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back to article Apple downgrades iPhone 6S with wimpy 1715mAh battery

The new advanced pressure-sensitive touchscreen features in Apple's iPhone 6S have come at a cost: a smaller battery pack. Buried in the hoopla of Wednesday's unveiling event in San Francisco was the revelation that the new 4.7" iPhone 6S comes equipped with a battery pack that has a lower capacity than its predecessor, the …

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  1. DerekCurrie
    Gimp

    Yeah, I noticed The Register is in Apple Hate Mode

    In this case: Darn! iPhone 6S still has stunning battery life.

    Actually, I'm writing this comment just to point out that we Apple fanatics do more than 'go bonkers' hating you back. Sometimes we just *YAWN* at you.

    It's a shame that I find The Register to be a great place to pick up computer security news. But I have to dig around for it amidst a sinking load of old cobblers. Phew.

    13 45 Reply
    1. diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge
      Reply Icon

      Re: Yeah, I noticed The Register is in Apple Hate Mode

      Yeah so sorry we're not kissing the ass of a huge multibillion dollar corporation. Funny how everyone likes our snark until we pick on their favorite business.

      C.

      45 10 Reply
      1. Badger Murphy
        Reply Icon
        Stop

        Re: Yeah, I noticed The Register is in Apple Hate Mode

        >favorite business

        Anyone still making buying decisions based on brand loyalty, or in the more current nomenclature, fanboyism, these days is doing themselves a disservice. In this era, most corporations are run by boards of directors that have no vested interest in the quality of their product beyond direct impact on their bottom line. A sense of pride in one's work and one's company have taken a back seat to profit margins and 'efficiency' above all other pursuits.

        Apple, for example, may be known for and widely regarded for the high build standard of their products, but it really pays to evaluate each product on its own merits, not on the track record of the company that produced it. If this product is of a high overall quality, like many of its predecessors, then great! If it isn't, though, apologizing for it because the company is known for making good stuff if harmful to yourself and those that value your opinion; it's not like they're paying you.

        I, for one, welcome the critical eye that this publication takes to pretty much everything they look at. If nothing else, it encourages us to take a close look at the products in question and, like I said above, evaluate them more by their merits, and less by their logos.

        16 0 Reply
        1. Dave 126 Silver badge
          Reply Icon

          Re: Yeah, I noticed The Register is in Apple Hate Mode

          >Anyone still making buying decisions based on brand loyalty, or in the more current nomenclature, fanboyism, these days is doing themselves a disservice.

          That's largely true, but if it takes an individual several days to weigh up one option against another then relying on 'track record' actually makes more sense (depending upon how much one's time is worth). Ultimately, physical products can't be completely expressed 'on paper', and trying things for themselves can take too long. If what you are used to works for you, then buying MKII or MKVII can make sense.

          I don't use Apple. I use Android and Windows, Sony and Dell*. However, I don't like unnecessary snark, since it muddies any sensible discussion of useful features and good design choices.

          * the aged Dell keeps trooping on, so I will overlook some of its offensive design decisions.... blue LEDs for starters.

          1 3 Reply
          1. Anonymous Coward
            Reply Icon
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Yeah, I noticed The Register is in Apple Hate Mode

            I don't use Apple. I use Android and Windows, Sony and Dell*. However, I don't like unnecessary snark, since it muddies any sensible discussion of useful features and good design choices.

            I agree. I use a lot of Apple gear. My use is based (as yours) on a set of requirements that are probably unique to me, that have fairly sensible reasoning behind them (OK, biased opinion :) ) and is based on the information I had available at the time of purchase.

            Over time, all those variables (requirements, usage experience, information, motivation) can change, which is why I'm not interested in hype or club/group thinking and any statements of preference that flow from that. I am always willing to listen to reasonable arguments and experience, because, quite simply, I don't believe you can know it all. There may be an insight, motivation or use I haven't thought of that may work. There may be a risk I have overlooked. There may be a benefit that may fit in - even in the future. In other words, I'm OK with other people making other choices, that's their right and I'm always interested in their reasons for doing so without this weird need to stick a negative label on them because they don't happen to make the same choices as I do.

