On the left is April 10, on the right is April 8 (April 3 is below)
Fun story about the HTC One X battery life. I've seen it be one of the worst performers (thanks to a since-squashed server-side bug), and I've seen it be one of the best. In addition to reviewing phones, we often end up as guinea pigs, using hardware that's barely had time to let the glue dry, or software that's not quite final. In the case of the HTC One X, it's been both. The hardware is solid. I've got no concerns about that, save for maybe scratching the camera lens.
The software we're running on our review unit actually is a tick above that of the retail units. I'm not sure if that's causing some disparity. But more than that, my usage case is going to be different than yours. My network is different than yours. I am not a normal user.
That said, I've been pretty impressed with what I'm seeing after three weeks of use.
When I'm at home, working, I'm on Wifi. And that's for a good chunk of the day. Not every day, though. So when I'm running around town, chasing after the kids or doing errands, I've been on AT&T. I'm pretty heavy on Twitter (and I'm back on Seesmic, since it finally updated for the HTC One X), Facebook and Google+ throughout the day. Browsing, too. And because the One X has that excellent camera, I've been taking more than my fair share of pictures (which I've got auto uploading to Google+ when I'm on Wifi).
So there's your macro view of how I roll. And I'm getting well over 12 hours of use between charges. Hell, I'm getting well over 15 hours on a single charge. It's a little ridiculous when I stop to think about it, and it makes me want to pick up the phone and use it some more.
We're going to have to see how this changes once we get the AT&T version of the One X here in the states. For one thing, it'll be using the dual-core Qualcomm S4 processor instead of NVIDIA's Tegra 3. For another, it'll have LTE data in some locales, and presumably it'll have some fine-tuning for AT&T that this European GSM version won't (though they do share the same radio frequencies, so maybe that'll just be in our heads).
That doesn't change the fact that when the One X battery is drained, you'll be needing a charger. No swapping batteries. So keep that in mind. But once we get it on AT&T, it'll be an interesting experiment, to be sure.
For more impressions, hit up the official HTC One X battery life thread.
Reader comments
HTC One X battery life - impressive performance after three weeks of use
I actually have to affirm everything in this post....the first week I got my HTC one x, the battery was THE WORST I had ever seen in a smartphone. After 2 weeks and a battery-calibration that I followed from a post here, I'm getting 24-36 hour battery life with moderate screen time and data use
I love this phone now!
What are you using for screenshots?
Honestly these people who often claim to be "expert" users yet cannot even deduce simple truths out of facts. He said that he's a heavy user, checking mails, texting, making phone calls etc. for the whole day and still get about 12 hours of use. HOW CAN HE USE OF ALL THOSE FUNCTIONS W/OUT TURNING ON THE SCREEN? And to the fucking Samsung phone boys who say that he's bribed by HTC: what about the reviewers who try hard to trash HTC and praise Samsung? Fking double standard. Glad there's still HTC for Android. I'd rather be an Apple sheep or jump to M$'s WP than stay w Android and use Samsung if HTC goes bankrupt.
Stop shouting, it doesn't make you right. Without the screen on time there is no way to truly judge battery usage, as it is invariably the greatest battery hog. 'Heavy use' is a subjective term that means nothing without knowing actual on-screen time.
How is that even with the posting people are still bitching....in the picture it shows total time and a percent of screen on...ass holes if it says he used the phone for HOURS AND A TOTAL OF HOURS...THE DISPLAY WAS ON FOR ABOUT HALF THE TOTAL USAGE...are people to lazy to crunch numbers....and I'm senseing all this hate from the people who refuse to take a phone with out a none removable battery
First, calm down. Second, you're wrong. The % corresponds to total % of the used battery capacity (80% in this case) that corresponds to each item, it has nothing to do with hours of use or the amount of time the phone's being off the charger. If you unplug your phone and use it for 15m straight your display would account for like 80% of battery capacity used, and if you use it for four hours straight it'd likely look the same.
