The official Nexus 5 thread.

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

That rumor is NOT true. It was originally reported by Phone Arena based on a non-verifiable anonymous source. All the other sources were copying the Phone Arena rumor. Phone Arena has since then taken the rumor off their website.

Both the LG service manual and the FCC filing only mention a 2,300mAh battery. If there was a 3,000mAh battery would have had to be on the FCC filing and it wasn't.

I was hoping it was true too but it isn't. I may be skipping the Nexus 5 because of it.

PhoneArena has updated their site: http://www.phonearena.com/news/Nexu...im-insiders-just-16-GB-and-32-GB-ones_id48441

 

[dawheat]

That rumor is NOT true. It was originally reported by Phone Arena based on a non-verifiabworse. anonymous source. All the other sources were copying the Phone Arena rumor. Phone Arena has since then taken the rumor off their website.

Both the LG service manual and the FCC filing only mention a 2,300mAh battery. If there was a 3,000mAh battery would have had to be on the FCC filing and it wasn't.

I was hoping it was true too but it isn't. I may be skipping the Nexus 5 because of it.

Bummer, so it seems at the very best the N5 will have S4 level battery life and with a good chance of being a bit worse. At least it shouldn't be outright bad like the N4.

 

[jimv1983]

12 hours is pretty bad. What are you draining like 5%/hour idle? 6%?

I haven't tracked it close enough to know how fast it is draining by hour of idle time. I did do a test a few nights ago. I had my phone fully charged right before I went to bed and unplugged it. I woke up 5 hours later to go pee and I looked at my phone. It had gone from 100% to 82% in the 5 hours of being in stand by. That averages out to be about 3.6% per hour but it also drains faster the more the battery is discharged so it might be pretty close to 6% per hour on average if I left the phone in stand by the entire time. That would be a bit over 16 hours to completely dead with NO usage. The 12 hours was with pretty light usage. Yeah, it's pretty bad.

They need a phone that can last 18 hours with at least 4 hours of screen time. Anything less is frustrating.

That would be good. I could even deal with 15 hours with 4 hours of screen on time.

Bummer, so it seems at the very best the N5 will have S4 level battery life and with a good chance of being a bit worse. At least it shouldn't be outright bad like the N4.

Yes, it is a big bummer. If it only gets as good as the S4 at the very best I don't really want it. The S4 has pretty bad battery life.

 

[jimv1983]

PhoneArena has updated their site: http://www.phonearena.com/news/Nexu...im-insiders-just-16-GB-and-32-GB-ones_id48441

Great. Thanks. This is a good reference for anyone that actually believes the rumor.

 

[Wingznut]

Great. Thanks. This is a good reference for anyone that actually believes the rumor.

But... But... But... I wanna believe the rumor!

Well, I want it to be true.

 

[s44]

The S4 has pretty bad battery life.

Actually, the S4 has pretty great battery life. 2300mah puts it at the One, which needs some babying.

This looks like the N4 again: great SoC, compromised battery and storage. But hey, at least the camera is finally good (maybe)!

 

[jimv1983]

Actually, the S4 has pretty great battery life. 2300mah puts it at the One, which needs some babying.

This looks like the N4 again: great SoC, compromised battery and storage. But hey, at least the camera is finally good (maybe)!

I guess we have very different views of what "great" battery life means. I wouldn't say ANY phone on the market has "great" battery life. I wouldn't even call the Galaxy S4 "good".

How is 8.5-9 hours with only 2.5 hours of screen on time "great"?

For me to consider battery life to even be "good" it would have to last at least 15 hours with maybe 4 hours of screen on time and the Galaxy S4 doesn't even get that.

 

[s44]

How is 8.5-9 hours with only 2.5 hours of screen on time "great"?

It's BS. I called you on this earlier. Or a defect.

For me to consider battery life to even be "good" it would have to last at least 15 hours with maybe 4 hours of screen on time and the Galaxy S4 doesn't even get that.

I get this every day. No battery management enabled.

So do most folks I see in the threads around XDA and the like.

 

[jimv1983]

It's BS. I called you on this earlier. Or a defect.I get this every day. No battery management enabled.

So do most folks I see in the threads around XDA and the like.

