Let's talk iPhone battery life...
The iPhone is the coolest gadget I've ever seen, but to me there are two problems with the product itself. 1. Storage = a measly 4 or 8GB. This will only get bigger as time goes on though. 2. Battery life = 5 hours. As we all know battery is one of the most important aspects of a mobile device, especially a mobile phone.
5 Hours talk, video or browsing? 16 Hours music playing battery life?
(i) Will the iPhone wake up automatically from sleep and ring when a call is coming in?
(ii) When a regular cell phone is not asleep or off it's considered standby mode, is this the same for the iPhone?
(iii) What's the standby battery life meant to be on the iPhone? This is important stuff.
5 Hours talk, video or browsing? 16 Hours music playing battery life?
(i) Will the iPhone wake up automatically from sleep and ring when a call is coming in?
(ii) When a regular cell phone is not asleep or off it's considered standby mode, is this the same for the iPhone?
(iii) What's the standby battery life meant to be on the iPhone? This is important stuff.
Comments
And looking at the design of the iPhone, it will have replaceable batteries!
As has been confirmed a number of times by people who've talked to Apple like NYTimes's David Pogue, no it won't.
I think the battery life is fine for what it is. I'll wait for a nano version myself though.
As has been confirmed a number of times by people who've talked to Apple like NYTimes's David Pogue, no it won't.
I think the battery life is fine for what it is. I'll wait for a nano version myself though.
I bet it'll be like the iPod where several third parties will sell you a battery and a little tool to pop your iPod open for 20/30 bucks.
Let's consider the iPhone's size. The iPhone is only 11mm thick. That's the thinnest phone available anywhere.
Now, what would you imagine the overall space would be that the battery occupies in the new iPhone? Consider the entire size of the phone and the components involved. Let's see, we know for sure the following items are engineered into the iPhone:
8GB of RAM
A huge 320 by 480 multi-touch screen
Quad-band (MHz: 850, 900, 1800, 1900) radio
Wi-fi
Bluetooth
Camera
Antenna
Speakerphone
Headphone jack
iPod interconnect
SIM card
Main processor
DSP processor
Multitude of circuit boards
What kind of room can they possibly have left for a battery? Based on the meager size of the iPhone, a person would probably imagine that half of the space would be dedicated solely to the battery in order to get 5 hours from it. Yet, this is impossible.
Look at the list of stuff they have shoved in there (in addition to the bits of electronics I know nothing of that are required for such a device).
My point is that the battery is quite small and to engineer the ability to allow the user to swap batteries in and out (removable cover, battery clip, extra leads and wiring, other wasted space to accomodate this mechanical feat) would impact the resulting size to a much greater degree than say for example, Palm were to make this same change given a Treos existing size.
The iPhone's battery would lose a greater overall percentage of its mass to engineer an iPhone design that would allow for a swappable battery because the space to hold the battery is so small to begin with. The iPhone would end up with 2-3 hours of battery life.
And if Apple did choose to engineer a user-replaceable bettery into the iPhone, you would need to carry around a spare battery just to have the same number of hours in battery life as it was built in because the space required for such a feat would negate its benefits (ie: cut the batteries physical size in half).
Yup; I am glad Apple chose to engineer a built in (non-swapable) battery.
On a side note, the whole idea of making these "smartphones" like a Treo or a Blackberry or the iPhone is to give the advantage of convergence. I will be able to just grab my iPhone and go - not worrying about also unplugging that extra battery pack and carrying that around with me too.
Why do people go on about the battery life? This is stupid.
Really?
I suppose a person could extrapolate/estimate/guestimate.
Looking at similar phones, I would say 7-10 days standby without the cellular radio being turned on and probably a full weekend with the cellular radio on.
I say this assuming that the phone, while in standby, will not be using the automatic wi-fi polling, sensing or whatever it's called. This is because if it's in standby mode, that means the screen is off and there is no reason to be checking for a local wi-fi connection (Apple will be smart enough to design this into the software because they excel at power management). But, we also have to assume that it could be possible that the Bluetooth chip will be clicking - making itself visible.
Yeh, probably around 7 days/60 hours standby is my guess.
1. Storage = a measly 4 or 8GB. This will only get bigger as time goes on though.
Which other devices are you comparing the iPhone to? Most smartphones have around 64 MB of storage. The Treo is the one I've seen with the most at 128 MB. UMPC have more storage than the iPhone but are also larger, heavier, and have shorter battery life.
2. Battery life = 5 hours
Explain why 5 hours of talk is not good. Many of the small mobile phones get only 3 hours of talk time. 5 hours of video is longer than the 30 GB iPod and the Zune. 16 hours of music is also longer than the 30GB iPod and Zune.
If the battery is really not swappable, there will be a big market for portable rechargers for the iPhone.
I'm sure multiple third parties will make an extra battery that can be plugged into the dock connector.
Say you're on a 12 hour flight and you don't want to watch the crappy movies on the plane. Throw a couple battery packs in your bag and you're good to go.
Oh, and usually the sim card slides in behind the battery on most phones, where does it go in the iphone? Is there some kinda slot on the side?
1. Storage = a measly 4 or 8GB. This will only get bigger as time goes on though.
only if you upgrade the phone how easy that will be (selling second hand WITHOUT a contract) in the UK/Ireland i dont know. and as pointed out already, even 4Gb is VAST in relation to compareable devices with 128Mb so maybe the 4/8GB will stay that way for 2 years???
(i) Will the iPhone wake up automatically from sleep and ring when a call is coming in?