I agree, Phil should've included screen-on time. That being said, his display usage is relatively high, tho not as high as mine usually is after a full day. For many of us this is all irrelevant tho because most US variants of the one will run completely different processors and radios. I do expect the S4 to be more efficient tho.
How is that even with the posting people are still bitching....in the picture it shows total time and a percent of screen on...ass holes if it says he used the phone for HOURS AND A TOTAL OF HOURS...THE DISPLAY WAS ON FOR ABOUT HALF THE TOTAL USAGE...are people to lazy to crunch numbers....and I'm senseing all this hate from the people who refuse to take a phone with out a none removable battery
No, it doesn't show that at all. It shows the percent of the battery USED by the screen. Has nothing to do with how long the screen was "on".
It being THAT dead after being home and on wifi most of the day is just sad....that's NOT performance....
Sweet, this is good to know because that means the EVO 4G LTE will have even better battery. That is music to my ears.
I generally get 20-25hrs on my GSM Galaxy Nexus (standard battery) with screen on time around 3-3.5 hours. Good enough for me. My CDMA phones (SGSII E4GT, for example) couldn't go more than 15 hours most days with the same usage.
Funny...my CDMA phone does just as well. DInc2.
What version of the OS is Phil using?
I agree with most of the other posters. The review as is is useless without the on screen time.. I personally will not be buying this phone. It appears very good but that non-removable battery nonsense is an absolute deal breaker.
HTC really had the chance to deliver this time but royally screwed up
Samsung, don't pull an HTC on us please.
....on 3G and Wi-Fi. How is it that more than a year after the first 4G device comes out, batteries are the same size. Just wait until everyone buys one, and a week later, they convince HTC to make a One X Maxx.
This is getting ridiculous... is Android Central a subsidiary of HTC now? Or are they just paying you some serious bucks for ads?! TWO WEEKS this site has been nothing but HTC and defending HTC (even though the LCD problem IS a problem, no matter how you wanna sugar coat it...)
I'm just sayin'...
It's not only AC.. if you follow other big Android sites, everybody are drooling on this device (Don't consider techRadar lol.. "Premier partner Samsung")
And about the LCD problem.. yes, it's a problem.. but if you go through the forums (haven't seen AC's yet), users are reporting same as AC's thought.. they never press the screen THAT hard
The One's X hasnt been out for 3 weeks. Every new product has problems w the first batch. Moreover, the One X is a total new direction of manufacturing compared w previous models of HTC (Samsung can dream to have that kind of hardware's design and creativity) so of course the first few batches will predictably have issues. And please remember that the ones who have issues are not all of those who bought the One X. They will be the one w the loudest mouths but you will never see people w perfect phones show up to complain. It's good that AC still has some rational and right-thinking people not just those supposed "expert" users who do nothing but whine and complain or suck up to Samsung crap.
PS: the SLCD2 has been consistently hailed as THE BEST screen on the market. Samsung and their bluish-tinged artificially contrasted screens can suck it.
I'm testing a One X now, and I can confirm with heavy call volume, I am getting 16 to 17 hours of battery life, with 20% left when I go to bed. I was skeptical about the battery, but after two days of pretty decent use, I am impressed. I am not a big game player, and I probably only browse 1 hour a day on my phone. I do make lots of calls, lots of emails, and lots of texts. There are so many other scenarios of phone use to consider, so others may have a completely different outcome. Without a doubt, this One X is the best phone ever in an idle state.
You still can't convince me that a non-removable battery is acceptable! I refuse to consider a phone with one and will look elsewhere or just keep my existing device (Thunderbolt) longer.
The Thunderbolt was/is a mess. I'm not sure what you are using the phone for, but I can pretty much guarantee, every new phone has a better battery life/performance than the Bolt. I understand your hesitation, and fear.
