Battery life is the one feature customers can’t get enough of. Now, some consumers can be happy with their current battery life, but I’ve never heard anyone say “I don’t want more battery life.” That just wouldn’t be logical to the consumer mindset or common sense, so I doubt it’ll ever be said or heard anytime soon. In any case, smartphone makers have to make battery life a priority, in the same way that they’re getting serious about DSLR camera quality in smartphone cameras (in other words, cameras that photography professionals use). The LG V10 has had something along the lines of support from Americans, with 400,000 sold in the States since its arrival, but there’s one disappointing feature that may prevent an additional 400,000 or 800,000 consumers from buying it: battery life.
That’s the latest from tech site PhoneArena, who’s always conducting endurance tests on the latest devices to see whether or not they’ll work as expected for consumers on a daily basis. In the latest battery endurance test between the LG V10, Huawei/Google Nexus 6P, Motorola Droid Maxx 2, Samsung Galaxy Note 5, Apple iPhone 6s Plus, Motorola Droid Turbo 2, BlackBerry Priv, OnePlus 2, the LG G4, and others, the LG V10 scored the lowest in the battery endurance test with an endurance time of 5 hours and 51 minutes.
To put the LG V10 endurance score in perspective, LG’s self-proclaimed flagship lasted 15 minutes shorter than the LG G4, 33 minutes shorter than the Nexus 6P, 38 minutes shorter than the Moto X Pure Edition (2015), 47 minutes shorter than the OnePlus 2, and 89 minutes shorter than the BlackBerry Priv. When it gets to giants such as the Apple iPhone 6s Plus and Samsung Galaxy Note 5, the LG V10 endurance rating was 3 hours and 20 minutes shorter than both of its top rivals.
The LG V10 battery results must be kept in proper perspective, though: the test performed on these phones was a simulated test where the smartphone’s display remained on until the battery died. Now, consumers don’t use their devices every moment of the day, so your LG V10 may last longer than 5 hours, 51 minutes. What the test does show, however, is that, if the device can’t stay on for very long, then its battery life will only deteriorate over time. If the LG V10 can’t last any longer than this in an endurance test, it won’t take 6 months for you to notice that it can’t even stay on for 4 hours without dying.
There is some good news in the test for the LG V10, though: while being pulverized by its rivals when it comes to bad endurance, the LG V10 does charge in an impressive time of just 65 minutes, or an hour and 5 minutes. This is impressive indeed, and we hope that other manufacturers improve their charging times in 2016 to match, if not surpass, LG’s charging time in the V10. At the same time, however, it balances itself out that you’ll get to charge your LG V10 quickly but will have to tolerate disappointing battery life. We’re not sure that the quick charging time helps the situation or exacerbates it (you LG V10 users be the judge).
In any case, the LG V10 will give the Korean manufacturer a chance to improve its battery life in this year’s model, but it will have stiff competition from Samsung — whose micro-USB cables already provide faster charging than most. With the Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6, you can charge your device from 0 to 100 in just 80 minutes; after 60 minutes, the device has reached 90% charge, so the LG V10’s quick charging capability isn’t that stellar when stacked up against its fellow Korean rival whose devices provide better battery life.
2016 is a new year, and the new year brings room for improvement with all devices. We hope that LG hears about its battery in the latest devices and pledges better for 2016. If nothing else, customers deserve it.
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