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The Galaxy S24 has much better battery life than the iPhone 15

Published Feb 1st, 2024 4:08PM EST
Galaxy S24 Plus (on the edges) and Galaxy S24 models in the middle.
Image: Samsung

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A battery life comparison shows that the base Galaxy S24 model in Samsung’s latest flagship series lineup packs quite a punch. The phone doesn’t just offer a big battery life boost over its predecessor — it even outlasts direct competitors from Apple. The iPhone 15 Pro and the base iPhone 15 died in these tests several hours before the Galaxy S24 did.

The Galaxy S24 Ultra is the undisputed star of the Galaxy S24 series, thanks to a combination of exclusive features that aren’t available anywhere else. Some of these features are a direct result of the phone’s larger footprint.

The Galaxy S24 Ultra has the biggest display. It can accommodate more cameras on the back and has a built-in stylus. Despite the extra components, the Galaxy S24 Ultra still features a large 5,000 mAh battery that will get you through the day.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Display
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Display Image source: Christian de Looper for BGR

Battery life is one of the Ultra’s advantages over its siblings and other rivals. In our Galaxy S24 Ultra review, we found that the handset will have no problem lasting through the day. It might even get you two days of battery life, depending on how you use it: 

Powering it all is a 5,000mAh battery, and I found that it was able to easily get me through a full day of use, and in times of lighter use, I could stretch it to two days. In a video playback test with the phone at full brightness, it actually lasted over 28 hours, making it one of the longest-lasting phones I’ve tested in the past year or so. Now, of course, most people won’t simply watch videos on their phone — but even in mixed-use, the device has excellent battery life.

The folks at Tom’s Guide put the Galaxy S24 phones through identical battery life tests. The phone surfs the web over a cellular connection (5G) and at 150 nits of screen brightness until it runs out of power. Like a battery-life test that involves video playback, this test might not be good enough to replicate mixed-use. But it’s an objective test if all the devices are treated the same.

The Galaxy S24’s 4,000 mAh battery lasted 13 hours and 28 minutes. That’s 3 hours and 1 minute more than the Galaxy S23 (4,000 mAh battery). 

Galaxy S24 battery life test results compared to other phones.
Galaxy S24 battery life test results compared to other phones. Image source: Tom’s Guide

The iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 feature smaller batteries, at 3,274 mAh and 3,349 mAh, respectively. They lasted for 10 hours and 53 minutes and 11 hours and 5 minutes in the same test. The latter is the Galaxy S24’s most direct competitor. The comparison with the iPhone 15 Pro is warranted as it has the same size battery as the iPhone 15. Both phones feature 6.1-inch displays.

That’s an amazing result for Samsung and a big battery life upgrade over the Galaxy S23 series. If you don’t care about operating systems and are not loyal to any brand but are looking for great battery life from a new flagship handset, the Galaxy S24 might be the way to go. 

I will make note of the same caveat Tom’s Guide mentions. The battery life test covers the handset’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 version. There’s no telling how the Exynos 2400 model sold internationally would fare in a similar battery test. 

Galaxy S24 Ultra battery life test results compared to other phones.
Galaxy S24 Ultra battery life test results compared to other phones. Image source: Tom’s Guide

Thankfully, the international Galaxy S24 Ultra will come with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip. Tom’s Guide found the Ultra lasted 16 hours and 45 minutes in its standard test.

That’s more than 4 hours longer than the Galaxy S23 Ultra. It also outlasted the iPhone 15 Pro Max, which shut down after 14 hours and 2 minutes. The iPhone 15 Plus might be a better comparison for battery life, but the Plus isn’t exactly Apple’s direct Galaxy S24 Ultra competitor. 

All of this further reinforces the idea that battery life is amazing on the Galaxy S24. Sure, we expected the Ultra to be great, but the Galaxy S24 exceeding expectations is even better.

Chris Smith Senior Writer

Chris Smith has been covering consumer electronics ever since the iPhone revolutionized the industry in 2008. When he’s not writing about the most recent tech news for BGR, he brings his entertainment expertise to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe and other blockbuster franchises.

Outside of work, you’ll catch him streaming almost every new movie and TV show release as soon as it's available.

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