
  16:50h
• Microsoft Lumia 950 XL
  16:50h
• LG V10
  16:40h
• LG G4
  16:40h
• Lenovo Vibe Shot
  16:17h
• Sony Xperia Z3+
  16:13h
• Meizu m1 metal
  16:02h
• OnePlus X
  15:57h
• Apple iPhone 6s Plus
  15:51h
• Microsoft Lumia 435
  15:50h
• Microsoft Lumia 435 Dual SIM
  15:50h
• Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML
  15:47h
• Asus Zenfone 2 Deluxe ZE551ML
  15:47h
• Archos 50 Diamond
  15:23h
• ZTE Blade S6
  15:01h
• Nokia Lumia 830
  14:56h
• Sony Xperia C5 Ultra Dual
  14:53h
• Sony Xperia C5 Ultra
  14:53h
• Meizu m1 note
  14:53h
• Xiaomi Redmi 1S
  14:51h
• Samsung Galaxy J2
  14:51h
• Motorola Moto X (2nd Gen)
  14:45h
• BlackBerry Priv
  14:40h
• Huawei Honor 7
  14:33h
• Xiaomi Mi Note
  14:31h
• Sony Xperia E3
  14:28h
• Microsoft Lumia 532 Dual SIM
  14:24h
• Microsoft Lumia 532
  14:24h
• HTC Desire 820 dual sim
  14:17h
• HTC Desire 820
  14:17h
• Motorola Moto G 4G
  14:17h
• Oppo N3
  14:14h
• HTC Desire 510
  14:06h
• Huawei Mate S
  13:53h
• Huawei P8
  13:50h
• Samsung Galaxy Alpha
  13:20h
• Meizu MX5
  13:15h
• Sony Xperia C4 Dual
  13:11h
• Oppo R1x
  12:33h
• Xiaomi Redmi 2
  12:33h
• Lenovo Vibe X2
  12:30h
• Apple iPhone 6
  12:23h
• Microsoft Lumia 535 Dual SIM
  12:15h
• HTC One E9+
  12:07h
• BlackBerry Leap
  12:05h
• Motorola Moto G (2nd gen)
  11:49h
• Microsoft Lumia 550
  11:40h
• HTC One A9
  11:12h
• Sony Xperia E4
  11:07h
• Sony Xperia E4g
  11:07h
• Lenovo S90 Sisley
  10:00h
• Oppo R5
  9:45h
• Apple iPhone 6s
  9:41h
• Gionee Elife S5.1
  8:55h
• Microsoft Lumia 950
  8:25h

The Web browsing time of 8 hours is more competitive, though there are plenty of phones that push past the 10 hour mark with 3,000mAh or less in their tank. The Huawei P8 (2,600mAh) lasted over 13 hours, but the Nexus 5X (2,700mAh) did 8 and a half hours with the latest Android.

