The LG G3 trails rival flagships in our battery test

posted by Chris P. / Jun 09, 2014, 3:04 AM

The LG G3 trails rival flagships in our battery test

With the official introduction of the LG G3, many were anxious to hear to about how it, in turn, handles itself when it comes to endurance, and not least because of it's large and extraordinarily pixel-dense, Quad HD (1440 x 2560) pixel resolution IPS display. Well, the numbers are in, and the results are rather disappointing. The concerns we all had over what so many pixels would mean in reality have now been confirmed, as the LG G3 held its ground for just 6 hours and 14 minutes. That puts the G3 at the very bottom of this year's flagship race, at least in this regard, and the premium the rest have is pretty sizable.The HTC One M8 managed 7 hours and 12 minutes, the S5 is better at 7:38, while the Sony Xperia Z2 kept the lights on for the impressive 8 hours and 10 minutes. In fact, even LG's previous flagship -- the G2 -- kept going for almost 6 hours and 50 minutes.

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

HTC One (M8)	7h 12 min (Good)
Sony Xperia Z2	8h 10 min (Excellent)
Samsung Galaxy S5	7h 38 min (Good)
LG G3	6h 14 min (Average)
Apple iPhone 5s	5h 2 min (Poor)
LG G2	6h 48 min (Average)

View all

name	minutes Lower is better

HTC One (M8)	207
Sony Xperia Z2	212
Samsung Galaxy S5	122
LG G3	120

View all

This rather disappointing result comes despite the battery optimizations LG claims to have included with the G3. For example, the LTPS panel dynamically tweaks variables such as frame rate when viewing static images, in order to arrive at a lower power draw in the longer term. LG also claims to have replaced a lot of metal on the inside with graphite, and to have also implemented further, unspecified battery optimizations. Well, whatever it is the company did, it clearly wasn't enough -- a bigger juicer (in terms of capacity) may have well been a warranted move. Thankfully, at least in terms of charging time, the LG G3 is only second to the amazing Oppo Find 7.

Update (Jun 25, 2014): Due to a technical mistake, this article previously stated that the G3 has record battery life of almost 9 hours. We can assure that this mistake is an isolated issue and have updated our our stories to reflect the actual result. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Story timeline

This story is part of:

PhoneArena battery life test (21 updates)

Related phones

View Full specs

PhoneArena Rating:

9.2

Read Full Review

User Rating:

9.3

Based on 81 Reviews

Display 5.5" 1440 x 2560 pixels

Camera 13 MP / 2.1 MP front

Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 801, Quad-core, 2500 MHz

Storage 32 GB + microSDXC

Battery 3000 mAh(21h 3G talk time)

FEATURED VIDEO

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111 Comments

1. hipnotika

Posts: 353; Member since: Mar 06, 2013

lg g3 took 69 hours battery score on gsm*rena web site. it is not the best. because galaxy s5 took 72 hours battery score. but in this site lg g3 has the best battery test score. yes both sites use different scripts btw which web site give the right score ? the phones are same in tests but their rankings different.

posted on Jun 09, 2014, 3:07 AM 26

4. techperson211

Posts: 1280; Member since: Feb 27, 2014

Really not satisfied with phonearena battery tests. Gsmarena scores Z2 the most dominant over the g3 m8 s5.

posted on Jun 09, 2014, 3:11 AM 17

7. tech2

Posts: 3487; Member since: Oct 26, 2012

LG G2 was heavily sponsored by PA last year. Have a feeling that it might be quite similar this year.

posted on Jun 09, 2014, 3:16 AM 19

10. Chris.P

Posts: 567; Member since: Jun 27, 2013

Yes, LG occasionally chooses to advertise through PA, but all such posts are clearly labeled as advertorials or similar. This post isn't sponsored by LG, it just covers the results of our benchmark.

posted on Jun 09, 2014, 3:26 AM 24

15. Shatter

Posts: 2036; Member since: May 29, 2013

Your battery test is very inaccurate/flawed compared to what nearly every other site gets as results. The LG G3 battery life reviews are conflicting, some sites are getting horrible battery life while others are getting excellent. It most likely has a software bug that is affecting some of the test though.

posted on Jun 09, 2014, 3:37 AM 10

79. thunder18

Posts: 154; Member since: Aug 06, 2009

As someone else mentioned, not all the websites are using the same script. This is of course going to make for differences in testing results. You should feel free to point out the differences, but saying it's flawed just because they didn't get the same results as everyone else without providing an explanation of why it's flawed versus everyone elses tests is a bit unfair. I am glad you mentioned a possible software bug though. Every test I've seen so far has been on either a pre-production model or a Korean model being used in Europe with a disclaimer that because the device is not native to that area, LTE to HSPA hand-offs will not be very smooth resulting in additional power consumption.

