Getting to 100%: Lack of Smartphone Battery Life

By Ree-Hyeon Kim on July 12, 2014

[Photo Credit: iDownloadBlog]

The epic advertisement battle between Apple and Samsung is pretty well known, and recently it has been about the lack of smartphone battery life. Samsung is well known to ridicule the incredible dedication that Apple fans have on their products…even if it seems “unreasonable.” I have always been entertained watching these commercials, but a recent Samsung commercial really caught my attention (which you can watch here). The commercial shows iPhone owners crowding around any outlet they can find in an airport, almost being enslaved by the lack of a battery life on their phones, while Samsung phone owners are freely sitting in chairs, enjoying their meals and happily using their phones without charging them.

[Photo Credit: NewsPakistan]

In an age where the smartphone has symbolized the height of technological innovation and ingenuity…with the sharpest screens and computing power that seems to almost match desktops….companies are still putting a focus on battery life. Battery life. I am going to describe that one more time. In a time where the phones we use can take photos as clear as Canons, can make video chats and can even control your computer….a topic so small and simple as battery life, is the problem to beat.

Now, I cannot say that these companies are being ridiculous because it really is a problem. Apple is very well aware of this issue, having problems such as their phones not meeting the expected battery time since the release of the iPhone 4s. They definitely have improved their products and battery life; the iPhone 5s can last up to 7 hours on a single charge, which is pretty impressive. Yet, the Samsung Galaxy S5 is proven to last up to 10 hours on a single charge, AND the Galaxy S5 has the ability to swap batteries….the iPhone does not. So, Samsung has somewhat of a reason to boast, referencing iPhone users as “wall-huggers” (referencing the tendency to always be next to a wall charging their phones).

[Photo Credit: ItPro]

Big technological corporations bickering over battery life? Who cares right?

Well, hear me out for one second. From all the changes and innovations that have been implemented within the past ten years in phones, starting from physical buttons and evolving to touch buttons, and even changes in security measures (like fingerprint sensors), one thing that has stayed the same is the chord that powers it. What use is a high-tech phone if it cannot withstand its own computing power?

I think that this competition and rally of critiques on products will truly help push innovators to improve the simplest, yet very important aspect of the technology that we use everyday. So, whether it be wall-huggers, or squinters, even “plastic-lovers,” let the companies call names; it can only benefit us consumers, pushing the companies to truly make a product that will break the wall of innovation, not rely on it.

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