            I have my reasons for avoiding anything associated with Google like the proverbial plague (amongst which are clearances, privacy and frankly ludicrous demands in their Terms & Conditions) but I am also quite aware that not everyone has those deep needs and by listening to other facts I may be able to learn something that could help someone else make a DIFFERENT choice. The frantic screeching of the Android lot as soon as you dare mention that iPhone works better for you is a strong argument to avoid the platform like the proverbial plague because you wouldn't want to be associated with foaming-at-the-mouth fanatics (I had a brief Stallman flashback there).

            At one of my relatives they have practically all types. There are two Android phones there, an iPhone and a Windows phone, and the running joke is that we ought to replace one of the Androids with a Blackberry, just to make it a complete mess. It works for them, and that is fine.

            It's their choice of beer that I object to.

            2 0 Reply
        2. mistersaxon
          Reply Icon

          Re: Yeah, I noticed The Register is in Apple Hate Mode

          Brand loyalty is often simply loyalty to the investment that you have made in chargeable software over the years - that often (usually) represents a bigger commitment of time and cash than simply splurging on the new hardware. It may also be an acknowledgement that the phone you have "just works" - whatever platform you have.

          The time spent migrating from one platform to another, sorting out the syncing and data transfer, learning a new phone OS, repurchasing accessories and so on are all small points but not insignificant in the decision to stay with a platform or jump ship. "Fashion" or "fanboyism" is not the major driver for most people to stay with the platform of their choice but it is worth noting that if Apple produce a real stinker instead of a well-made incremental improvement on the previous generation then the migration will be significant for them, since they are the only producers of phones with IOS (yes, yes, Cisco SIP phones run IOS, ha ha very clever now shut up Apple and Cisco both hate that acronym clash I'm sure). So far that hasn't happened - although you may well feel that the iPhone capabilities are surpassed by other hardware on the market (and that may even be true).

          It's easier to stay with Android without being a brand-loyal consumer of hardware but whether that is a good thing or not I will leave for you to discuss with Samsung, Sony, HTC etc. I'm sure they are all delighted with the level playing field just as the many carrier-locked droid owners on backlevel OS releases are.

          0 1 Reply
      2. GucciPiggy
        Reply Icon

        Re: Yeah, I noticed The Register is in Apple Hate Mode

        This is so true... I'm glad that you're not one to just praise everything Apple does in the fears of not being allowed to get early access to Apple news.

        Keep up the great work

        0 0 Reply
      3. leexgx
        Reply Icon

        Re: Yeah, I noticed The Register is in Apple Hate Mode

        dam lost me post STOP USING SCRIPT that wipes the text OUT please, pressing back should keep my text (it shows a Gray text of what was in there to wind up people)

        any way making phones thinner but not making the battery bigger is not what the customers want they want a nice phone that lasts the whole day (or even 2) without having to hunt for power

        my friend still has my motorola RAZOR MAXX and its an amazing phone (yes its old, yes its a dual core cpu, its old) and he easy still getting 2 days of battery life (5-6 years old and i got it second hand)

        but even at 20% battery left on any other phone you're lucky if it lasts much longer then 1-2 hours but on the maxx phone its like ok i can't really stream video any more now phone will last another 8-12 hours or even longer if data is turned off

        why cant phone makers make a more functional phone by adding the battery it needs instead of what they can get away with so it can just about last a day (not sure why Motorola have not made another MAXX range phone as there HD phone old and needs replacing) only samsung note 3-4 have a large enough battery (with out having to add an extra battery) to use it for what it was made for and that is media consumption (i ignore the note 5 as they have not made the battery bigger and it lacks a removable battery no SD card slot, and no UK release yet)

        0 0 Reply
    2. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Yeah, I noticed The Register is in Apple Hate Mode

      iPhone 6S still has stunning battery life.

      That's at the moment unproven.

      All we know FOR SURE right now is that it has a smaller battery. All things being equal, this means a shorter battery life until someone gets their hands on a production 6S (which feat, may I remind you, will still take a couple of weeks or in my case never as I don't need it), trains the battery and then has a look - assuming they recall how the iPhone 6 did.

