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Which phone has the best battery life in 2017?

by Victor Hristov / Dec 20, 2017, 4:08 AM

Which phone has the best battery life in 2017?

Which phones had the best battery life in 2017? And does battery life on phones ever improve or does it stay roughly the same throughout the years?

At PhoneArena, we do a standardized proprietary battery test on all phones that we review. We test every device diligently: we make sure that its screen is set at the same brightness level and to ensure this we measure brightness level down to the nit with a special colorimeter, we also turn off external notifications and other sources of power drain that might skew the results of our test. For some phones, we double-test if we have doubts about the results. This gives us a comprehensive picture of battery life numbers for all major flagships not just in 2017, but also through the wider lens of time.

As 2017 winds down to a close, we take a look at all the major flagship phones of the year and their battery life performance, and we compare the results to the average battery life of flagships in 2016 and 2015 to see if there is any improvement.

But first, let's look at the list of 2017 flagship phones to see which one scored best in terms of battery life.

Which Phone has the Best Battery Life?

Apple iPhone 8 8h 37 min (Excellent)

Apple iPhone 8 Plus 10h 35 min (Excellent)

Apple iPhone X 8h 41 min (Excellent)

BlackBerry KEYone 12h 26 min (Excellent)

Google Pixel 2 8h 40 min (Excellent)

Google Pixel 2 XL 8h 57 min (Excellent)

HTC U11 9h 3 min (Excellent)

Huawei P10 7h 42 min (Good)

Huawei P10 Plus 8h 18 min (Excellent)

Huawei Mate 10 Pro 12h 5 min (Excellent)

LG G6 6h 9 min (Average)

LG V30 9h 34 min (Excellent)

Motorola Moto Z2 Play 9h 19 min (Excellent)

Motorola Moto Z2 Force Edition 7h 36 min (Good)

Nokia 8 8h 59 min (Excellent)

OnePlus 5 9h 18 min (Excellent)

OnePlus 5T 8h 51 min (Excellent)

Razer Phone 8h 52 min (Excellent)

Samsung Galaxy S8 8h 22 min (Excellent)

Samsung Galaxy S8+ 8h (Excellent)

Samsung Galaxy S8 Active 10h 57 min (Excellent)

Samsung Galaxy Note 8 7h 50 min (Good)

Sony Xperia XZ Premium 8h 15 min (Excellent)

Xiaomi Mi 6 9h 14 min (Excellent)

Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 9h 5 min (Excellent)

View all

*Note: you can add more phones to this list by using the "Add Phone" field above.

2017 average battery life: 8 hours and 53 minutes

There is one devices that scored noticeably higher than all the rest: the BlackBerry KeyOne. It's in a league of its own when it comes to battery life and a true, two-day performer. Then, there are two other devices that score noticeably higher than the rest: the Samsung Galaxy S8 Active and the Apple iPhone 8 Plus, the only other two with a score of more than 10 hours.

There is also one device that easily wins the "Golden Raspberry Award" of battery life, the one with the absolutely worst battery life: the LG G6. It scored just 6 hours and 9 minutes on our test, way below the average.

While there are highs and lows, if you are interested in the overall trend for the industry, you need to look at the average flagship battery life in 2017. The grand average of all flagship phones is a battery life of 8 hours and 44 minutes. This is actually quite impressive. Look down at the charts below and you can see that in 2016 and in 2015, the battery life average was around 7 hours and 5 minutes, so in 2017, we got a solid 26% improvement.

Apple iPhone 7 7h 46 min (Good)

Apple iPhone 7 Plus 9h 5 min (Excellent)

Apple iPhone SE 7h 41 min (Good)

Samsung Galaxy S7 edge 7h 18 min (Good)

Samsung Galaxy S7 6h 37 min (Average)

Google Pixel XL 7h 19 min (Good)

Google Pixel 7h 45 min (Good)

LG V20 6h 23 min (Average)

LG G5 5h 51 min (Average)

Motorola Moto Z Force Droid Edition 7h 9 min (Good)

Motorola Moto Z Droid Edition 5h 52 min (Average)

OnePlus 3 5h 53 min (Average)

HTC 10 7h 10 min (Good)

Sony Xperia XZ 6h 41 min (Average)

Huawei P9 6h 51 min (Average)

Xiaomi Mi 5 7h 27 min (Good)

View all

2016 average battery life: 7 hours and 3 minutes

Last year, in 2016, there was only one phone to break the 9 hour mark and even a few phones under 6 hours.

Apple iPhone 6s 8h 15 min (Excellent)

Apple iPhone 6s Plus 9h 11 min (Excellent)

Samsung Galaxy Note 5 9h 11 min (Excellent)

Samsung Galaxy S6 edge 8h 11 min (Excellent)

Samsung Galaxy S6 7h 14 min (Good)

LG V10 5h 51 min (Average)

LG G4 6h 6 min (Average)

HTC One M9 6h 25 min (Average)

HTC One A9 6h 3 min (Average)

Google Nexus 6P 6h 24 min (Average)

Google Nexus 5X 6h 25 min (Average)

OnePlus 2 6h 38 min (Average)

OnePlus X 5h 57 min (Average)

Huawei P8 7h 12 min (Good)

Sony Xperia Z5 7h 7 min (Good)

View all

2015 average battery life: 7 hours and 5 minutes

And in 2015, the overall state of things was not much different than in 2016. The average scores was about the same.

