Dear Apple: The iPhone Battery Aftermarket Exists for a Reason

Pete Mortensen ()

mophiejuicepackairHaving now lived with an iPhone 3GS for the better part of three weeks, I remain incredibly impressed with the device. It’s powerful, fast, and running extremely mature software that’s delightfully quirk-free.

That said, it’s also become apparent that if you’re actually interested in using the phone for its intended use (web browsing, e-mail and video), battery life is ridiculously inadequate. In spite of assurances at WWDC, the 3GS only lasts marginally longer than the 3G, and I often need to charge up mid-afternoon to make sure i have decent battery for my train ride home.

Yesterday, things really went out of wack, and I could literally watch my charge diminish by 2 percent per minute when I was doing nothing so much as leaving it on my desk. A restart fixed it, but it was an extreme case of a persistent problem.

I started thinking about all of this thanks to Joel Johnson’s review of the Mophie Juice Pack Air over at BB Gadgets today. I still think having any case would be a downer, but the extra battery power is becoming increasingly necessary to enjoy my long-awaited iPhone in the manner I choose. That said, I can’t really bring myself to by one of those big battery packs that hold four times the charge, or what have you — afraid of losing it.

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What’s been your experience? Do you moderate your Flight Control play to preserve your talk time? Or do you sport a bonus battery pack?

16 comments »

About the author

Petemortensen

Pete Mortensen is a design strategist for consulting firm Jump Associates and the co-author of Wired to Care: How Companies Prosper When They Create Widespread Empathy, a book and blog that are significantly more interesting than you might initially think. Pete's particular Apple avocations are both around design--interface and industrial. Follow him on Twitter!

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Posted in Hardware Hacks, iPhone 3G S |

  • Chase

    I’ve actually been getting great battery life with mine. With 3G enabled all day. I’ve been on it a bunch today playing and surfing the web, and i just now got the 20% low battery (it’s 12:41 in the am), just after midnight. It’s getting as good battery life as the original iphone, and I’m very pleased.

  • Alina

    I could not agree more! I am at least happy to hear that I am not the only one with this problem!

  • http://www.burnleyfansteam.co.uk Kev Robinson

    I must admit, I have been considering buying a battery pack. Since I upgraded from my 3G the battery life seems worse than ever. I could previously go to uni 10-6 and it would still be going strong but now that rarely happens. I have to put screen brightness right down and turn off wifi and 3G. It’s the only downside to the iPhone, but it is a hell of a downside.

  • Plegaria

    I bought myself a Juice Air Pack and it works wonderfully. I am a person that uses the iPhone heavily and I really started to get nervous throughout the day, it is true what you say, battery lasts less than the iPhone 3G. I do not use the extra bettery daily, I have a charger at home, office and car. I have the Mophie Juice on my office briefcase and just use it when I am leaving the office for extended periods of time or if I will be out for almost a full day on the weekend, for example playing golf, leaving town, etc. If I wouldn’t have the extra juice pack I think I would of thrown the iPhone on the toilet…and I repeat, “I think” :). Recommendation: even though it is a little big (not exaggerated) I fully recommended I give it 5 stars.

  • Bob Williams

    Seriously, turn off Push. That thing is a killer for battery. Turn the screen to auto and half brightness. Once you’ve run it in stock settings with everything fancy turned off (even try turning off 3G), you’ll see a dramatic increase in battery. Either that or stop using it as a PC.

  • http://www.xebrawerx.com Steve Basile

    GPS on cell phones kills battery life. I have an extended life battery on my current Verizon cell phone. I will absolutely do the same when I switch to an iPhone 3GS in the next couple months.

  • Pete Mortensen

    @Bob Why would anyone get an iPhone if they had to “turn off everything fancy?” I got it to be a PC, not a slick feature phone.

  • Mister Woo

    I agree with Pete. The battery is ridiculously inadequate. I have to turn off wifi, bluetooth, location services, and the battery is still below 60% by noon.

  • Micky Hingorani

    I think the idea behind turning off the fancy features is to do so when they’re not in use. Just be mindful to turn off wi-fi when you know you won’t get a signal, and maybe even 3G when you’re not checking your e-mail or surfing the internet. I did that with my original iPhone and usually only charged it every third day. Just got my new 3GS last night, so I can’t report on that yet, but I am excited that the quicker processor means it takes less time to turn those features back on.

  • Monica
  • anthonynielsen

    hmm I get great battery life. I am a moderate user (read not heavy) but I make it two days between charges most days. I am currently at 5hrs usage which is lots of pandora and twitter usage and about a day standby, and I am only at 36% this is on par with my first gen iphone and I am using this one a lot more now that i have 3G

  • NOW4REAL954

    I have heard that if you charge it up…and then let it run completely down it will cycle the battery…like you have to with laptop batteries

    and it comes back much better…I don’t know yet because I’m getting my iphone next week…but it makes sense that it could help as it has helped others

    and I have heard that if you are in an area for a long period of time that has bad cell service and your phone is constantly searching and trying to keep the signal that it makes it run down the battery…on another blog someone said they never have problems because they work near a cell tower…and always have 5 bars…so maybe those that are in areas with pathetic 3G service or are not near a cell tower then they have less battery life…

    I don’t know…but it’s worth checking out

  • http://www.tonangi.com vinod

    I have a Juice Pack Air. It’s probably the best battery extender for the iphone – the only one I know of that has a switch, however I don’t use it every day. I use it when I know I’ll have an exceptionally long day, or if I have lots of meetings and I have to travel and won’t have access to a plug. I love the size of the iPhone and desperately want it to have a better battery but this battery pack isn’t a bad solution for now. The next iPhone better last for 24 hours of usage.

  • Peter Jan

    I have a simple solution: I use my Nokia E71 as a phone and texting machine (SMS, MMS); I bring my iPhone when I need an Internet Tablet & iPod (and when I know I can recharge it halfway during the day).

  • http://www.thelaw.com Legal Advice

    The problem I have is that the phone was listed by Apple as providing 9 hours of usage on WiFi and 5 hours using 3G. My phone gets maybe 50% of those numbers. Apple wants me to go through the hoops of removing all the software, reinstalling as new, and then getting a whole new iPhone. I’m wondering why I’d do this considering everyone seems to be having the same issue.

    I have no problem with the aftermarket battery market existing for a reason but why does it exist? According to Apple’s own specifications, it shouldn’t exist at all. What’s going on here exactly? I’m hoping that we’ll have an explanation as to how these numbers were generated and, perhaps, a much needed software fix that could significantly boost the current anemic numbers.

  • http://www.chinesefactorysourcing.com China Factory

    Yes, they are really working against themselves not allowing replacing of any batteries..