      Apple MAY have done something wonderful to cut power use (not impossible, but IMHO strongly dependent on what use you put a phone to), but until there is evidence to back that up it is reasonable to assume that a smaller battery means less battery life.

      As for the hate, I don't see that. They're just not singing along with the hype, and I am very happy they don't. I *hate* the whole hype and cult thing, and if (some of) their gear wasn't so good I'd avoid it for that alone.

      16 1 Reply
      1. Dave 126 Silver badge
        Reply Icon

        Re: Yeah, I noticed The Register is in Apple Hate Mode

        >Yeah so sorry we're not kissing the ass* of a huge multibillion dollar corporation. Funny how everyone likes our snark until we pick on their favorite* business.

        'Kissing ass' is a bias, just as is 'pissing on'. Many of us here don't like any form of bias; give us straight info and let us make our own minds up. The headline suggested less battery life, whereas the article remembered that the chances are that the SoC is built on a smaller process and that the new OS version might save power. As a reader, I think it reasonale that the headline and the article agree; c'mon guys, this isn't New Scientist or Wired.com FFS!

        I use a couple of Android phones, and I want them and their replacements to be as useful to me as possible... I don't see how spreading FUD about the completion helps that end. Give credit where it is due.

        >it is reasonable to assume that a smaller battery means less battery life.

        That's only a reasonable assumption if you haven't been paying attention to the trend in CPU power consumption for that last umpteen years. Hell, even Lewis Carroll** knew that in Alice Through the Looking Glass ( what we call the 'Red Queen Effect'). Moore's 'Law' isn't a law, but as a prevailing trend one should consider any observed exceptions to it as noteworthy. By your own admission we don't know the process size of the new iPhone SoC, and you are quite correct, but I'm curious as to why your assumption is that it doesn't fit the trend.

        In Android land, the first mainstream phone to use the Snapdragon 800 SoC was the LG G2, and being first its battery life was widely applauded. SoC process size does make a difference to battery life.

        * spellings that suggest the article was written by the USA branch of the .co.uk Reg site.

        ** Snark hunting? Frumious Bandersnatch.

        10 3 Reply
        1. lucki bstard
          Reply Icon

          Re: Yeah, I noticed The Register is in Apple Hate Mode

          'Many of us here don't like any form of bias; give us straight info and let us make our own minds up' - Just by being here you are exhibiting bias.... You could have gone to other websites that also have their own bias...

          6 1 Reply
        2. DryBones
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          Re: Yeah, I noticed The Register is in Apple Hate Mode

          @Dave 126: Aren't the biggest battery users the screen and radios?

          3 0 Reply
      2. Anonymous Coward
        Reply Icon
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Yeah, I noticed The Register is in Apple Hate Mode

        >> All we know FOR SURE right now is that it has a smaller battery. All things being equal, this means a shorter battery life

        Indeed. But we also know FOR SURE right now that all things aren't equal. The 6S has a new SoC fabbed with a smaller process AND reworked radios.

        So any observations based on "all things being equal" is completely pointless.

        5 1 Reply
        1. werdsmith Silver badge
          Reply Icon

          Re: Yeah, I noticed The Register is in Apple Hate Mode

          "Many of us here don't like any form of bias; give us straight info and let us make our own minds up."

          Yes, this this this this.

          Bias is associated with trash-rags like the Guardian and the Mail.

          I enjoy a bit of banterish piss-taking, but straight bias is for the type of half-wits that read the above named publications.

          3 1 Reply
          1. Diogenes
            Reply Icon

            Re: Yeah, I noticed The Register is in Apple Hate Mode

            But just think how much longer the existing battery would last with the new power savings.

            3 0 Reply
            1. Cuddles
              Reply Icon

              Re: Yeah, I noticed The Register is in Apple Hate Mode

              "But just think how much longer the existing battery would last with the new power savings."

              Indeed. I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in wishing all phone manufacturers would stop pissing about trying to shave microns off the size of their products just so they can boast about being the thinnest thing ever. A phone a couple of mm thicker and a few grams heavier would make no difference at all to ease of use, but would allow a battery big enough that we'd be worrying about whether it would last the week rather than just a day.

