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We've been on quite a bit about battery life lately in the upcoming BlackBerry 10 devices. We've heard a bit about what type of battery they have and also know they'll be removeable. What we don't know yet however it just how much battery life the new devices will pump out. Good battery life is on top of the must-have list for most users, so it's a big selling point. How much battery life is "good" though?
For me, good battery means getting through my day (or most of it at least) without having to charge it up. For some it could be a few hours, for others a few days. What we want to know is just what "good battery life" means to you, and how much is long enough? Pick the option in the poll above that best fits you, then sound off in the comments!
Reader comments
CrackBerry Asks: How long is good battery life?
I think an 1800mAh-2000mAh battery would probably be good for the new Bb10. It's EFFICIENCY that matters. Having a massive battery doesn't help if you'd be doing heavy web surfing, using mobile hotspot, streaming pandora, etc. It all depends on what you do.
Bad bad choice of battery for the bold 9900, by 4pm my battery is at 20% and inot a heavy user. Perhaps they will have a better battery next time around because this one really SUCKS!!!!
+1 on this. That's why I have 2 spare batteries.
If you make intercontinental flight, you'd probably still like to see the phone/tablet working on arrival while using it on board (in airplane mode but hey bluetooth keyboard in plane?) to work and distract (music/video/game), while making calls in the connections, or at least be useable as a gps to get you to the hotel (even with the safety of a car loader that may not plug well).
Change battery may help, but designing for 24h+ for peak usage wouldn't hurt.
a 7" tablet may be just how big a smartphone can grow with a headset....
I would like to see a super-sized battery and cover designed by Blackberry as an option for BB10.
This battery would be huge, but would last two days. And it would require a different backdoor to accommodate it.
A super large battery option is like the three types of gas at the gas pumps. Even if no one actually uses the middle pump, people still want choice. Similarly, even if we could recharge our phone every night, it is really sweet to go a weekend without needing to charge!
With the software delay on BB10, the hardware department has a bit more time to design this option.
16 hours is enough, or at LEAST a day. 24 hours maximum. But alas, I have two extended batteries that last a long long time. I also have the stock battery that I swap in between extended battery uses. :D
I'll always buy the extended battery, because the stock isn't enough and I don't always carry a charger with me all the time.
I traveled with an android owning mate and our kids to an air show last sunday, 3 hours round trip and man, the things he had to do to conserve battery, he even turned it off for a while. I was taking videos, photos, bbming pics back to my wife. On the trip back his phone dropped 30% battery in less then an hour, no, no streaming involved, just browsing and a short phonecall.
The 9900 is not great when it comes to battery life but next to his LG Optimus it was night and day.
Makes me wonder, do people just travel from home to work and back these days? Because getting out for a day or two would make that battery life completely unacceptable. Even the 9900 is a close call. The 9700 on the other hand can easily last 3 days.
My brothers 9900 gets him 2-4 days without a charge
My 9800 gets me a day, but I had to buy a new battery cuz the old one had phantom dranages and wouldn't last 8 hours
I think 24hrs or more would be great
12 hours of usage. Let's be honest idle time is huge. Find a way to make idle time way less battery consuming. Sometimes my 9900 will lose 4% in idle and 6 under medium use.
That's just nuts.
I would gladly accept 6-8hrs if I can get better apps and a better media experience.
A minimum of 16 hours of heavy usage. The average BB user (who is probably a very heavy user for email, texts, Twitter, Facebook) should only need to recharge at night when he/she is sleeping. I notice that iPhone users are always asking around if someone has a charger they can borrow; I don't want to look like them when I get my BB10 phone.
With normal (for me) usage I charge every other day. Some heavier days if I am down to 30% i will throw on charge anyway. However I use my phone almost exculsively for email, bbm, text and dropbox. I don't even have a weather app, rarely use fb or twitter and nothing is set to update automatically. I also clicked off 'enable compression' as that was sucking back my battery when I upgraded to OS6 on my 9300.