(ii) When a regular cell phone is not asleep or off it's considered standby mode, is this the same for the iPhone?
(iii) What's the standby battery life meant to be on the iPhone? This is important stuff.
i) be a pretty poor job if it didnt as ALL other phones do this, i assume you are talking about STANDBY.
ii) see above.. or YEAH!
iii) it is important, but we wernt told, seems to be the one thing steve missed out...silly old steve.
Plus, I'd like you to name one smartphone that has a talk time much more than 5 hours. Yeah, a few may have like 6.5 hours or something, but many have less than 5.
my p800 has a talk time of about 8 hours its a chunky thing designed about 5 years ago, you can play music on it for a good 10 hours with the phone radio on, likely more if you put it into flight mode (phone raddio off)
Let's consider the iPhone's size. The iPhone is only 11mm thick. That's the thinnest phone available anywhere.
WRONG!
there is at least one other... a motorola something or other at 10.6 or 10.4mm
but yeah its REALLY thin
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both my p800s did about 10 days in standby with a few short calls when the battery was young, and before the 1st one got stolen (from a private hospital room-some people are scum-and dont know that an iPod is worth more
Let's consider the iPhone's size. The iPhone is only 11mm thick. That's the thinnest phone available anywhere.
WRONG!
there is at least one other... a motorola something or other at 10.6 or 10.4mm
but yeah its REALLY thin
Yeh, the one that's part of the SCPL platform; BUT it hasn't even been announced yet and nobody has any idea of a price or delivery date. The only info available is from bloggers. Not even sure if that dimension will be final.
Whereas the iPhone has concrete info available.
be a pretty poor job if it didnt as ALL other phones do this, i assume you are talking about STANDBY.
Since when are sleep and stand-by not the same?
I think this is mostly a semantics game between the mobile and iPod universe though.
Because mobiles have to leave their radio on all the time hence stand-by. Sleep is everything powered down but the RAM so instant-on works.
I think this is mostly a semantics game between the mobile and iPod universe though.
As to not cause furthur confusion, let's see you answer these questions then;
1. When you press the sleep/wake button on the iPhone and wake the phone, but don't unlock it, how long will it last from that point, assuming it's battery is at full capacity?
2. When you press the sleep/wake button on the iPhone and wake the phone, the iPhone can ring when a call is coming in, but what about before that point (before you wake it). Can a call come in and make the phone ring then?
As to not cause furthur confusion, let's see you answer these questions then;
1. When you press the sleep/wake button on the iPhone and wake the phone, but don't unlock it, how long will it last from that point, assuming it's battery is at full capacity?
As if to say, how long can it sit there with just it's screen on (and the cellular radio on), I would say somewhere in the neighborhood of 5 - 5.5 hours considering the limited specs that we know at this point. But; the whole point of requiring the user to unlock the screen is to prevent accidentally turning on the phone, so if the wake/sleep button is pushed but the screen is not unlocked, the software is designed to put the phone back into sleep mode (shutting off the screen) after a predetermined amount of time, like maybe 30 seconds.
2. When you press the sleep/wake button on the iPhone and wake the phone, the iPhone can ring when a call is coming in, but what about before that point (before you wake it). Can a call come in and make the phone ring then?
If the cellular radio is on (controllable from Settings icon), then yes, it will ring before it is awakened. This I am sure of.
Yeh, the one that's part of the SCPL platform; BUT it hasn't even been announced yet and nobody has any idea of a price or delivery date. The only info available is from bloggers. Not even sure if that dimension will be final.
Whereas the iPhone has concrete info available.
WOAH there...
i was in a car phone warehouse shop and held the dummy model that was on display...!!!
i'll see if i am passing when im in town on wed and get the name/model number for you.. i cant guarantee it, but ill try to
{added} went looking and this seems to be it, in girly pink
Since when are sleep and stand-by not the same?
well thats what i was wondering
As to not cause furthur confusion, let's see you answer these questions then;
1. When you press the sleep/wake button on the iPhone and wake the phone, but don't unlock it, how long will it last from that point, assuming it's battery is at full capacity?
2. When you press the sleep/wake button on the iPhone and wake the phone, the iPhone can ring when a call is coming in, but what about before that point (before you wake it). Can a call come in and make the phone ring then?
um... i think you guys are WAAAY overthinking this
{my rough PROBABLE explination} sleep mode is osx NOT RUNNING but the phone radio IS ON, its minimum drain and is what everyone would commonly call STANDBY. i think (without watching it again) that steve was using unfamiliar terminology (and of course by now some of the RDF has worn off
so when the phone is in SLEEP mode it just means that apps dont run, the back light isnt on and the iPod/Video isnt running(likely the touchscreen and sensors are shut off too).. remember you gotta push a PHYSICAL BUTTON on the side to wake it! ....THEN in the second it takes to move your finger to the SLIDING ACTION to UNLOCK it, just like a macbook wakes apparently instantly, the iPhone will WAKE as well.
but to all intents and purposes in using it as a PHONE ONLY waiting on an incomming call.. it will be in standby mode with the radio on and ready.
so you wont miss calls and the STANDBY time will be in the order of days...ASSUMING no other or minimal use... just like every other phone out there.
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as an aside with my Nokias i used to be able to set an alarm and switch the phone off at night... and the alarm would still sound... on my SMART p800 the best you can do is switch the phone off and get no alarm, lave the phone on in standby and get the alarm.. or switch the radio off (flight mode) and still get the alarm...
amazing ... progress