              Seriously, I just checked Wiki for some dimensions. The iPhone 6S is 4.5mm thinner than the original iPhone. Hell, it's still 0.5mm thinner than the 5S which is still counted as a current model. Forget arguing over the odd 100mAh, they could easily double the battery size and still have it more than thin enough to... do whatever it needs to be thin for. I still haven't worked that part out - why does a phone need to be wafer thin in the first place? If it fits in your hand and pocket, job done.

              2 0 Reply
              1. Anonymous Coward
                Reply Icon
                Anonymous Coward

                Re: Yeah, I noticed The Register is in Apple Hate Mode

                Indeed. I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in wishing all phone manufacturers would stop pissing about trying to shave microns off the size of their products just so they can boast about being the thinnest thing ever.

                I agree. It also has another side effect. I don't think I have the biggest hands around (can I see, er, a show of hands please?) but that designer thinness makes the phone for me awkward to hold so I am forced to use a case for it. I'd rather see those millimeters used for more battery.

                On the topic of battery: how did it ever become a design standard for a battery NOT to last an entire day? Who voted for that when I wasn't looking?

                Now, about that "wafer thin" - designers note that that could also have other associations. :)

                0 0 Reply
    3. dogged
      Reply Icon

      Re: Yeah, I noticed The Register is in Apple Hate Mode

      > iPhone 6S still has stunning battery life.

      this is kind of off-topic but I wanted to share.

      On Sunday night I fully charged and put Windows 10 Mobile Insider Preview (ah, Microsoft and their catchy names!) on a Lumia 930 because I had heard bad things about the battery munching and wanted to see for myself.

      I deliberately disabled Battery Saver, which would otherwise have started cutting down services and underclocking at 10% battery remaining. I did leave it running wifi, mobile data and bluetooth connections.

      It finally croaked at 7:30pm on Wednesday.

      Now granted, it was just sitting there picking up notifications, mail, Telegram messages, etc. Not looping video (I'll do that over the weekend) or running GPS (that comes this evening when I drive home for the weekend).

      But I was still pretty surprised.

      Anyway, you may now resume your scheduled tribal bashing or licking of Apple.

      2 2 Reply
    4. Nameless Faceless Computer User
      Reply Icon

      Re: Yeah, I noticed The Register is in Apple Hate Mode

      I think someone needs to point out the negatives. Apple has been a platform of "stuff we're not going to tell you." Sure, we'll give you a better display (but we made the battery thinner to make the marketing guys happy). Sure, we'll give you wifi calling (but only on the 5S and not the 5). Sure, we'll give you a card reader for your photographs (but only for 4th generation iPad - not iPhone, read-only, and only for filetypes which we will choose for you).

      0 0 Reply
      1. Anonymous Coward
        Reply Icon
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Yeah, I noticed The Register is in Apple Hate Mode

        Apple has been a platform of "stuff we're not going to tell you."

        I'm kinda puzzled by the list you give there because there isn't a single fact in that list that wasn't provided in the product specs and in the (overly) copious product reviews that tend to appear even before the products are properly available. Even the most casual approach to research would have shown you this.

        Besides, Google isn't exactly telling you everything when you choose Android either. First of all, to make all of it work you need a Google account, and anyone with a basic amount of common sense who would actually READ the Terms & Conditions that that requires would stop right there because they're on the wrong side of onerous. Secondly, for security updates you are at the mercy of the chain between your device and Google, which can involved AND a manufacturer AND a telco. In other words, it may *appear* safe but it is far from it (as close to a billion people have found out recently).

        In the negative sense too you ought to maintain some semblance of balance. Otherwise it's not informative, it's misleading.

        0 0 Reply
    5. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Yeah, I noticed The Register is in Apple Hate Mode

      Yup, its a shame, envy is such a sin, perhaps they can't afford Apple stuff?

      1 0 Reply
  2. Barbarian At the Gates

    Bit of soft shoe-ing here

    If it takes iOS updates improving energy use to achieve the same battery time with a smaller battery on the new S variants when compared to the previous model using the existing iOS build...well, that's great.

