The limitations of Windows Phone — primarily the lack of high-quality new apps in its app store — are already well known. However, it looks as though Windows Phone might have a very important advantage over Android in one crucial metric: Battery life.
SlashGear has done some tests on both the Android-based HTC One (M8) and the HTC One (M8) for Windows and has found that the Windows Phone version of the device offers vastly superior battery life despite the fact that both devices run on practically identical hardware. After nearly 27 hours of standby time, for instance, SlashGear found that the Android version of the device had 68% of its battery life remaining while the Windows version still had 81% of its battery life remaining.
And you don’t have to take SlashGear’s word for it either, because the publication also found that HTC itself says that the Android version of the One (M8) will offer 12 hours of usage time while the Windows version will offer 21 hours. The bottom line, notes SlashGear, is that “HTC sees Android as taking up more power when its in use than Windows Phone 8 does on their hardware.”
This is a big deal because research released by IDC earlier this year showed that battery life has become the single most important factor for people who are buying smartphones. In that survey, 56% of Android buyers, 49% of iPhone buyers and 53% of Windows Phone buyers said that battery life was a key reason they bought their particular device, whereas just which 33% of Android users, 39% of iPhone users and 38% of Windows Phone users said ease of use was a key reason.
If Microsoft can get more vendors such as HTC to bring over their best hardware to Windows Phone and can show that those phones consistently deliver more battery life than on Android, it could be a new way for Microsoft to draw in prospective buyers.