While I am quite willing to charge every night I really hope BB10 will at least last all day. Judging from some of the comments on here some ppl don't get even that which surprises and worries me.
I work as a paramedic and would love at least 16 hours with facebook twitter and gps running
16-20 hours should be enough. The 12 hours of the 9900 are definitely not enough
BB9900/PlayBook/AlphaDev/UK/CH
I use my 9900 heavily...needless to say it doesn't last lng enough...only a few hours! N yes I do hav a spare battery but dat shouldnt b compulsory! I'd like at least 12-16 hours out of 1 battery charge...
The poll results are a bit silly. I think they (from the silly results) needed to reword it. I bet they are happy they didn't put in a "never ever runs out of battery for eternity" option, because that probably would have gotten 33 percent of the votes like 24+ hours did in this case. 33 percent of people need their phone charged while they sleep???
I voted minimum 24hrs... 24hrs of being able to use the phone before recharging, that is. 16 is pushing it on the lowest of the low end....
Yeah, we saw "London" having an 1800mAh battery. That doesn't look overly impressive. All-touch, LTE (if the phone *is* LTE-capable) - 1800?? Start saving up now for extra batteries and accessories.
Same story with the tiny 1230mAh battery on the 9900 ... rather pathetic. Recently purchased a 1500mAh aftermarket and was surprised by the difference the extra ~300mAh makes. I don't worry about having to recharge or swap batteries just as the day draws near to a close. The 1500 should have been in the 9900 to begin with.
Either way, I really do hope that RIM ponies up a decent sized battery for the kbd version of BB10.. (what's it called: Nevada?). It really should last the entire day without needing a recharge or swap considering it's a "business" phone...
Heavy use on my 9900 gets me around 6 hours. Had to buy an extra battery. Kind of pathetic.
You shitting me? I LOVE the extended battery! Best thing I had ever since I had the 9700. Lasts a day in a half, to two days on the 9900. :) I have two that don't need decoding.
16 to 18 is my limit.....but sucks when you are recording lectures for class and you see your battery dying by 30 percent from 100 in 3 hours, and then getting home to realize it's at 60 percent.
12 hrs with heavy use
2 days minimum!
Yes so the functionality on modern phones is way better than a basic phone but it really is irritating when you can't be confident your battery will last a day out without a charge.
Carrying two batteries for a single day is just stupid.
Manufactures should offer a slightly thicker phone which accommodates a decent battery.
Or you could carry a car charger, and have a spare charger at the office. Remember the question was "what do you consider to be GOOD battery life"...not exceptional battery life. You're essentially asking for more horsepower and better fuel economy...can't happen. You can also look at the aftermarket as there are "large" batteries that come with replacement covers to house them for various phones.
But to comment on the original question... 16 hours of heavy use is essential.
I had really atrocious battery life (6 hours) on my 9900, so in desperation I started turning things off. Setting notifications for BBM groups to silent (no tones or vibration), turn off notifications for Twitter tweets, turning off Twitter polling (refresh on app opening), turning off Facebook polling (refresh on app opening only), turning off BerryReader polling (refresh on app opening only), and turning off Podcasts automatic downloads has seen my battery life jump to nearly 12 hours. I don't know how much battery life is sucked up by all the polling, but I'm going to start turning things back on to find out. I suspect that all those vibration alerts for BBM group messages and Twitter was really draining the battery.
Once u activate any form of vibration alert more power will b consumed than when vibration alerts r off...as a rule I only use any vibration alert if my phone is in my pocket or obviously for a silent zone...
In my opinion it should be 16 hours a day of relatively heavy use - BlackBerry people do, and if I leave for work at 8am and attend an evening dinner/reception etc and don't return home until 11pm, I need my phone to be able to last through the day and to be able to use it as much as I need.
This is particularly true when I'm overseas - it's not nice to be somewhere unfamiliar (and potentially unsafe) with a dead battery. This worried me for the first time earlier this year when overseas with my 9900; fortunately going into major battery saving mode (2G, no location services, limited browsing) did the trick, but it would be nice not to worry.