    But the previous model will even be better on battery life when the new iOS update happens to it.

    We're kinda getting to the point where cramming more stuff in a smartphone isn't necessarily a better user experience. That is gonna become a problem for smartphone makers sometime soonish.

    18 0 Reply
    1. JeffyPoooh
      Reply Icon
      Pint

      Re: Bit of soft shoe-ing here

      "...a better user experience..."

      Kinda ruined when the charging cables cost over $20 and are protected with ever-changing DRM.

      That in itself is a huge negative.

      Fresh pain - due to a software update to iOS we had to rush out to buy a genuine cable. $40 for the 2m version. It'll probably last only a few months.

      7 3 Reply
      1. Anonymous Coward
        Reply Icon
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Bit of soft shoe-ing here

        >> Fresh pain - due to a software update to iOS we had to rush out to buy a genuine cable. $40 for the 2m version. It'll probably last only a few months.

        What was the emergency that you couldn't buy a certified 2m cable from Amazon for $9?

        3 0 Reply
        1. werdsmith Silver badge
          Reply Icon

          Re: Bit of soft shoe-ing here

          I've been using Poundland Lightning cables for 2 years.

          Yes they do work perfectly, no they haven't broken (the original one that came with the phone broke).

          2 0 Reply
      2. Anonymous Coward
        Reply Icon
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Bit of soft shoe-ing here

        If you can afford the phone, then you should be able to stump up for the genuine cable which will work.

        An example, I once had a discussion with P******s about why their player woul not work with their tv, drop outs etc, despite having a 'decent' cable.

        Purchased their cable, never had a problem since, and I now have the additional lever, well its all your gear, it dont work, fix it.

        You get what you pay for.

        1 5 Reply
      3. mistersaxon
        Reply Icon

        Re: Bit of soft shoe-ing here

        Get the vastly(!) cheaper(!!) genuine Apple Micro-USB to Lightning adapter tip and never buy another Apple charge/sync cable again. Just don't lose the little b*****d because it's flipping small for the cost of it (which is kind of the point of course).

        2 1 Reply
        1. Anonymous Coward
          Reply Icon
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Bit of soft shoe-ing here

          Or you could be sensible and just buy a phone that doesn't use stupid non standard connectors that have 1000% profit tagged on for no fucking reason.

          8 0 Reply
        2. Anonymous Coward
          Reply Icon
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Bit of soft shoe-ing here

          15 GBP as opposed to 25GBP, vast would be less that 50% of the 2m cable at 25 GBP.

          0 0 Reply
      4. Anonymous Coward
        Reply Icon
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Bit of soft shoe-ing here

        ??? new charging cables?? The ones I have purchased from fleabay for about two quid have yet to stop working with my iDevices. Granted I have not updated to 9 yet as it is not out, but has survived 7 to 8.

        0 0 Reply
    2. Dave 126 Silver badge
      Reply Icon

      Re: Bit of soft shoe-ing here

      >But the previous model will even be better on battery life when the new iOS update happens to it.

      The battery savings are more likely due to a SoC process shrink. Anandtech will probably republish a Chipworks analysis in due course.

      2 0 Reply
      1. Ragequit
        Reply Icon
        Joke

        Re: Bit of soft shoe-ing here

        Can't really make a prediction if the SoC shrink + Added hardware features = Less battery drain. The most I'd hope for is a net zero sum. In which case the reduced battery capacity would mean less battery life. But it's all speculation at this point.

        All manufacturer battery life calculations are rubbish anyway.

        Lets just hope Apple doesn't get the crazy idea to use the kinetic energy from people fondling their i-devices harder to charge their batteries. So many dead devices in the heat of the moment. So many lost loves in the hands of fanboi's. Truly heartbreaking. Cough.

        0 0 Reply
      2. Charles Manning
        Reply Icon

        Re: Bit of soft shoe-ing here

        "The battery savings are more likely due to a SoC process shrink"

        That, and quite likely the new SoC has multiple different CPUs in it. This allows the main CPU (high performance, high power usage) to be shut down and only run a secondary/service CPU (lower performance/lower power).