Web browsing

• Samsung Galaxy S6 active
  16:25h
• Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet LTE
  15:05h
• Sony Xperia Z5
  14:35h
• Huawei P8
  13:32h
• Meizu PRO 5
  12:51h
• Motorola Moto E (2nd gen)
  12:42h
• Apple iPhone 6s
  12:27h
• ZTE Nubia Z9
  12:18h
• Samsung Galaxy A8 Duos
  12:18h
• Samsung Galaxy A8
  12:18h
• Motorola Moto X Play
  11:52h
• Apple iPhone 6s Plus
  11:51h
• Meizu m1 metal
  11:33h
• Sony Xperia E4g
  11:32h
• Sony Xperia Z5 Compact
  11:20h
• Samsung Galaxy S6 edge
  10:56h
• Microsoft Lumia 532 Dual SIM
  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
• LG AKA
  10:38h
• Huawei Honor 7
  10:38h
• Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+
  10:25h
• Microsoft Lumia 640 LTE Dual SIM
  10:23h
• Microsoft Lumia 640 LTE
  10:23h
• Microsoft Lumia 640 Dual SIM
  10:23h
• Microsoft Lumia 640 XL
  10:14h
• Microsoft Lumia 640 XL Dual SIM
  10:14h
• Microsoft Lumia 640 XL LTE Dual SIM
  10:14h
• Microsoft Lumia 640 XL LTE
  10:14h
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3
  10:12h
• Huawei G8
  10:00h
• Meizu m2 note
  9:54h
• Huawei Mate S
  9:43h
• vivo X5Pro
  9:34h
• Xiaomi Mi 4c
  9:32h
• Samsung Galaxy A7 Duos
  9:30h
• Sony Xperia Z5 Premium
  9:29h
• Samsung Galaxy J7
  9:04h
• Meizu MX5
  9:03h
• Samsung Galaxy J2
  8:58h
• Huawei P8lite ALE-L04
  8:42h
• Huawei Nexus 6P
  8:35h
• LG Nexus 5X
  8:32h
• Xiaomi Mi 4i
  8:27h
• Huawei P8lite
  8:27h
• BlackBerry Priv
  8:20h
• LG V10
  8:20h
• Lenovo Vibe Shot
  8:11h
• Oppo R7s
  8:07h
• HTC One E9+
  8:05h
• OnePlus 2
  8:05h
• Lenovo Vibe X2
  8:01h
• Motorola Nexus 6
  7:54h
• LG G4
  7:54h
• Asus Zenfone 2 Deluxe ZE551ML
  7:52h
• Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML
  7:52h
• ZTE Nubia Z9 mini
  7:44h
• Asus Zenfone Selfie ZD551KL
  7:43h
• Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro
  7:42h
• BlackBerry Leap
  7:37h
• Samsung Galaxy A3 Duos
  7:36h
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 2
  7:36h
• Samsung Galaxy A3
  7:36h
• HTC One M9
  7:31h
• Microsoft Lumia 950
  7:29h
• Oppo R7
  7:22h
• Archos 50 Diamond
  7:20h
• Sony Xperia C5 Ultra Dual
  7:15h
• Sony Xperia C5 Ultra
  7:15h
• Huawei Ascend P7
  7:13h
• Samsung ATIV SE
  7:12h
• Motorola Moto X (2nd Gen)
  7:11h
• Oppo Find 7a
  7:09h
• Sony Xperia C4 Dual
  7:05h
• Gionee Elife S5.1
  7:04h
• ZTE Blade S6
  7:01h
• Lenovo S90 Sisley
  7:00h
• Microsoft Lumia 550
  6:55h
• Xiaomi Redmi 1S
  6:54h
• Motorola Moto X Style
  6:49h
• Motorola Moto G (2nd gen)
  6:37h
• HTC One mini 2
  06:33h
• OnePlus X
  6:32h
• LG G3
  6:29h
• Yota YotaPhone 2
  6:23h
• Xiaomi Mi Note
  6:19h
• LG G Flex2
  6:16h
• Lenovo K3 Note
  5:56h
• Xiaomi Redmi Note
  5:53h
• Xiaomi Redmi 2
  5:41h
• HTC Desire 616 dual sim
  5:24h
• HTC One A9
  5:22h
• Microsoft Lumia 535 Dual SIM
  5:21h
• Gionee Elife S5.5
  5:10h
• Oppo Find 7
  5:02h
• Nokia Lumia 930
  4:57h
• Acer Liquid Jade S
  4:54h
• Oppo R5
  4:05h

The culprit seems to be the Video player, the Lenovo Vibe Shot couldn’t make it to 6 hours while playing video on a loop. Even the OnePlus X (which tanked on the Web test with a 6:30 score) did 7 hours. Snapdragon 615 does not have the best video decoding hardware, but the ZTE Nubia Z9 mini lasted an hour longer with the same chipset and the screen brightness setting.