posted on Jun 09, 2014, 9:15 AM 2

46. alouden unregistered

I cannot keep up anymore....is PA pro Apple or pro Android? Now you guys are pro-LG and/or anti Samsung? I'm being glib, of course. PhoneArena just cannot catch a break. The G3 will be a good phone. As is the GS5. As will the upcoming IPhone. But that does not seem to be good enough for some folks who wish to bash each other and these sites.

posted on Jun 09, 2014, 6:01 AM 7

111. steedsofwar unregistered

Too true brother

posted on Jun 09, 2014, 11:17 PM 0

62. Jishnusur

Posts: 173; Member since: Oct 07, 2013

Chris.P They battery test is very correct. Gsmarena was paid off by samsung clearly. No device with 24Hours of talk time can have only 6.30Hours of Video playback. People who are against your review are the Heart Broken Sam-dung users! Congrats and avoid these trolls.

posted on Jun 09, 2014, 8:42 AM 2

81. farhad_per

Posts: 128; Member since: Mar 26, 2014

Accpet the truth blind fan boy..

posted on Jun 09, 2014, 9:35 AM 0

90. refillable

Posts: 1071; Member since: Mar 10, 2014

He knows about programming, He is a mod writer at xda. He knows a bit about phone programming at least. But I don't like how he claims something with so little evidence.

posted on Jun 09, 2014, 9:59 AM 0

82. LGisgood

Posts: 833; Member since: Jun 23, 2012

LG is always better than Samsung in Actual usage! SAMSUNG IS ONLY BETTER IN STANDBY TIME! LG is not that good in standby time! but not bad as well. LG G3 has better battery life than s5 based on my personal experience we did a test actual comparison here in Korea using the same carrier provider ! for straight browsing S5 lasted for 8;06 hours while G3 lasted for 9:21hours. in video we watched the same two movies(spiderman & hunger game 2)for both devices s5 & g3 results; s5 wentdown @ 21% while G3 @ 32%. im using three koren phones Pantch vega iron, Samsung s5, LG G3 all great devices. but G3 is ahead of the two!

posted on Jun 09, 2014, 9:36 AM 2

101. hmmm...

Posts: 81; Member since: Jun 05, 2013

Gsmarena counts standby time too. Obviously you do not even bother to read their method and make yourself look foolish here. I donlt even have a Samsung phone but i know that some of their devices do not have good media playback time, but have long standby time. that is how those devices get such high numbers. Gsmarena is more realistic as you don;t leave the screen on 24/7 . PA doesn't even bother to test the battery of newer windows phone like lumia 1520.

posted on Jun 09, 2014, 3:22 PM 1

102. LGisgood

Posts: 833; Member since: Jun 23, 2012

GsmArena battery test for G3 IS DOUBTFUL! according to GsmArena LG G3 managed @ 9;57 hours in VIDEO PLAY BACK and there is still a 10% remaining of G3's battery. THE FACT! IPS LCD Display is actually doing better in Browsing than on a Video play back?. then HOW COME? G3 Manged ONLY 6:40hours in browsing?

posted on Jun 09, 2014, 3:47 PM 0

106. DerryAhmad

Posts: 296; Member since: May 05, 2012

Yeah.. I also don't think the PhoneArena test is realistic in real life, since standby power usage is also important cause we don't use the phone constantly for 8 hours +. Also.. what's with PA and high end Lumia devices? They omitted them in recent blind camera test, and they certainly omitted the 1520's battery test

posted on Jun 09, 2014, 9:03 PM 1

103. almostdone

Posts: 439; Member since: Sep 25, 2012

Some people are just clueless... Pumping out more pixels requires more processing power. Talk time has nothing/little to do with screen resolution and likely explains the difference between the long talk times and relatively short video playback. Some people are so full of hate they can't see pass their own a$$. I don't care for the brand and actually like the G3. This might be my next phone. I am very happy with my Samsung at present but G3 is very tempting.

posted on Jun 09, 2014, 6:10 PM 0

93. erikiksaz

Posts: 170; Member since: Apr 22, 2010

Just a quick question, are all the displays measured with a photometer to ensure they're outputting the same amount of brightness before conducting these tests? Anandtech does this, but they haven't published their review yet.

posted on Jun 09, 2014, 12:01 PM 0

16. farhad_per

Posts: 128; Member since: Mar 26, 2014

Is anyone wants to know true results check Gsmarena.com... ireally cant understand PA results in reviewing....quite cheap and unexpertedly....despite I'm Sammy fan but by gsmarena results in battery life ranking..: 1.Z2-89h 2.S5-72h 3.M8-71h 4.G3-69h....so another false and bias results from PA..