        These SoCs with different cores are all the rage now and definitely give some cool power saving.

        1 0 Reply
  3. Badger Murphy

    I'll take the *2nd* thinnest phone in history, please

    At this point, I think that smart phones are thin enough where ever fewer people really care anymore, yet the vendors are locked in an eternal struggle to make them ever thinner to claim bragging rights, kind of like, I believe it was, Sharp and Casio over pocket calculators back in the 80's. Eventually, it got to the point where users of said calculators, and now possibly also phones, liked the ergonomics *less* on the exceptionally thin models.

    I don't think its fair to level this critique at Apple, specifically, but the mid-to-high-end phone market in general. I doubt I'm alone in saying that "quite thin" is thin enough for me. I'd rather have a bit more bulk and more battery life than the endless pursuit of thinness. Any vendors out there have anything, or am I just in too small a market segment to be bothered with?

    Bueller?

    Bueller?

    20 0 Reply
    1. Captain DaFt
      Reply Icon

      Re: I'll take the *2nd* thinnest phone in history, please

      It wouldn't surprise me if the next "paradigm shift" in mobiles came from some upstart that announced, "We've doubled the thickness of our phones, and quintupled the battery life!

      Imagine, Phones that go over a week without charging, just like they used to.

      12 0 Reply
      1. Dave 126 Silver badge
        Reply Icon

        Re: I'll take the *2nd* thinnest phone in history, please

        I've just made my phone 50% thicker to add to its functionality. It is now also a ruler, knife, toothpick, pen, file, tweezers and pen: I glued a Victorinox 'Swiss Card' to it.

        It works for me, but i wouldn't expect it work for most people.. Similarly, I see a lot of builders with iPhones in cases ranging from slim to 'two cigarette packets' in size - it seems that the individual users can choose the level of protction that suits them. More battery? Maybe these builders are able to charge their phones off their 18v site stereos, or in their vans. I'm not sure how all these IT Commentards here are always so far away from a USB socket to charge from.

        There are, if these threads are to be belived, people who are on the phone so much that they require a second battery, yet at the same time they will tolerate the faff of restarting their phone off every time they need more juice. Don't insult our intelligence by pretending that is an optimum solution.

        0 4 Reply
        1. mistersaxon
          Reply Icon

          Re: I'll take the *2nd* thinnest phone in history, please

          Swapping batteries was always the cheap / bad solution to running out of juice, especially if there is no external charger for the batteries (or "something ELSE to carry / lose" as I like to call them). Speaking of thick cases though - there are a fair number that have a built-in battery to power the phone for extended runtimes if that's what you need. They also offer various useful features like full weather protection or barcode scanners etc. depending on your need / niche.

          Compaq iPaq anyone?

          0 1 Reply
          1. Anonymous Coward
            Reply Icon
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: I'll take the *2nd* thinnest phone in history, please

            mistersaxon: "Swapping batteries was always the cheap / bad solution to running out of juice, especially if there is no external charger for the batteries"

            As opposed to non-removable, once its dead the phone is a fucking useless brick.

            1 0 Reply
            1. Anonymous Coward
              Reply Icon
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: I'll take the *2nd* thinnest phone in history, please

              >> As opposed to non-removable, once its dead the phone is a fucking useless brick.

              Yeah I guess you're one of those people who would prefer to throw a $650 phone in the trash rather than have Apple replace the battery for you for $79.

              0 1 Reply
      2. TheRealRoland
        Reply Icon

        Re: I'll take the *2nd* thinnest phone in history, please

        Indeed... after using a Samsung note2 for two and some years, having to charge the battery every night (sometimes earlier during the day) i'm happy with my blackberry passport.

        Sure, running some android apps eats the battery a bit more than native ones, but still a happy camper, not being tethered to the power outlet constantly!

        But that Nokia 6310i...

        0 0 Reply
      3. BinkyTheHorse
        Reply Icon
        Thumb Up

        Re: I'll take the *2nd* thinnest phone in history, please

        "We've doubled the thickness of our phones, and quintupled the battery life!"

