Despite setting astounding launch sales records, iPhone 4S owners are plagued by
battery drain that even Apple engineers are having difficulty solving.
Like the antenna issue experienced with the initial launch of the iPhone 4, the millions of iPhone 4S owners have been plagued by battery drain that Apple engineers have been working around the clock to solve.
The Guardian reported on the issue saying that Apple engineers have been contacting users who have complained about battery drain that is not resolvable with normal means, such as turning off location-based services and terminating passive apps when away from the phone for long periods of time. Apparently, Apple has been requesting that these customers install diagnostic software onto their iPhone so that the battery drain issue can be resolved more efficiently.
Tech Crunch editor Erick Schonfeld spoke his mind on an opinion piece: 'Dear Apple, Please Make My iPhone 4S Battery Life Suck Less.' In it, Schonfeld claims that his iPhone 4S battery died within eight hours after a full charge with normal Internet usage, talk time, and standby. Quite contradictory to the official tech specs from
Apple's website:
- Talk time: Up to 8 hours on 3G, up to 14 hours on 2G (GSM)
- Standby time: Up to 200 hours
- Internet use: Up to 6 hours on 3G, up to 9 hours on Wi-Fi
- Video playback: Up to 10 hours
- Audio playback: Up to 40 hours
Many sites and news outlets have, as always, posted tips on how to preserve battery life. Cellphone Accents always carries ever-ready
Apple iPhone accessories and
cell phone chargers for those needing backup juice. Otherwise, there are options and settings you can configure within the iPhone to optimize its life and minimize battery drain.
Start off by lowering your screen brightness, locking your phone when you do not plan to use it, and disabling location-based services when not needed. Be sure to terminate apps after use as well -- unlike Windows or Mac OS X where you can click an 'X' to terminate a program, you will have to press the home button twice to reveal a list of all active apps on your iPhone. Press and hold any open app for a moment to reveal red minus (-) sign, allowing you to terminate apps to save your phone from inevitable battery drain.