Did you actually own a Thunderbolt? I looked up your posts in the forums and don't see a single one in the Thunderbolt forums. So, I'm not convinced you're qualified to say whether or not the phone was/is a mess. I've had mine little over a year now and it works great (stock, not rooted)! It still performs very well for a single core processor, even when streaming NFL games or Netflix. The Gingerbread update improved battery life (LTE going live also helped me as it virtually eliminated signal loss/switching). I get about two hours of screen on time (at least 24 hours total, average approx. 35) on the standard battery! I rarely use the extended anymore. And with multiple batteries, I can just swap and go anyway. Overall, the phone has matured into a very stable device that I'm in no hurry to replace, especially not for one that has a non-removable battery! :)
Runs great and for a day of REAL use with CM7.1 on it and the extended battery...has ZERO problem running anything released to this day.....Mess no....well...if you for whatever reason left it stock, who did that considering it was one of the fastest rooted/ROM'd phones available....
something like mophie juice pack for this device would be awesome just to have when traveling.
If this is a phone he has been using as his main device on these days the screen on time isn't important to me. Just like Phil, I use my phone on and off throughout the day before work, at lunch and after work on a mix of network and wifi. I'm sure this is how the average working adult uses their phone as well. This is a real world test, not a marathon of how long it will last while playing a game or watching movies. I'm sure those tests will come. This was not one of those tests.
Thanks for the info. It is more useful than how long it lasts in a straight shot to me since I have never, ever used my phone the way the people commenting apparently do.
Looks like my EVO LTE is going to be fine.
It's said that this is considered impressive performance. Phones should be able to make it through the day with more battery left then that.
Sounds like you need to be in the battery business. The batteries that are in phones now, could run "dumb phones" for days. These batteries are powering some serious tech. The screens alone are bigger, brighter, and clearer. That power has to come from somewhere. One day I'm sure battery tech will advance, but so will the phones.
I'd be interested to see how these tests fair when not on Wifi. I'm usually only on 3G/4G. If the usage goes down to around 12 hrs then I think that's somewhat typical.
I can't but a phone without a battery no matter how good it looks. Think i will eventually leave Sprint and get a Razr Maxx. I so tired of phones that I cant use for 8 hours at work without having to plug it in.
Huh? The razr maxx doesn't have a removable battery.
Last I checked, every phone has a battery. ;)
Give me one ill show you how it works in the real world.
"When I'm at home, working, I'm on Wifi. And that's for a good chunk of the day".
So you work around 3hrs a day?
Impressive ;)
If I got the same battery life on the Galaxy Nexus, I would not have sold it.
Show me "screen on" time. Seriously. How do make this post without including that?
Its clearly right there in the pic that he posted. Screen time % is high, which means clearly that the screen was on for a lot of the time.
That bar means very little, as it's just a percentage of power used. If you click on it it will give you the exact time the screen has been on.
I agree. 17 hours is good as long as screen on time is longer than 3 hours. Any less than that and battery life is terrible. Screen on time is really the only important battery stat to me. I can easily get 40 hours out of one charge if I never turn the screen on.
Right at this moment I'm at 21h 43m 57s on battery, 10% left, and 1h 52m 37s screen on time. 1500mAh battery. Samsung Captivate CM9
That is how you report battery life.
Everyone concurs that the standby time is great...its the screen on time that is very poor. this post is very misleading.
How i wish my Galaxy S had the same battery performance..
Really the only battery stat that is meaningful to me is the screen on time. I can get days out of my GN...but about 2 hours of screen time and it's shot.
I agree, Phil can you tell us your screen on time?
I think Phil is just distracted by shiny new things, either that or someone slipped him a mickey at the HTC event. At this very moment Peter Chou has a manila envelope with some pictures Phil would not like the public or his wife to see :p. But seriously it seems to me back in November Phil's story would have been a little different.
http://www.androidcentral.com/welcome-cloud-ios-users
Squirrel!
Nice stats....its jus like my og evo under heavy usage with 2600 mah battery...so the battery not being removed isn't a concern