        Well, not exactly quintupled, but the paradigm shift you describe was already attempted at least once.

        I should know, since I have a phone like that - Motorola/Droid Razr Maxx . Noticeably chunkier (I don't mind, it's still much thinner than my first mobile), almost two times the battery capacity of other phones in its category.

        When the (non-replacable) battery was new, it easily lasted 3 days of heave "smartphone" use. And more importantly, used as a feature phone, it indeed had the longevity of slightly over a week, like you desire.

        Wasn't a big market success 'though - perhaps it was before its time.

        0 0 Reply
      4. Anonymous Coward
        Reply Icon
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: I'll take the *2nd* thinnest phone in history, please

        My Xiaomi's removable battery gives me a week of light use, or 1-2 days of heavy internet surfing - unless I repeatedly run Anututu, which drains it in about 6-8 hours

        0 0 Reply
    2. Mike Bell
      Reply Icon

      Re: I'll take the *2nd* thinnest phone in history, please

      The iPhone 6 is awkward to pick up and awkward to use as a camera with its minimal edges. It's too thin for average human hands. Version 5 was more ergonomic.

      1 0 Reply
  4. Dieter Haussmann

    The new A9 CPU used 75% of the energy of the A8 in the iPhone 6 plus iOS 9 will be more efficient.

    2 3 Reply
    1. werdsmith Silver badge
      Reply Icon

      Great. Now what did they do about the screen and backlight?

      4 0 Reply
  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Hey Reg, can you try to be insightful instead?

    I read somewhere that the CPU/GPU had a die shrink, in which case it's entirely believable (even likely) that the phone would have similar or better battery life even with a smaller battery.

    3 9 Reply
    1. diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge
      Reply Icon

      Re: Hey Reg, can you try to be insightful instead?

      Yeah. It's mentioned in the story.

      C.

      16 1 Reply
      1. Anonymous Coward
        Reply Icon
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Hey Reg, can you try to be insightful instead?

        >> Yeah. It's mentioned in the story.

        Sure, now that you added that new paragraph towards the end, with no mention of the story being edited, updated, or corrected.

        Super professional.

        You're welcome for the tip, I guess.

        BTW -- I still have the original version of the story up on my laptop in case you want to remind yourself of what it looked like pre-update.

        2 4 Reply
        1. diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge
          Reply Icon

          Re: "You're welcome for the tip, I guess."

          Thought about it in the office and added it before I saw your comment.

          C.

          2 1 Reply
    2. SE
      Reply Icon

      Re: Hey Reg, can you try to be insightful instead?

      I've read that too. Take a look at this http://t.co/wsSeOj5uDY

      1 0 Reply
    3. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Hey Reg, can you try to be insightful instead?

      Yes, bu the simple thing is this; if they had stuck with the original size and made the thing just a tiny bit thicker, it would have had a longer battery life.

      It seems an odd tradeoff; I'm sure if they wanted to each new generation could have significantly longer battery life than the previous one and so be able to run more cpu-intensive software, which you would think would be a marketing no brainer. I really think an extra mm on the 6s would if anything make it a little more comfortable to hold. Who exactly is buying thinness?

      Is this a case of marketing execs and designer living in a bubble, just like politicians, in which the real world doesn't intervene? Is it the result of focus groups getting asked carefully curated questions to suit somebody's agenda? Or is it that, with the 5s and the ordinary 6s still on sale, the battery life shouldn't increase enough to kill the old generation stone dead, so that those production lines and component contracts don't have to be written down or off?

      3 0 Reply
      1. anonymous boring coward Silver badge
        Reply Icon

        Re: Hey Reg, can you try to be insightful instead?

        Do you have an iPhone 6, and are you unhappy with the battery life?

        Please clarify.

        0 0 Reply
  6. TWB

    Same voltage?

    You really should state your batteries capacities in Watt-hours if you want to compare energy capacities or state the voltages of the different batteries are the same - you are supposed to be a tech site.

    0 1 Reply
    1. BinkyTheHorse
      Reply Icon
      FAIL

      Re: Same voltage?

      Seriously?

