With the ability to download data at 10 Mbps or more, LTE technology has understandably generated a lot of excitement among people looking to have fast network connections on their phones and other portable devices. Folks still have found a few other things to complain about, of course. Besides the problem of service not being available in all the areas you want it, LTE also sometimes caused a significant battery drain on devices compared to traditional (slower) cellular networks. The battery life issue was so bad at one point that people resorted to turning off LTE on their Android phones to conserve power.
Technology has improved in the last year or two, and the recent release iPhone 5 with LTE support is accelerating adoption of this so-called "4G" networking. Some claim the battery life issues are fully resolved and people should no longer notice any difference when running on LTE vs. older 3G systems. What's your take?
I have the iPhone 5 and I have noticed tremendous battery drain with LTE on or off so definitely Apple needs to fix his problem quick.
I just wanted to add that I have the iPhone 5 as well, and the battery drain is significant when using the LTE, but then again, I live in an area where LTE is hard to get (switches from LTE to 3G all the time) so the phone probably is using more energy trying to find which radio tower to tether itself to.
I just turned LTE off after losing over 60% of my battery in 5 hrs with no phone calls and just texting and browsing the Internet. On 3G it’s not doing much better- Not Happy!
iphone 5
with LTE enabled (minimal use – occasional email, ipod via headphones, 4-5 x 5min calls, mostly standby) 0% remaining@ 8.5hrs before battery depleted.
Now, With LTE disabled, same use, same locations, 74% remaining@6.5hrs
location = Australia. LTE coverage good, but majority of day spent in an area where LTE drops back to 3g around 5-6times per day.
LTE speed = 14Mb down, 18up. 3g speed= 4mb down, 0.2 up.
Significant Battery drain occurs when my phone has to switch many times from 3G to LTE. I am in an area where LTE is not reliable. If I use the phone normally it is usually dead before 4 PM. If I switch off LTE battery life is extended to that of my iPhone 4.
Samsung Galaxy S3
Battery use is nowhere near Samsung claims. I can’t make it through the day (with light use only) on LTE. Turning it off now! God do I miss my BB Bold 9700; it would last 7-10 days (with auto on/off at night) even after 2 years.