A few months ago my cousin got a S4. I picked him up to go to a baseball game. He took the fully charged phone off the charger at 10am. He used the phone on the car ride to the train station, on the train, the walk from the train to the ballpark, a little bit at the game, the walk back to the train station, the train ride home and the drive home from the train station. Screen on time was just under 2.5 hours. On the drive home from the train station the phone shut down due to a totally dead battery. It was about 6:45pm.

I'm betting those people on XDA forums are probably rooted with custom ROMs. My cousins phone is running factory default TouchWiz.

 

[openwheel]

Depending on user habits and apps used. That sounds about right. My fiance can run down her iPhone 5 faster than that.

 

[s44]

Wait, you're basing your entire theory, contradicting test results and reports from many actual owners, on one anecdotal day with someone else's phone?

LOL.

(And now back to Nexus 5... no posts on next Thursday's announcement event that wasn't? I'm guessing that's for the Newsstand thing.)

 

[openwheel]

Huh? What theory? Just an observation of how fast my fiance can drain an iPhone a how fast general Android users can do the same.

 

[jimv1983]

Wait, you're basing your entire theory, contradicting test results and reports from many actual owners, on one anecdotal day with someone else's phone?

LOL.

(And now back to Nexus 5... no posts on next Thursday's announcement event that wasn't? I'm guessing that's for the Newsstand thing.)

It's not a theory. It's an actual observation. It had less than 9 hours of battery life with only 2.5 hours of screen on time. That is a fact. Fully charged at 10am. Dead before 7pm.

 

[ponyo]

It's not a theory. It's an actual observation. It had less than 9 hours of battery life with only 2.5 hours of screen on time. That is a fact. Fully charged at 10am. Dead before 7pm.

That's not normal. It's like saying all iPhone 4S battery only last like 2 hours total because I saw my wife's phone do that once.

 

[dawheat]

It's not a theory. It's an actual observation. It had less than 9 hours of battery life with only 2.5 hours of screen on time. That is a fact. Fully charged at 10am. Dead before 7pm.

Surely one anecdote isn't solid proof. My Note 2 and now Note 3 can get 5-6 hours of on screen time under normal, cellular usage. This is constant over months of use.

My Nexus 4 was similar to my S3 in that it gets about 3 hours on screen in the same conditions. I don't have an S4, but I'd imagine it gets closer to 4 hours on screen.

I'd consider the Note 3 simply adequate if you need reliable, all day battery life. I can till drain it on a heavy day (no gaming)

 

[IeraseU]

I've never owned a smartphone that can make it through 1 full day of use without a mid-day charge, or a battery swap. That means lasting from the time I wake up in the morning, until the time I plug-in and go to bed at night.

I'm going to opine based on the information we have that the Nexus 5 will not be a phone with all day battery life. That's not a huge knock given the low unsubsidized price compared to it's competitors, but it is what it is.

 

[jacktesterson]

I've never owned a smartphone that can make it through 1 full day of use without a mid-day charge, or a battery swap. That means lasting from the time I wake up in the morning, until the time I plug-in and go to bed at night.

I'm going to opine based on the information we have that the Nexus 5 will not be a phone will all day battery life. That's not a huge knock given the low unsubsidized price compared to it's competitors, but it is what it is.

Mega 6.3 or Note II can for most people

 

[AznAnarchy99]

A few months ago my cousin got a S4. I picked him up to go to a baseball game. He took the fully charged phone off the charger at 10am. He used the phone on the car ride to the train station, on the train, the walk from the train to the ballpark, a little bit at the game, the walk back to the train station, the train ride home and the drive home from the train station. Screen on time was just under 2.5 hours. On the drive home from the train station the phone shut down due to a totally dead battery. It was about 6:45pm.

I'm betting those people on XDA forums are probably rooted with custom ROMs. My cousins phone is running factory default TouchWiz.

My S4 with GPe lasted about 14 ish hours a day under pretty heavy use.

 

[jpeyton]

My S4 with GPe lasted about 14 ish hours a day under pretty heavy use.

Ditto. I'm getting almost 4 hours of screen time with my GPe S4.

 

[jimv1983]

My S4 with GPe lasted about 14 ish hours a day under pretty heavy use.

14 hours being good all depends on your definition of "pretty heavy use". Total screen on time?

Ditto. I'm getting almost 4 hours of screen time with my GPe S4.

What kind of total off charger time is that based on. Unless your off charger time is like 20 hours less than 4 hours screen on time is nothing to be happy about.