Which Phone is Fastest to Charge?

Another important aspect of the battery equation is the time it takes to charge a phone.

Fast charging has been around for most phones for years, but the technology is improving. So let's see how fast different phones charged. Note that we use the charger that is in the box for this test. The iPhone 8, 8 Plus and X all support fast charging, but require a new charger in order for it to work. That is why you see their slow charge results, as these are the times that the average users who are not aware of the need to purchase a separate charger will have.

Apple iPhone 8 148

Apple iPhone 8 Plus 178

Apple iPhone X 189

Google Pixel 2 111

Google Pixel 2 XL 152

HTC U11 98

Huawei P10 100

Huawei P10 Plus 117

Huawei Mate 10 Pro 102

LG G6 97

LG V30 108

Motorola Moto Z2 Play 132

Motorola Moto Z2 Force Edition 110

Nokia 8 131

OnePlus 5 99

OnePlus 5T 93

Razer Phone 140

Samsung Galaxy S8 100

Samsung Galaxy S8+ 99

Samsung Galaxy Note 8 102

Xiaomi Mi 6 114

Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 88

View all

The interesting trend in 2017 is that charging speeds actually went down for many flagships. Even though still fast, compared to last year, it took more time to charge phones by Google (the Pixels), OnePlus, LG and Motorola.

Take a look at the results for 2016 right below:

Apple iPhone 7 141

Apple iPhone 7 Plus 197

Apple iPhone SE 155

Samsung Galaxy S7 edge 99

Samsung Galaxy S7 88

Google Pixel XL 118

Google Pixel 119

LG V20 86

LG G5 76

Motorola Moto Z Force Droid Edition 110

Motorola Moto Z Droid Edition 72

OnePlus 3 74

HTC 10 100

Sony Xperia XZ 174

Huawei P9 146

Xiaomi Mi 5 139

View all

Finally, in 2015 we see more extremes. There were some super fast charging phones: in fact, the LG V10 was fastest in the history of our test, but also the average for most other phones was slower charging.

Apple iPhone 6s 150

Apple iPhone 6s Plus 165

Samsung Galaxy Note 5 81

Samsung Galaxy S6 edge 83

Samsung Galaxy S6 78

LG V10 65

LG G4 127

HTC One M9 106

HTC One A9 110

Google Nexus 6P 89

Google Nexus 5X 100

OnePlus 2 150

OnePlus X 121

Huawei P8 180

Sony Xperia Z5 156

View all

Conclusion

Summing it all up, we can clearly see that 2017 brought us a big leap in battery life.

On the Android side of things, the big reason for this improvement is the switch to the Snapdragon 835 chip. The Snapdragon 835 was the first mobile chip made on the 10nm manufacturing process, which in simple terms means that it delivers more power at a lower power consumption cost.

In real-life terms, that resulted in a nearly 26% improvement in battery life on our test, the fastest growth in battery life that we have seen in a long while.

Next year, in 2018, we expect a slower growth in battery life numbers, but still growth. While today, we are not quite in two-day battery life territory for mainstream phones, next year, we will be getting closer to that. There will be a new Snapdragon 845 chip to drive that growth on Android, more power efficient displays and further software tweaks that manufacturers will make.

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90 Comments

1. Bondurant

Posts: 785; Member since: Jun 04, 2014

Where is mate 10 pro ?

posted on Dec 20, 2017, 4:10 AM 14

10. Victor.H

Posts: 1098; Member since: May 27, 2011

Mate 10 Pro and the Essential Phone are the only two phones we did not get a chance to test. Hopefully, we can test them in the future.

posted on Dec 20, 2017, 5:18 AM 3

14. w1000i

Posts: 251; Member since: Jul 22, 2015

The Mate 10 pro got the best battery in other sites, you should try it

posted on Dec 20, 2017, 5:22 AM 5

28. djk4363

Posts: 32; Member since: Apr 23, 2013

I was also going to ask about the Mate 10 Pro. I think it has the ultimate BEST battery life. I am using it happily for a couple of weeks down. It is not battery thirsty at all.

posted on Dec 20, 2017, 6:28 AM 0

54. Furkan

Posts: 552; Member since: Feb 25, 2017

no way. watch comparisons

posted on Dec 20, 2017, 8:27 AM 0

59. Ciro1900

Posts: 591; Member since: Dec 17, 2017

And xz1 compact its 11 h 19 min?

posted on Dec 20, 2017, 9:30 AM 2

73. libra89

Posts: 2313; Member since: Apr 15, 2016

Yeah that phone is a battery life mvp. I miss having that.

posted on Dec 21, 2017, 7:51 AM 0

85. runzlord

Posts: 245; Member since: Oct 13, 2013

razer phone??