Video playback

• Oppo R7 Plus
  18:04h
• Samsung Galaxy S6 active
  18:03h
• Meizu PRO 5
  18:02h
• Samsung Galaxy J7
  16:22h
• Lenovo ZUK Z1
  14:14h
• Oppo R7s
  14:05h
• Apple iPhone 6s Plus
  13:57h
• Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+
  13:53h
• Samsung Galaxy Note5
  13:51h
• Sony Xperia Z5 Compact
  13:04h
• Samsung Galaxy A8 Duos
  12:45h
• Samsung Galaxy A8
  12:45h
• Motorola Moto X Play
  12:06h
• LG AKA
  11:54h
• Asus Zenfone Selfie ZD551KL
  11:32h
• Huawei Mate S
  11:26h
• Xiaomi Mi 4c
  10:47h
• Apple iPhone 6s
  10:46h
• vivo X5Pro
  10:41h
• Microsoft Lumia 950 XL Dual SIM
  10:38h
• Microsoft Lumia 950 XL
  10:38h
• Samsung Galaxy J2
  10:35h
• Huawei G8
  10:20h
• Xiaomi Mi 4i
  10:11h
• Huawei P8lite ALE-L04
  10:00h
• Huawei Nexus 6P
  9:59h
• Samsung Galaxy A7 Duos
  9:58h
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3
  9:57h
• Huawei Honor 7
  9:43h
• Microsoft Lumia 950
  9:40h
• Oppo R7
  9:33h
• Motorola Moto X Style
  9:14h
• Meizu MX5
  9:13h
• Huawei P8lite
  9:00h
• Asus Zenfone 2 Deluxe ZE551ML
  8:34h
• HTC One A9
  8:33h
• Meizu m1 metal
  8:11h
• Sony Xperia C5 Ultra
  7:58h
• Sony Xperia C5 Ultra Dual
  7:58h
• Sony Xperia Z5
  7:53h
• LG V10
  7:30h
• Sony Xperia Z5 Premium
  7:14h
• ZTE Nubia Z9
  7:11h
• ZTE Nubia Z9 mini
  7:02h
• HTC One E9+
  7:00h
• Lenovo K3 Note
  6:55h
• OnePlus X
  6:55h
• BlackBerry Priv
  6:33h
• Meizu m2 note
  6:27h
• LG Nexus 5X
  6:25h
• Lenovo Vibe Shot
  5:40h
• Sony Xperia C4 Dual
  5:39h
• Sony Xperia Z
  5:39h
• Pantech Burst
  5:38h
• Sony Xperia acro S
  5:38h
• HTC Desire X
  5:38h
• Meizu MX3
  5:38h
• Samsung Galaxy Core LTE
  5:34h
• Sony Xperia ZL
  5:28h
• Meizu MX
  5:27h
• Oppo R5
  5:27h
• Microsoft Lumia 535 Dual SIM
  5:27h
• HTC Rhyme
  5:23h
• HTC One V
  5:20h
• Nokia Lumia 900 AT&T
  5:18h
• Xiaomi Redmi Note
  5:18h
• Oppo Find 5
  5:18h
• Acer CloudMobile S500
  5:18h
• Samsung P6200 Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus
  5:16h
• HTC Desire 616 dual sim
  5:15h
• Lenovo Vibe X2
  5:09h
• BlackBerry Curve 9380
  5:09h
• Microsoft Lumia 550
  5:05h
• HTC Rezound
  5:03h
• Samsung Galaxy Fame S6810
  5:02h
• LG Nexus 5
  5:01h
• LG Nexus 4 E960
  4:55h
• Sony Xperia L
  4:44h
• Acer Liquid Jade S
  4:31h
• Sony Xperia P
  4:30h
• Samsung Galaxy S Duos S7562
  4:30h
• LG Nitro HD
  4:17h
• LG Optimus 4X HD P880
  4:14h
• LG Optimus 3D Max P720
  3:28h
• Nokia Lumia 710
  3:27h

The Lenovo Vibe Shot is a dual-SIM phone, but that doesn’t have much of an effect on the battery life. Adding a second SIM card shaved a mere 2 hours from its Endurance rating – going from 54 hours to 52.

With moderate usage you can easily go two days on a single charge with the Shot, provided you don't watch a lot of videos. You'll be installing a third-party video player anyway (the built-in one isn’t very good), so they may offer better efficiency.