All bow to the new endurance king: Sony Xperia Z3 scores a record battery life for its category

posted by Daniel P. / Sep 22, 2014, 3:15 AM

All bow to the new endurance king: Sony Xperia Z3 scores a record battery life for its category

We are not going to mince words here - Sony is the current king of battery life when it comes to brand-name smartphones. We did our grueling battery benchmark on the Xperia Z3 over the weekend, and it broke all records in its respective category, just as we suspected it would do, given Sony's consistent performance in that department this year.

The phone lasted for nearly nine and a half hours of screen-on time when we ran our tasking battery benchmark, putting it comfortably ahead of any other flagship big-screen phone or phablet we've tested at the moment.

As mentioned, this is more than any other flagship we've measured so far - phone or phablet - and even more than the Ascend Mate7, which comes equipped with a whopping 4100 mAh juicer, while the Z3 has an "only" 3100 mAh piece in a 7.3mm thin waterproof body.

The Z3 battery endurance is also better than the one of the Z2, which already has a great battery life, so kudos to Sony here - it managed to squeeze much more life out of a tad smaller battery, compared to the Z2, and make a truly "two-day battery". The charging time, on the other hand, is much longer than the average, at close to four hours with the paltry stock 850 mA charger.

If you think that what Sony did is by accident, then a simple look at our top ten endurance champs will tell you that this is not the case. Sony phones are currently occupying six of the top ten slots in our battery benchmark ranking, and these range from low-ends, like the Xperia C, through midrangers like the slim T3, all the way to the Xperia Z3 flagship. The "culprit" must be Sony's displays, which might not be the best out there when it comes to color representation and viewing angles, but are apparently using an extremely frugal technology, and screens are the pesky components with the highest battery consumption in our smartphones, so kudos to Sony here.

We measure battery life by running a custom web-script, designed to replicate the power consumption of typical real-life usage. All devices that go through the test have their displays set at 200-nit brightness.

name	hours Higher is better

Apple iPhone 5s	5h 2 min (Poor)
Sony Xperia Z2	8h 10 min (Average)
Google Nexus 5	4h 50 min (Poor)
Motorola Moto X (2014)	5h 45 min (Poor)
HTC One (M8)	7h 12 min (Average)
Sony Xperia Z3	9h 29 min (Good)
LG G3	6h 14 min (Poor)
Samsung Galaxy S5	7h 38 min (Average)
Apple iPhone 6 Plus	6h 32 min (Average)
Apple iPhone 6	5h 22 min (Poor)
Huawei Ascend Mate7	9h 3 min (Good)
Samsung Galaxy Note 3	6h 8 min (Poor)

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Sony Xperia Z3

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PhoneArena battery life test (21 updates)

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View Full specs

PhoneArena Rating:

8.5

Read Full Review

User Rating:

9.0

Based on 24 Reviews

Display 5.2" 1080 x 1920 pixels

Camera 20.7 MP / 2.2 MP front

Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 801, Quad-core, 2500 MHz

Storage 16 GB + microSDXC

Battery 3100 mAh(14h talk time)

View Full specs

PhoneArena Rating:

9.0

Read Full Review

User Rating:

9.0

Based on 20 Reviews

Display 4.6" 720 x 1280 pixels

Camera 20.7 MP / 2.2 MP front

Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 801, Quad-core, 2500 MHz

Storage 16 GB + microSDXC

Battery 2600 mAh(14h 3G talk time)

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126 Comments

1. itsjustJOH

Posts: 232; Member since: Oct 18, 2012

KNEEL BEFORE ZED(3)!

posted on Sep 22, 2014, 3:17 AM 29

3. Lt.Green

Posts: 397; Member since: Mar 13, 2014

We're not worthy!

posted on Sep 22, 2014, 3:20 AM 9

8. jeeta444

Posts: 154; Member since: Mar 24, 2014

Z3 and Z3 compact are best devices.

posted on Sep 22, 2014, 3:30 AM 14

16. Siapaya

Posts: 17; Member since: Jul 24, 2014

Z3 Compact FTW

posted on Sep 22, 2014, 4:26 AM 15

20. Arte-8800

Posts: 4562; Member since: Mar 13, 2014

Make and believe

posted on Sep 22, 2014, 4:31 AM 7

61. buccob

Posts: 2981; Member since: Jun 19, 2012

PA should update their review rating to reflect this awesome news. Z3 Compact should be ~ 9.3

posted on Sep 22, 2014, 7:47 AM 11

97. paul4hp

Posts: 14; Member since: Sep 11, 2014

Indeed, I can not trust the impartiality of a site's reviews if they give the same score to inferior (but over over-hyped) fruit devices.

posted on Sep 22, 2014, 6:07 PM 4

69. InspectorGadget80 unregistered

Don't you mean LORD ZED?

posted on Sep 22, 2014, 9:14 AM 3

115. srivastsh

Posts: 1; Member since: Sep 26, 2014

I ordered a Z2 as soon as it was released in the US, and I was über exited. The phone arrived and I was thrilled. Then it happened. My phone fell of the sofa onto my carpet (about 2 feet) when I picked it up it had powered off. I charged but to no avail. I took it to the SONY store and customer service couldn't do anything. They kept asking "would you like to buy another one?" I decided to get an iPhone 6. Best Phone Ever Period . It is amazing in every way. I am now grateful my Z2 broke. It enlightened me. Thank You SONY for making such crappy products.

