Apple iPhone 7 Battery Life — Surprisingly More And Still Unappreciated

A bigger battery, smarter software and more efficient processors. All go a big way in improving battery life for you.

One must expect Apple critics to be pumping their fists for glory after the supposed headphone jack removal, which many naysayers suggested was the tech giant’s not-so-clean intentions regarding arm-twisting the customers into accepting the product.

Ever since we set up Chip-Monks in 2012, in fact the very reason we set it up in the first place, our motive has been to remain stoically unbiased. To remain true to customer-interest. To be clear in our thoughts (not vacillate), and yet be clearer in our support when due. We aren’t swayed by glamour, by larger-than-life propaganda, and definitely not by loud voices (whose only intent is to make noise, to be noticed).

So, we don’t support any one brand out of financial or personal interest. On the other side of the coin, we don’t berate any brand either!

One must see through the clouds of criticism to praise the iPhone 7 (and even more, the iPhone 7 Plus) for what it brings to the table instead of hopping onto the bandwagon of bias.

The fact is, Apple, under the direction of Jony Ive, has striven to make the iPhone increasingly sleeker. This creates something of a disconnect with users who shout rather loudly that they’d be more than happy to put up with a thicker device if it resulted in improved battery life.

in fact, countless surveys over the past few years made it overwhelmingly clear that improved battery life was the most desired feature among iPhone owners, ranking far above design features like thinness!

Nonetheless, Apple’s near-obsession with device thinness marched on unabated, prompting some to wonder if Apple had completely lost touch with its user base.

With the iPhone 7, however, Apple has delivered the drastic improvements to battery life that users had been seeking for years. And, they’ve done that without making the iPhone gain any girth, at all.

Curiously, the iPhone 7’s battery life almost seems like a complete non-story as all anyone can seemingly hear being spoken about is the missing headphone jack or the curious design of Apple’s AirPods.

According to Apple, processor improvements and bigger physical batteries have resulted in the longest battery life ever in an iPhone. Those upgrading from an iPhone 6s to an iPhone 7 will see two hours of additional battery life on average while iPhone 7 Plus users upgrading from an iPhone 6s Plus will see at least an hour more battery life.

All said and done, in most cases, users will see much greater increases in battery. 3G and LTE browsing improved by a solid 20% while Wi-Fi browsing increased by an even more impressive 27%. And rounding things out, video playback increased by a respectable 2 hours.

Interestingly, the iPhone 7 marks the first time that Apple managed to increase LTE browsing time on the iPhone since the release of iPhone 5! On the iPhone 7 Plus, users should be able to enjoy an additional hour of battery life relative to the iPhone 6 Plus even on LTE.

So far, we’re impressed with the iPhone 7’s battery life during real-world usage; it is at least 12 hours of engaged use, two more than the iPhone 6s.

Physically the iPhone 7 battery grows to 1,960 mAh, up from 1,715 mAh in iPhone 6s. The iPhone 6s tended to end the day at about 30% remnant charge, when it was new (after one year, it’s at 10% remnant charge), and the iPhone 7 is currently ending the day at about 44% battery life on most days.

We still end up charging it every night, so there’s no real change in habit, but it’s less stressful to have plentiful juice when you’re driving home or watching some videos to unwind, while on the Metro.

Given that the iPhone 7 has a 1,960 mAh battery, we’d hazard a guess that Apple wanted the battery case (iPhone 7 Smart Battery Case retailing at $99 on Apple.com) to actually be able to fully charge your iPhone. Apple says the smart battery case combined with your fully charged iPhone can give you 22 hours of internet use over LTE or 26 hours of talk time, which is enough juice to get even the most ardent user through an entire day.

It’s worth noting here that while Apple has managed to improve the iPhone’s battery life, it hasn’t sped up the charging process itself.

Some Android smartphones, like the Samsung Galaxy S7 and OnePlus 3, support Quick Charging technology; While OnePlus says its phone can recharge up to 60% after being plugged in for just 30 minutes, HTC has been promoting their Quick Charge functionality which supposedly works even faster.

Looking at the battery specs on the recent Android phones many wonder why Apple isn’t making bigger batteries — well, Chip-Monks surmises that current battery tech isn’t allowing commensurate growth of charge retention. Also, there are legal restrictions on the size and wattage of a battery that more Airlines and Aerospace Governance bodies have mandated for portable devices (which most people aren’t aware of). But that’s another story for another day.

Closing up on this story: Apple’s done a lot to improve the battery life on the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, and they’ve done it the smart way — without busting implicit weight and dimensional expectations of their users.

Originally published at Chip-Monks.