I get at least 12 hours with my 9780 while listening to music all day at work, using the browser alot, tons of texting and checking out the sports apps like SI. It's all I really need. As soon as I get home I use the playbook and my laptop so the phone stays plugged in. I have chargers all over the place so I could even deal with 8 1/2 hours just to get me through the work day.
I'm a light user of my 9900, and with the device set to sleep overnight I can sometimes go three days on a charge.
Twelve hours of heavy use doesn't quite cut it, since my day lasts between fourteen and sixteen hours.
By comparison, my 9780 almost always made it through the day without charging or a battery swap, while my 9900 almost never makes it through the day without having to be charged or switch out the battery.
With regular daily use, 12 is good, 16 great, imo. Charge while sleeping and you're good to go another day. I'm not a heavy user. My 2 year old, original battery, 9800 will still usually get me through a 16hr run. App management is key.
Depents how much use. If it can take 24 houres of abuse than for users like me it will last for almost a week. If they can do it I will get it on the day it hits shelfs
I know we'll never see the days of having a 9700 and going two days on 3g before we have to plug our phones in. But given the newer features we're getting with bb10, I know that will come at the expense of battery life. So if we get a couple of hours past the competition at least, I'll be happy with that.
12 - 16 hours is a good number. I easily get that on a daily basis, but with a top off charge here and there with a spare battery... I have no worries.
24+ might be asking a lot going forward, but I get that now on my 9930. I like just swapping in a full battery at the end of the day, letting auto on/off do it's thing from 2-6am, and repeat. One battery swap a day and zero hours spent attached to the wall. I only hope BB10 can improve on this right out of the gate.
I get the question...but it should be reworded :)
Perhaps...
"What is the expectation of BlackBerry in terms of battery life based on your own day to day usage?
of course we all want 24+ hours :)
I use a Samsung Android now, and my battery is lucky to get me through the day sometimes. On average it just makes it, but not without complaining near the end of the day that my Battery is critically low. (And I do put it on my car charger when driving most of the time).
My old BB Torch would always make it through the day and into the next, and the occasional weekend when I forgot my charger on the way to the lake. I wish manufacturers would go back to having your phone be a communication device (email, phone calls, txt, BBM) rather than a game machine, internet browser and media player.
Minimum of 12 hours. I could live with less battery life only if a high capacity quick charge feature was available. I do like swappable batteries in my 9810 though.
I think the 24 and more hours is a bit rediculous. It should get you through the day. I think 12 hours is good, 16 is great and 24 is superb battery life levels.
Just my opinion though.
12-14 hours on moderate to heavy usage would work for me. A phone should also be able to sit in standby mode for 2-3 days even with push email/notifications going and not die.
my 9930 goes 3-4 days on a charge so im Very happy with my battery life
Yeah right!
Wow do you get that?
Just curious.
I have a 9900 but even with CMDA I can't believe that that device is lasting such a long time with the tiny battery in it.
My device has now a drain of 1 to 2 percent per hour in idle!
When I delete two apps I really want/need, I could reduce it to 0,5 to 1,5% percent in idle. (~1% per hour)
But when I actually use it heavy I still get 10-15%. Medium usage 5%.
On a busy day it last 12-16 hours. On some lazy days it can run over 24, almost 1 1/2 day.
This is funny, b/c when I first purchased my 9930 it would last easily 24hrs with normal usage (web, phone, text, twitter, email) But now, it lasts about 4-6 hrs with light usage (phone, text, email) So I guess its possible if you do absolutely nothing on it and its new.
+1
Don't be trolled everyone... he either has the super extended battery or does not use the phone and just looks at it, lol.
i am a moderate user not a heavy user and i use auto on and off and live and work in an area w/ good verizon coverage w/ wifi and bluetooth off (except for when i'm in the car) all that put together that is the average. also use the bold 9000 mangentic holster (I use a case) and don't charge it until it is solidly in the red (to keep in good condition) also have backlight timer set to lowest setting (10 seconds)
As long as my phone gets me through my day, I am happy.