posted on Sep 26, 2014, 10:23 PM 0

2. xperiaDROID

Posts: 5629; Member since: Mar 08, 2013

Amazing! Just amazing! A salute and a bow to you, Sony!

posted on Sep 22, 2014, 3:19 AM 22

17. Arte-8800

Posts: 4562; Member since: Mar 13, 2014

Why Compromise

posted on Sep 22, 2014, 4:29 AM 6

36. o0Exia0o

Posts: 903; Member since: Feb 01, 2013

I would take the Z3 Compact with its amazing battery life any day over any other "Flagship" phone simply for the battery life! What good is it to have the best CPU, the best GPU and a QHD screen if you can only use it for an hour at a time?

posted on Sep 22, 2014, 5:31 AM 14

63. jroc74

Posts: 6023; Member since: Dec 30, 2010

Exactly. My other want/need is reception. I might have to take a closer look at Sony for my next phone.

posted on Sep 22, 2014, 7:58 AM 3

92. akki20892

Posts: 3902; Member since: Feb 04, 2013

In gsm-arena....1st 1520 - 107h, 2nd Huawei Ascend Mate2 4G - 106h, & 3rd Z3C - 101h

posted on Sep 22, 2014, 1:23 PM 3

4. hboy857

Posts: 367; Member since: Jun 03, 2013

Sony Xperia Z3 Compact 14h 44 min. Please level this kind of battery life as "Outstanding".

posted on Sep 22, 2014, 3:22 AM 36

10. Smarter

Posts: 60; Member since: Jul 18, 2014

I can agree. In comparison especially with Windows Phones, which are very poor regarding battery life and other features, this is really awesome result. Sony and Samsung are the best.

posted on Sep 22, 2014, 3:45 AM 7

43. Tamer81

Posts: 37; Member since: Mar 15, 2013

Where is the 1320 and the 1520? Can't see any of those in the comparisons!

posted on Sep 22, 2014, 6:13 AM 0

18. Arte-8800

Posts: 4562; Member since: Mar 13, 2014

Like no others

posted on Sep 22, 2014, 4:31 AM 1

32. giga.admin

Posts: 7; Member since: Sep 22, 2014

If only they made a new Xperia Z Ultra (this time with flash led)....

posted on Sep 22, 2014, 5:17 AM 8

52. SuperMaoriBro

Posts: 533; Member since: Jun 23, 2012

Yes. If only. Please sony, please make a 6.5" z3 ultra. I want the z3 compact as my daily driver and a z3 ultra to use as a tablet.

posted on Sep 22, 2014, 7:00 AM 0

70. InspectorGadget80 unregistered

That was holding me back. Either the Z1 with flash or Z Ultra largest phone in the world.

posted on Sep 22, 2014, 9:15 AM 0

93. SuperMaoriBro

Posts: 533; Member since: Jun 23, 2012

Its not the largest if you include tablets with phone functionality

posted on Sep 22, 2014, 1:50 PM 0

112. giga.admin

Posts: 7; Member since: Sep 22, 2014

I was thinking of buying a new larger phone, really loving xperia z ultra. But the lack of flash kept me from choising it. Damn Sony, you've missed a new customer! I'd better switch to the new Huawei Mate 7.

posted on Sep 23, 2014, 6:39 AM 0

27. iluvsonynokia

Posts: 161; Member since: Aug 27, 2013

I CANT BELIEVE ,I THOUGHT IT WILL BE SIMILAR TO Z2/c BATTERY LIFE

posted on Sep 22, 2014, 4:56 AM 4

5. ciprian.ruse

Posts: 320; Member since: May 13, 2014

Great job Sony !! Next year I will decide between Z4 and HTC One M9.

posted on Sep 22, 2014, 3:23 AM 5

6. mr.techdude

Posts: 571; Member since: Nov 19, 2012

I'm in love with my one m8 battery life, but the z3 is putting it on show. I'll wait for m9 and see what happens.

posted on Sep 22, 2014, 3:23 AM 0

7. vuyonc

Posts: 1091; Member since: Feb 24, 2014

Their claims were spot on, it seems. 2 days without Stamina mode. 3 days with Stamina. 1 week with Ultra Stamina. Now trim down on your midrange budget and make like a lone SP successor for 2015 or something.

posted on Sep 22, 2014, 3:28 AM 13

9. DogeShibe

Posts: 1121; Member since: Jan 10, 2014

Z3 Compact is great.

posted on Sep 22, 2014, 3:34 AM 6

119. milkboy54

Posts: 39; Member since: Oct 04, 2014

u got it

posted on Oct 05, 2014, 3:36 PM 0

11. mokhtar

Posts: 405; Member since: Jan 06, 2014

sony is the leader now in smartphone mobiles .. the best in camera departement ( dont tell me s5 he is only good in very good light , low light is a joke :) ) , best speakers ( watch the last video of z3 vs htc one m8 btekt channel they are in the same level , and much louder than z2 ) , gorgeous display and sexy design with amazing features as HIGH RESOLUTION AUDIO , noice concelling , camera features ... , waterproof , and now a phenomenal battery life .. a so happy z2 owner :) ps : phone arena where is z2 cuz the battery life is amazing too and better than most of smartphones in your article