posted on Dec 26, 2017, 8:46 PM 0

19. DRS1977

Posts: 679; Member since: May 27, 2015

Where is the Moto E4 Plus? I just picked up one and the battery life is insane! I can easily go 4 days on one charge. The battery life on this thing destroys all.

posted on Dec 20, 2017, 5:51 AM 0

42. Victor.H

Posts: 1098; Member since: May 27, 2011

This is a list of flagship phones only. We could have included others like the Moto E4 Plus, but the list would just grow a mile long. You can always check our full list of battery results over atwww.phonearena.com/benchmarks

posted on Dec 20, 2017, 7:03 AM 1

26. Amin_Dark

Posts: 10; Member since: Jul 16, 2014

and where is mi 6?! by adding in it everyone will get the answer !!!

posted on Dec 20, 2017, 6:21 AM 0

41. Victor.H

Posts: 1098; Member since: May 27, 2011

It's there, take a closer look :)

posted on Dec 20, 2017, 7:02 AM 0

53. Amin_Dark

Posts: 10; Member since: Jul 16, 2014

oh i see okay thanks

posted on Dec 20, 2017, 8:07 AM 0

86. trueheart99

Posts: 24; Member since: Oct 05, 2017

thanks for asking. was wondering.

posted on Dec 28, 2017, 5:23 AM 0

2. Mr_Popo

Posts: 23; Member since: Feb 29, 2016

Amplify / Wakelock editor Greenify, root +/- Xposed Module PowerNap / AppOpsXposed / Smart Network Switch Custom Kernel with undervolting and downclocking CPU, GPU, conservative or edited governor, thermal management Backlight kernel edits Black/Dark AMOLED Wallpapers Restriction of DT2W/TW2 height sampling Vibration restriction or removal A few battery-improving build.prop edits 40-80, 20-80% top up to preserve battery endurance Ampere to monitor charge and keep it low Remove Xposed features if Oreo No problemo

posted on Dec 20, 2017, 4:26 AM 0

4. redmd

Posts: 1948; Member since: Oct 26, 2011

That's toxic. Can you pick the best 3?

posted on Dec 20, 2017, 4:43 AM 3

5. Mr_Popo

Posts: 23; Member since: Feb 29, 2016

For me and most people, xposed + root, then greenify, amplify with a good custom schedule and a custom kernel, easy and reliable numbers with just those three

posted on Dec 20, 2017, 4:48 AM 0

3. Cat97

Posts: 1976; Member since: Mar 02, 2017

Too bad the whole article is based on PhoneArena's deeply flawed battery life test, which does not take into acount the mode that a phone spends 18-20 hours daily in: the stand-by mode.

posted on Dec 20, 2017, 4:35 AM 14

7. NickHill

Posts: 388; Member since: May 07, 2016

Someone said Note 8 has the best battery.

posted on Dec 20, 2017, 4:57 AM 1

12. worldpeace

Posts: 3135; Member since: Apr 15, 2016

Not the best but definitely can beat iPhone X and iPhone8+.. Go watch any battery test on youtube

posted on Dec 20, 2017, 5:20 AM 7

15. panos50

Posts: 4; Member since: Oct 29, 2017

lmao whats wrong with you guys?? the BLACKBERRY KEYONE has the best Battery life, and now the BLACKBERRY MOTION, so this is just a reality check lol Merry Xmas to all ..cheers

posted on Dec 20, 2017, 5:28 AM 1

16. Humanoid

Posts: 1226; Member since: Dec 11, 2017

XZ1 Compact and A7 2017

posted on Dec 20, 2017, 5:36 AM 1

17. MOSFET

Posts: 18; Member since: Nov 10, 2014

How about a return to removable batteries? Problem solved.

posted on Dec 20, 2017, 5:38 AM 1

20. zenun12

Posts: 205; Member since: Oct 31, 2016

XZ1 compact's battery scores in PA's database blows all these out of the water!

posted on Dec 20, 2017, 5:54 AM 2

22. Ciro1900

Posts: 591; Member since: Dec 17, 2017

Where is xz1 compact?

posted on Dec 20, 2017, 5:57 AM 1

27. meanestgenius

Posts: 22471; Member since: May 28, 2014

No BlackBerry KEYᵒⁿᵉ, with its outstanding battery life, on this list? And no BlackBerry Motion, which is supposed to have even better battery life than the KEYᵒⁿᵉ? This list just doesn’t seem complete without them.

posted on Dec 20, 2017, 6:22 AM 1

30. jellmoo

Posts: 2660; Member since: Oct 31, 2011

THIS. PA gave the KeyONE a rating of 12+ hours, crushing the others on this list, yet it's nowhere to be seen.

posted on Dec 20, 2017, 6:33 AM 2

32. meanestgenius

Posts: 22471; Member since: May 28, 2014

Battery life is the number one reason in choosing a smartphone for myself. Your Smartphone can look amazing, and have all the bells whistles, but it’s nothing more than a paperweight if you can’t get through half the day with a charging it, IMO. Battery life is one of the main reasons I continue to use BlackBerry smartphones as my daily driver.