Reasonable IMHO, 12 hours to get you through a hard day, then you've got while you sleep to recharge.
But I seriously doubt that with a car charger, you don't need 12. It's your own fault if you forget to charge while your asleep and while driving.
Mawil1013
I agree with you. 12-16 hours should be more than enough to get you through your day.
As a medevac pilot I work 12 hour shifts that can sometimes extend to 15 hours if I get called out towards then end of the shift.
I need a battery that can make me through that work day. My 9700 had no problem making it through, my 9900 makes it 70-80% of the time....
I miss the days when I got 2days out of a BlackBerry. I hope that BB 10 goes back to that.
Doubt it. With touchscreen and the heavy use of apps it seems impossible without having a huge battery attached.
If Motorola was able to throw in a 3300mAh battery in the droid maxx, then I doubt it's impossible. Just hope we get that battery or something close to it. Then that'll be a huge plus for bb10 phones.
Anyone that follows my posts (pretty much no one, lol) would know that I am absolutely huge on battery life. As I've seen things evolve in the smartphone arena, we've pretty much come back to square one: battery life. This is the single most important thing with a smartphone, I don't care what it does, if it can't stay on long enough, it's pointless. When I look at battery life, these numbers should always been under the banner of "heavy usage". If you are a medium, light or "only use it as a phone" user; then any phone should be good for you.
So under heavy usage:
- Less than 12 hours = garbage
- 12 hours = Good
- 16 hours = Great
- 20 hours = Amazing
- 24+ hours = God Tier
Personally, I need a phone that will last in between 16 - 20 hours under heavy usage. I don't know about anyone else, but I use my phone. I guess it depends on what field of work you're in but I use it all day, texts messages, emails, phone calls, web browsing, twitter and facebook (work in entertainment industry) so a lot goes on.
I'll be holding off on the first wave of BB10 devices just to see what battery life is like. I'm dying to go back to my QWERTY device but battery life is paramount now. I can't waste time hooked up to a charger when I'm in the office or restrain from using it to save battery life, only if I'm driving. That's why my eyes are heavily set on the Motorola Razr Maxx HD! 3,300 mAh battery pretty much guarantees 24hrs of battery life at a minimum! BB10 will have to bring their A-Game to change my mind!
Agree 100% with what you've stated. I've looked hard at the RAZR MAXX myself, but and not willing to change carriers for a phone. I can't wait for the day when carrier exclusives come to an end.
I miss they days when I needed 2 days battery life. oh to be able to party all weekend without a care in the world,especially carrying a charger/spare battery.
12 hours should be the minimum for ALL smartphones.
Luckily my Bold 9930 give me 16 :)
My old OS 5 Curve used to give me almost 2 days though lol
My 8900 seemed to last forever! Ahhh... the good old days. They need to figure out how to get more power into the same sized battery.
Yes, my 9900 also gives me 16 which is a full day for me.
I charge my phone every night when I'm sleeping, so 16 hours is all I'll ever need.
Pretty disappointed to see the poll trending at 24hrs+
C'mon people.. if you can't be realistic in your requests then you will never get anywhere.
24 hours will not happen for a modern smart phone with current battery technology.
16 hours is fair.. after that you should be getting some sleep in which case you can plug it in. If for whatever reason you are a person who really doesn't get to an outlet every 16 hours or so, then you are the exception. Carry an extra battery. Designing a phone for the select few exceptions drives up costs and increases thickness.
That said, I do mean 16 hours for a heavy user. Currently my 9900 only give me about 8 hours which isn't enough.
The problem is "light", "moderate" and "heavy" are different for everybody. I don't think two days of my "light" use is unreasonable (in my pocket 90% of the time).
The problem with most smart phones is that they are not very smart about switching between 2G and 3G. They try to hold onto the higher speed connection at the expense of power consumption (even when you are not actively using data).
I think you're wrong: 3300mAh battery from Motorola Razr Maxx.