      First of all, the voltage of a battery is largely irrelevant, since voltages used in electronics (and in particular, smartphones) are largely standardized - you wouldn't put it beneath Apple to announce if they have changed something as fundamental as that!

      Modern lithium phone batteries usually have max output in the range of 3.7-3.8 V. It would appear, given the specs on the linked site (6.9Wh), that the situation with iPhone 6 is the same.

      Secondly, voltage for even a LiPo battery is not constant as it discharges, so providing Wh by multiplying maximum output voltage by maximum current is more misleading than just listing mAhs.

      Finally, mAhs and Whs don't really tell you the whole story, since for that you need to know the actual power consumption, which is notoriously hard to pin down. However, mAhs are usually listed, since given the same conditions, due to mostly homogeneous hardware setup, the power drain is the same. Admittedly iPhones are visibly superior on that front (and I say that as a long-time Android user), but you can still compare different-generation models - with the same screen size - with sufficient accuracy.

      0 0 Reply
  7. anonymous boring coward Silver badge

    OK, it's approx 5% smaller.. Big effing deal.

    Anyway, iOS sips battery compared to Android.

    Has any of the contributors to this site ever owned an iPhone?

    BTW: I admit freely to not reading the whole piece. A change like that can really only interest the most fanatic maniac.

    4 4 Reply
  8. Ragequit
    Devil

    I remember...

    The good old days when a cell phones battery and back cover were one in the same. If you wanted more battery life you slapped on a larger pack that added a few pounds, got worryingly hot during extended use, and really didn't solve the issue... unless you bought a second pack and an external charging station to do a proper complete drain / charge cycle.

    /sarcasm off

    0 0 Reply

  9. This post has been deleted by its author

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    So what & who cares ?

    I take all claims of battery life with a large block of salt.

    A good rule of thumb on notebooks is to divide the claim by three.

    In reality it just doesn't matter because power points are readily available for most users.

    In fairness to Apple their battery claims tend to be more accurate than most & often better than specified. An iPhone 6 Plus 128GB is on the "buy list" when the current O2 two year deal concludes in January. Eye watering price but will get several years use not as a phone but as a mini mini iPad/iPod touch.

    As for the Apple Sports Watch - articles on battery life have long since died.

    Get two to three days between charges.

    Not as good as the Citizen ECO which is solar powered & radio controlled.

    Better than Rolex Explorer II which needs winding daily.

    Plenty of good choices these days but you can't please all the people..........

    0 1 Reply
    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: So what & who cares ?

      Mike Campbell 1: "Better than Rolex Explorer II which needs winding daily."

      If your winding it then (like satan jobs says) Your wearing it wrong.....

      0 0 Reply
      1. Anonymous Coward
        Reply Icon
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: So what & who cares ?

        >> If your winding it then (like satan jobs says) Your wearing it wrong.....

        Wearing the watch and moving your wrist around is still winding it...

        0 0 Reply
  11. Will Godfrey Silver badge
    Unhappy

    Priorities

    As far as I'm concerned battery life is not just number 1, it's 1, 2, 3 & 4. It doesn't matter how many incredible features a phone has, if the battery is dead it might just as well be a stone.

    2 0 Reply
    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Priorities

      >> As far as I'm concerned battery life is not just number 1, it's 1, 2, 3 & 4. It doesn't matter how many incredible features a phone has, if the battery is dead it might just as well be a stone.

      I guess you use one of those old Nokia candy bar phones that last a week+ on a charge, then?

      0 0 Reply
      1. Will Godfrey Silver badge
        Reply Icon

        Re: Priorities

        Wrong guess.

        0 0 Reply
  12. tommydokc
    Unhappy

    battery life?

    In my experience, i've never known any iphone to have descent battery life. ever. i would bet this trend continues.

    0 1 Reply
  13. GucciPiggy

    It really wouldn't have hurt Apple to release the 6S with an at least equal to the 6 battery so that even if the processor takes up less battery than previous the battery life increases rather than decreases.

    The fact that Apple didn't even mention battery life once on stage makes me think that the battery life will be slightly less this time. Especially with the addition of 3D Touch and such.

    1 0 Reply

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