posted on Jun 09, 2014, 3:38 AM 5

21. Shatter

Posts: 2036; Member since: May 29, 2013

Phonearena's test gave the Note 3 a score of like 6 hours 8 minutes despite every other comparison showing the Note 3 has better overall battery life than the S5. There is the possibility of manufacturers are "optimizing" their software to do better on Phonearena's test.

posted on Jun 09, 2014, 3:45 AM 3

27. Chris.P

Posts: 567; Member since: Jun 27, 2013

Or, there's simply a a difference in the underlying methodology. All of our colleagues have their own approaches, and so do we.

posted on Jun 09, 2014, 4:03 AM 12

34. pwnarena

Posts: 1129; Member since: Feb 15, 2013

i think you can at least pacify the complainers by showing longevity when watching videos, browsing the web, and making phone calls. or maybe just do a video playing longevity test.

posted on Jun 09, 2014, 4:27 AM 1

41. yasir-921

Posts: 81; Member since: Oct 02, 2012

I think that PhoneArena's G3 battery test is more accurate than GSMArena's. Main reason is this that GSMArena used a pre-production/non-finalized unit of G3, which also, is not a US variant unit. They used Olleh branded G3 which I believe more reviewers have also used the same unit and posted similar results as GSMArena's. While the picture of the phone which PhoneArena has put up is a golden G3, which may be a final unit. Hence, their battery result and also other tests which will come out in PhoneArena's review of this G3 will be more accurate.

posted on Jun 09, 2014, 5:05 AM 6

35. pwnarena

Posts: 1129; Member since: Feb 15, 2013

maybe not biased but just practically inaccurate.

posted on Jun 09, 2014, 4:28 AM 3

40. farhad_per

Posts: 128; Member since: Mar 26, 2014

In gsmarena battery test brightness is set to auto 50% and what is very disappointing is on 50% brightness results 109 nits that's the lowest among the others and with this brightness the 69hrs is quite low..!

posted on Jun 09, 2014, 5:00 AM 1

100. LGisgood

Posts: 833; Member since: Jun 23, 2012

DO YOU NOT SEE? GsmArena battery test for G3 IS DOUBTFUL! according to GsmArena LG G3 managed @ 9;57 hours in VIDEO PLAY BACK and there is still a 10% remaining of your battery. DID YOU KNOW THAT? IPS LCD Display is actually doing better in Browsing than on a Video play back?. then HOW COME? G3 Manged ONLY 6:40hours in browsing?...

posted on Jun 09, 2014, 2:37 PM 0

104. DerryAhmad

Posts: 296; Member since: May 05, 2012

Sponsored or not.. I'm wondering whether this test is actually usable in real life. With 8 hours and 50 minutes.. does it mean we have to charge the G3 twice (or even three times) a day? I think PhoneArena battery test is applicable when you tend to use the phone all the time with various conditions. Hence.. It's applicable if you're a power user, maybe even extreme power user maybe since you have to use the phone non-stop. If that's the case, then the G3 is surely has an awesome battery life. But I don't think it's applicable in real life.. That's why I tend to agree more on GSMArena battery test where standby power usage is also taken into account:http://www.gsmarena.com/battery-test.php3?idPhone=6144 We can even costumize our usage in Calls, Browsing, and Video for scenarios that's close to our daily usage. Nevertheless, I do think the G3 has a great battery life. But I don't think it deserves to be called the King Battery life - as the title of this article suggested to be.

posted on Jun 09, 2014, 7:34 PM 0

42. yasir-921

Posts: 81; Member since: Oct 02, 2012

I think that PhoneArena's G3 battery test is more accurate than GSMArena's. Main reason is this that GSMArena used a pre-production/non-finalized unit of G3, which also, is not a US variant unit. They used Olleh branded G3 which I believe, more reviewers have also used the same unit and posted similar results as GSMArena's. While the picture of the phone which PhoneArena has put up is a golden G3, which may be a final unit. Hence, their battery test and also other tests which will come out in PhoneArena's review of this G3 will be more accurate.

posted on Jun 09, 2014, 5:08 AM 3

49. feres13

Posts: 307; Member since: Dec 23, 2011

You can clearly see the antenna, it's a korean model

posted on Jun 09, 2014, 6:29 AM 2

5. techperson211

Posts: 1280; Member since: Feb 27, 2014

So far in my opinion gsmarena are unbiased in terms of phone reviews.

posted on Jun 09, 2014, 3:12 AM 18

20. farhad_per

Posts: 128; Member since: Mar 26, 2014

Totally agree...in terms of reviews and test results no one can catch them... they never bash any brand always saying the truth and 100% unbiased and fair ... even teh results is against my favorite brand I accept it totally ... PA only for fast news coverage but everything else ofcourse GSMARENA.COM. .