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I see many comments screaming "WE NEED MORE BATTERY LIFE!" I'm curious who needs more battery life than the iPhone air will provide? Every single person I know

by r0fl 1y ago

I see many comments screaming "WE NEED MORE BATTERY LIFE!" I'm curious who needs more battery life than the iPhone air will provide? Every single person I know of commutes to and from work daily either in a car where they can charge their phone or to a desk that has a charger (wired or wireless). The iPhone Air is rated for 27 hours of videoplayback. Let's say it works for a QUARTER of that, its still 7 hours of playback. What kind of people are away from a charger for more than 7 hours who also only consume content for those 7 hours on a regular basis? What kind of individuals are these? Please explain

Insanity 1y ago
Going on a hike in the weekend? Or basically anything where you're not going to the office? lol
- viscanti 1y ago
  You're watching video podcasts while hiking or what's the weekend hike use case for more than 27 hours of video playback on a single charge?
  - Insanity 1y ago
    Yeah my bad, I poorly read the post I was replying to. I'll leave my comment, because maybe someone is hardcore enough to do that. I do want to see how the advertised battery life stacks up against the real-world observation. It might be enough, it might not be, let's see :)
- r0fl 1y ago
  How many people hike longer than their battery lasts? Isn’t the phone not being used when hiking? Are they live streaming the hike that they need such insane battery life? I hike and bike ride with my kids very often. Other than the odd picture and video I have my phone in my pocket during those hikes. The battery barely drains
  - hulitu 1y ago
    > How many people hike longer than their battery lasts? ROTFL. All of them. If your phone stops in a middle of a forest, what do you do ? Just sit there until (magically) starts again ?
    - freehorse 1y ago
      Like this guy who burnt down a forest when this exact thing happened (while he should have prepared better, don't burn down forests if you find yourself in this situation, it is inexcusable) https://www.backpacker.com/news-and-events/news/a-hiker-started-a-wildfire-trying-to-signal-for-help-now-he-owes-the-government-300000/ https://www.backpacker.com/news-and-events/news/a-hiker-star... Was discussed here some time ago https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34894299 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34894299
  - Insanity 1y ago
    Replied to the other comment - but I poorly read your message that I responded to. You're absolutely right that this wouldn't be a normal / routine use-case.
  - TheDong 1y ago
    My iPhone mini lasts about 6 hours. If I hike in the cold it lasts maybe 2.5 hours tops, and hikes are usually 4-6 hours total, so it's usually dead by the time I'm done, and so I can't tap to ride the train home unless I bring a power bank. If I have a long train ride, like 2 hours, and I read on it, it'll usually use about 50% of the battery in that duration. If I go somewhere new, and use google maps a lot to navigate around, it'll last about 3 hours total. If I go somewhere with bad cellular signal, it constantly fights to connect and drains incredibly quickly, often in a matter of 2 hours. The Air looks like it's supposed to have a battery that's about 30% larger than the mini's, and the mini is wildly insufficient for regular use.
    - r0fl 1y ago
      What’s your battery health at? I skied out west last season and it was -25°C and my phone lasted from 9am to 6pm
factorialboy 1y ago
> I'm curious who needs more battery life than the iPhone... You aren't curious at all. You have formed an opinion. :) Apple recognizes the deficiency, hence they created the battery accessory which they would love to up-self. Step 1: Reduce battery life Step 2: Sell battery accessory, profit.
- r0fl 1y ago
  Two things can be true at the same time I can have an opinion that phones have sufficient battery life AND be curious what kind of person needs more than the provided battery life The example of someone hiking so far does not make sense since a phone is idle when hiking and will last the entire time easily
  - freehorse 1y ago
    In a hike you probably want to use your phone to look up the map/gps location, take photos etc. Ime iphones are struggling with this use case a bit without a power bank. Putting them in low power and airplane mode, while using a lightweight app for navigation with downloaded maps helps a lot, though it is still not gonna take you as far as other phones with larger battery life. I would never go for a hike where I know I need my iphone without a power bank with me. But not doing these and using google maps to navigate will not take you very far into the hike at all.
- freehorse 1y ago
  I already carry a power bank with me when I know I will stay long away from home. So in some way, one does not need to pay apple for that. I also know people who carry some monster phones with them with huge batteries that last for several days, but I would rather carry a power bank than forcing the extra weight in my pocket. Also, with android you have more options to optimise for battery life (eg low refresh rate and resolution) that are great if this is what you want to optimise (and did this for some time), but apple would never sell an iphone like that, and also ime these are becoming rarer in the android market too. If the sole alternative is just bigger batteries, I would rather not have this bigger battery attached to the phone all the time even if this is suboptimal for some other reasons.
al_borland 1y ago
Proximity to a charger isn’t the answer. I’m home all day, but I still don’t want to be monitoring battery life all day or tied to chargers. I only want to change while I sleep. I have a 16 Pro and every so often something runs in the background that destroys my battery in half a day. I still don’t know what it is. The settings don’t make it clear. I haven’t complained about the battery life on the Air, but I’d rather have a bigger battery to the point of eliminating the camera bump, than having a marginally thinner phone that shoves everything in a bigger relative bump.
- r0fl 1y ago
  Something running in the background is a software issue. Trying to solve that by throwing more hardware is the most expensive least efficient way to solve your problem Upgrading to a bigger battery won’t solve whatever is draining your battery
  - al_borland 1y ago
    While that is all true, it does give more time to realize what is going on, so I can address the issue, without leaving me in a bad spot. On days with normal battery usage, how is having more battery life ever a negative? Long travel days, which may also have heavy map usage, leave users outside of normal patterns and often with unpredictable access to charging. Having a long battery life would ease stress around those days and be preferable to carrying a battery bank.
    - r0fl 1y ago
      Those days are not the norm. So having a heavier phone 90% of the time so that 10% of the time can be less stressful is not efficient. Just attach a magsafe battery pack those days and you have full day battery life.
47282847 1y ago
I am not using a car, I do not commute, I do not go to an office. I usually spend my days outside, roaming the city, sitting in parks and cafes. I have a 13mini and started to carry a lightweight power bank in my backpack because it tends to run empty before I get back home, which is a problem with electronic ticket for public transport. A lot of people will also simply prefer the convenience of not having to plug their phone in more often than necessary. They have it in their backpack or purse, which makes it extra inconvenient to think of taking it out just to charge plus needing a cable and charger in multiple places, compared to the evenings when you may remove multiple items from it.
microflash 1y ago
I live in an area which has frequent power cuts. Having a larger battery would certainly relieve me of carrying power banks.

