Introducing: GSMArena Battery Life Test 2.0 and the new Active Use Score

08 November 2023
The way we use our mobile phones has evolved, and so has our new Battery Life test.

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  • U
  • User 22
  • CbE
  • 08 Nov 2023

This is good. But the test needs 1 more component - Stand by power drain for 8 hours, when people sleep at night. Some phones draw 3% in 8 hours while being on standby on lte whereas other phones draw 5-8% over the same time.

    • U
    • User 22
    • CbE
    • 08 Nov 2023

    This is good.
    But it needs 1 more component - Stand by power drain for 8 hours when people are sleeping at

      Akashraj, 08 Nov 2023The issue with this new system is idle drain is not taken i... moreOn the subject of idle testing: Throughout the years of doing idle testing, we have discovered that these tests are the most difficult to control and inconsistent. Due to a number of factors including things like background processes, signal and OS version differences. We often found ourselves having to retest idle battery consumption to ensure accurate results. We found that excluding idle testing actually made our Active Use Score way more consistent, repeatable and representative of modern usage patterns.

        • ?
        • Anonymous
        • T1w
        • 08 Nov 2023

        Anonymous, 08 Nov 2023excellent work! I'm glad the new rating is a more rea... moretypo, I meant mobile data

        also, maybe idle time (with Bluetooth, wifi, GPS all turned on). Most people carry their phone all day that way.

          Anonymous, 08 Nov 2023Question on video streaming: Which codec? Which resolutio... moreOn the topic of video streaming:

          We standardized a test video in 720p resolution and uploaded that in AVC (H.264) to YouTube. Then we stream said video from YouTube on the tested phones in a fixed 720p HD resolution. YouTube has the video encoded in AVC1 and VP9 and generally tends to serve the AVC1 version to most phones. However, we have no control over the last part.

          On the subject of audio calls:

          We set the phone’s network type to forced 4G so it gets a 4G connection. Then, we generally use VoLTE for calling. If some specific phone requires a deviation from this scenario for some reason, it will be noted in the review.

            • ?
            • Anonymous
            • T1w
            • 08 Nov 2023

            excellent work! I'm glad the new rating is a more realistic real-life daily usage time.

            However, I think movie data (i.e. the modem) should be tested as well. Maybe the web browsing test should be on mobile data instead of wifi.

              Much needed improvements, but nowadays games run at different resolutions compare to device, better you guys use custom game with fixed resolution.

                • ?
                • Anonymous
                • pUW
                • 08 Nov 2023

                Idle consumption is important too, if you use your phone 3 hours a day, it will stay in idle about 13 hours. Its like you dont want Pixel phones to look bad on these tests.

                  Wow

                    This is a long overdue, but good update.

                      great update, makes much more sense than the past one imo, much easier to understand and more useful

                        • d
                        • der2
                        • 7Aj
                        • 08 Nov 2023

                        RIP endurance rating, I remember back in the day I would judge a phone's battery life heavily on that! It was a simple aggregate number in my eyes. More than welcome for change!

                          • F
                          • Faceman
                          • AZY
                          • 08 Nov 2023

                          That's cool, I like your new battery life rating. I pretty much liked your endurance ratings, but this way it might get much better for the ordinary folks.

                          I checked some results in the link for this new rating and I clearly see some better statistics for some phones, I like the colors and it is good to look at.
                          For example the iPhone 14 Pro had a pretty bad endurance rating overall, but it outperforms every Pixel I have ever owned and in the new rating it is also better.

                          Thanks for your work and for the effort you put in these things, for me a phone is a work tool which serves to make money and I really want to make a good decision when buying one. Your reviews help a lot!

                            The issue with this new system is idle drain is not taken into the account.

                              • ?
                              • Anonymous
                              • S2T
                              • 08 Nov 2023

                              AnonD-1121190, 08 Nov 2023Nowadays all smartphones has very similar battery life.. No far from that..

                                Anonymous, 08 Nov 2023Question on video streaming: Which codec? Which resolutio... more"Call test: The Call test remains a staple in our battery tests. Now running over a 4G network, the outcome remains largely consistent with our past tests." implies VoLTE no?

                                  • ?
                                  • Anonymous
                                  • 0p}
                                  • 08 Nov 2023

                                  Pixel is still the worst

                                    Well finally! I think it is a good approach. Great to see that phones considered "bad" due to your old rating methodology are as competitive as many other phones considered good, like the Pixel 8 or the Redmi Note 12 Pro series.
                                    Also add the Samsung A34, I think it would be one of the top phones according to the new tests

                                      • m
                                      • msi
                                      • u7V
                                      • 08 Nov 2023

                                      Anonymous, 08 Nov 2023Question on video streaming: Which codec? Which resolutio... moreneed answers for this, gsmarena..

                                      some reviewers test its in FHD and VoLTE

                                        • K
                                        • Krish
                                        • bvG
                                        • 08 Nov 2023

                                        Good to know about new score. Gsmarena is my daily site to go for all tech updates since more than a decade. you are best

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