What do people want from a smartphone? More than camera quality, processor speed or brand, what they really want is long battery life. When asked about the importance of features, 89% cited battery life as "important", with only 11% citing it as "neutral" or "not important", according to an online panel of 1,000 Britons.
Brand name was next, at 68% (with 26% rating brand as "neutral"), followed by processor speed, at 67% (with 25% neutral). The survey revealed that peoples’ concerns over battery life means that half of them turn off Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or GPS location services when they’re not needed. Turning down screen brightness – one of the most effective methods of preserving battery power – was used by 40%.
Although all those surveyed had a smartphone, only 5% carried a spare battery, and 4% had a case with a spare battery built in. Half of users charged their phone once a day; 10% charged it more than once a day. A third charged it every two to three days.
Such tactics meant that 60% didn’t run out of power ever – or only had such problems at most once a fortnight. But they tended to be older users; among the 18-24 group, 29% said that they ran out of power at least once a day while needing to do something, and then had to recharge their phones.