by r0fl 1y ago

Insanity 1y ago

Going on a hike in the weekend? Or basically anything where you're not going to the office? lol

viscanti 1y ago
You're watching video podcasts while hiking or what's the weekend hike use case for more than 27 hours of video playback on a single charge?
- Insanity 1y ago
  Yeah my bad, I poorly read the post I was replying to. I'll leave my comment, because maybe someone is hardcore enough to do that. I do want to see how the advertised battery life stacks up against the real-world observation. It might be enough, it might not be, let's see :)
r0fl 1y ago
How many people hike longer than their battery lasts? Isn’t the phone not being used when hiking? Are they live streaming the hike that they need such insane battery life? I hike and bike ride with my kids very often. Other than the odd picture and video I have my phone in my pocket during those hikes. The battery barely drains
- hulitu 1y ago
  > How many people hike longer than their battery lasts? ROTFL. All of them. If your phone stops in a middle of a forest, what do you do ? Just sit there until (magically) starts again ?
  - freehorse 1y ago
    Like this guy who burnt down a forest when this exact thing happened (while he should have prepared better, don't burn down forests if you find yourself in this situation, it is inexcusable) https://www.backpacker.com/news-and-events/news/a-hiker-started-a-wildfire-trying-to-signal-for-help-now-he-owes-the-government-300000/ https://www.backpacker.com/news-and-events/news/a-hiker-star... Was discussed here some time ago https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34894299 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34894299
- Insanity 1y ago
  Replied to the other comment - but I poorly read your message that I responded to. You're absolutely right that this wouldn't be a normal / routine use-case.
- TheDong 1y ago
  My iPhone mini lasts about 6 hours. If I hike in the cold it lasts maybe 2.5 hours tops, and hikes are usually 4-6 hours total, so it's usually dead by the time I'm done, and so I can't tap to ride the train home unless I bring a power bank. If I have a long train ride, like 2 hours, and I read on it, it'll usually use about 50% of the battery in that duration. If I go somewhere new, and use google maps a lot to navigate around, it'll last about 3 hours total. If I go somewhere with bad cellular signal, it constantly fights to connect and drains incredibly quickly, often in a matter of 2 hours. The Air looks like it's supposed to have a battery that's about 30% larger than the mini's, and the mini is wildly insufficient for regular use.
  - r0fl 1y ago
    What’s your battery health at? I skied out west last season and it was -25°C and my phone lasted from 9am to 6pm