I have a hard time believing the Nexus 5 will get any better battery life than the S4. The Nexus 5 might have the Snapdragon 800 but the S4 has a 13% bigger battery AND an AMOLED screen.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

14 hours being good all depends on your definition of "pretty heavy use". Total screen on time?



What kind of total off charger time is that based on. Unless your off charger time is like 20 hours less than 4 hours screen on time is nothing to be happy about.

I have a hard time believing the Nexus 5 will get any better battery life than the S4. The Nexus 5 might have the Snapdragon 800 but the S4 has a 13% bigger battery AND an AMOLED screen.

I dont have it anymore but I remember seeing around 4-5 hours screen. Tethering didnt burn out my battery either compared to my GN.

 

[jpeyton]

What kind of total off charger time is that based on. Unless your off charger time is like 20 hours less than 4 hours screen on time is nothing to be happy about.

What's your frame of reference for having "good battery life"? Your own opinion? A Nokia 3310?

I have a hard time believing the Nexus 5 will get any better battery life than the S4. The Nexus 5 might have the Snapdragon 800 but the S4 has a 13% bigger battery AND an AMOLED screen.

Having both the hardware and software closely developed together by one company (Google) will make an impact on battery life. Stock Android having less feature-creep will also make an impact. And finally, Android 4.4 may be slightly more power efficient than 4.3, also making an impact.

I still don't expect the Nexus 5 to outperform monster batteries like the 3000 mAh unit in the G2, but it will have good enough battery life for the masses (and for being a $349 mass market phone). The unsubsidized price of the G2, S4 and other phones with larger batteries is $300 more than the unsubsidized price of the Nexus 5.

 

[jimv1983]

What's your frame of reference for having "good battery life"? Your own opinion? A Nokia 3310?


Having both the hardware and software closely developed together by one company (Google) will make an impact on battery life. Stock Android having less feature-creep will also make an impact. And finally, Android 4.4 may be slightly more power efficient than 4.3, also making an impact.

I still don't expect the Nexus 5 to outperform monster batteries like the 3000 mAh unit in the G2, but it will have good enough battery life for the masses (and for being a $349 mass market phone). The unsubsidized price of the G2, S4 and other phones with larger batteries is $300 more than the unsubsidized price of the Nexus 5.

I guess you could say it's my own opinion. A smartphone is meant to be a MOBILE device. It's mean to be USED not just sit in my pocket. If you had to always be close to a charger every few hours what the point of even having one?

The problem is that you even consider 3,000mAh as a monster. For the screens that are going into phone now that should be considered average or even small. The Nexus 4 was designed by LG and Google together and it didn't get decent battery life at all. The reviews and personal experience I've read about the Nexus 4 have shown mostly negative comments on battery life.

Also, the cost of the device really has nothing to do with what size battery they put in the phone. If LG/Google would have used the 3,000mAh battery in the Nexus 5 the total production cost would have increased maybe $2-3.

Please tell me what you would consider "good" battery life? How long would you want to be able between charges? How much screen on time would you expect during that off the charger time?

 

[Strk]

My S4 with GPe lasted about 14 ish hours a day under pretty heavy use.

I suppose all those gimmicks Samsung adds with touchwiz eats up quite a bit of battery.

 

[dawheat]

What's your frame of reference for having "good battery life"? Your own opinion? A Nokia 3310?


Having both the hardware and software closely developed together by one company (Google) will make an impact on battery life. Stock Android having less feature-creep will also make an impact. And finally, Android 4.4 may be slightly more power efficient than 4.3, also making an impact.

I still don't expect the Nexus 5 to outperform monster batteries like the 3000 mAh unit in the G2, but it will have good enough battery life for the masses (and for being a $349 mass market phone). The unsubsidized price of the G2, S4 and other phones with larger batteries is $300 more than the unsubsidized price of the Nexus 5.

In theory that sounds plausible, but I don't think any Nexus device has had better battery life than its specs imply in the past. Sometimes it's been worse (Nexus 4). I think it's likely the Nexus 5 will have less battery life than the S4, with on screen time being a bit more than 3.5 hours vs. 4 hours in the S4 from the same workload.

However the price is a fair point - at 350 it's not even competing against against midrange phones, but over 2 year old phones. Having OK battery life with all the other specs is more than a fair compromise and still a screaming deal. I'll probably pick one up for the heck of it at that price.