factorialboy 1y ago

> I'm curious who needs more battery life than the iPhone... You aren't curious at all. You have formed an opinion. :) Apple recognizes the deficiency, hence they created the battery accessory which they would love to up-self. Step 1: Reduce battery life Step 2: Sell battery accessory, profit.

r0fl 1y ago
Two things can be true at the same time I can have an opinion that phones have sufficient battery life AND be curious what kind of person needs more than the provided battery life The example of someone hiking so far does not make sense since a phone is idle when hiking and will last the entire time easily
- freehorse 1y ago
  In a hike you probably want to use your phone to look up the map/gps location, take photos etc. Ime iphones are struggling with this use case a bit without a power bank. Putting them in low power and airplane mode, while using a lightweight app for navigation with downloaded maps helps a lot, though it is still not gonna take you as far as other phones with larger battery life. I would never go for a hike where I know I need my iphone without a power bank with me. But not doing these and using google maps to navigate will not take you very far into the hike at all.
freehorse 1y ago
I already carry a power bank with me when I know I will stay long away from home. So in some way, one does not need to pay apple for that. I also know people who carry some monster phones with them with huge batteries that last for several days, but I would rather carry a power bank than forcing the extra weight in my pocket. Also, with android you have more options to optimise for battery life (eg low refresh rate and resolution) that are great if this is what you want to optimise (and did this for some time), but apple would never sell an iphone like that, and also ime these are becoming rarer in the android market too. If the sole alternative is just bigger batteries, I would rather not have this bigger battery attached to the phone all the time even if this is suboptimal for some other reasons.

al_borland 1y ago

Proximity to a charger isn’t the answer. I’m home all day, but I still don’t want to be monitoring battery life all day or tied to chargers. I only want to change while I sleep. I have a 16 Pro and every so often something runs in the background that destroys my battery in half a day. I still don’t know what it is. The settings don’t make it clear. I haven’t complained about the battery life on the Air, but I’d rather have a bigger battery to the point of eliminating the camera bump, than having a marginally thinner phone that shoves everything in a bigger relative bump.

r0fl 1y ago
Something running in the background is a software issue. Trying to solve that by throwing more hardware is the most expensive least efficient way to solve your problem Upgrading to a bigger battery won’t solve whatever is draining your battery
- al_borland 1y ago
  While that is all true, it does give more time to realize what is going on, so I can address the issue, without leaving me in a bad spot. On days with normal battery usage, how is having more battery life ever a negative? Long travel days, which may also have heavy map usage, leave users outside of normal patterns and often with unpredictable access to charging. Having a long battery life would ease stress around those days and be preferable to carrying a battery bank.
  - r0fl 1y ago
    Those days are not the norm. So having a heavier phone 90% of the time so that 10% of the time can be less stressful is not efficient. Just attach a magsafe battery pack those days and you have full day battery life.

47282847 1y ago

I am not using a car, I do not commute, I do not go to an office. I usually spend my days outside, roaming the city, sitting in parks and cafes. I have a 13mini and started to carry a lightweight power bank in my backpack because it tends to run empty before I get back home, which is a problem with electronic ticket for public transport. A lot of people will also simply prefer the convenience of not having to plug their phone in more often than necessary. They have it in their backpack or purse, which makes it extra inconvenient to think of taking it out just to charge plus needing a cable and charger in multiple places, compared to the evenings when you may remove multiple items from it.

microflash 1y ago

I live in an area which has frequent power cuts. Having a larger battery would certainly relieve me of carrying power banks.