iPhone 12 discharges in hours on 5G networks

The first reviews of the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro are out today. One of the key things that journalists have paid attention to is autonomy: despite Apple’s statements, one should hardly expect the same battery life that smartphones of the previous generation could boast. It’s all the fault of the actively advertised 5G support.
According to Apple’s official data, the iPhone 12 mini has the lowest rates:
 

• video playback – up to 15 hours;
• watching a video in streaming mode – up to 10 hours;
• audio playback – up to 50 hours.

The iPhone 12 and 12 Pro do better:

• video playback – up to 17 hours;
• watching a video in streaming mode – up to 11 hours;
• audio playback – up to 65 hours.

Largest iPhone 12 Pro Max Delivers Longest Battery Life :

• video playback – up to 20 hours;
• watching a video in streaming mode – up to 12 hours;
• audio playback – up to 80 hours.

According to journalist Patrick Holland from CNet, the battery life of the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro is enough to use the smartphone for 1.5 days in normal mode. He also ran a battery test with video playback: in airplane mode (no wireless connection) and with a screen brightness of 50%. The iPhone 12 Pro lasted 15 hours 56 minutes, while the regular iPhone 12lasted 17 hours and 14 minutes, which is roughly in line with Apple’s claims. However, the problems start with the use of 5G – a new feature of this smartphone family.
 
Nilay Patel of The Verge wrote: “Checking the battery life of the iPhone 12 Pro was probably the hardest thing to do since I live far from 5G coverage and I returned to New York for just one day to film a panoramic video. But on that one day, it seemed to me that the iPhone 12 Pro’s battery drained much faster than I expected. After about 2.5 hours of the screen, I had only 18% of the charge left. Of course, we’ve used 5G a lot for testing, and in addition, using the millimeter-wave (mmWave ) will drain the battery even faster, so it’s hard to tell how normal this is. I asked Apple and I was told that the company estimated that people would be able to use the machine all day. With my current self-isolation, where I use Wi-Fi almost all the time, this certainly seems like a reasonable estimate. But overall, I think the battery life of the iPhone 12 Pro will vary greatly for people depending on how actively they use 5G, especially mmWave 5G. I would definitely not expect the same battery life as the iPhone 11.”
 
The journalist also noted that advertising for 5G has not yet particularly justified itself: in New York, Verizon’s “nationwide 5G coverage” in the sub-6 GHz band (Sub-6) is mostly working fine. The network is fast, although the iPhone 11 Pro on AT&T LTE can provide similar performance in many cases. The mmWave mode did not impress the journalist at all: the connection is very unstable. Yes, in good conditions near the communication tower, the device provided up to 2 Gbps for downloads and 40 Mbps for downloads, but it was worth moving back 30 meters, and the smartphone switched to normal 5G mode. What’s more, using mmWave definitely caused the phone to heat up and the battery felt to drain faster. By the way, Engadget employee Chris Velazco also pointed out a slightly decreased battery life.
 
At the same time, Apple includes only a short and therefore not particularly convenient Lightning – USB-C cable in the kit, and also no longer equips its smartphones with chargers. According to Apple, it has already produced 2 billion power adapters for the iPhone (but at the same time it forgets to mention that about 90% of this figure has a USB-A connector, not USB-C, so an adapter will be needed). If the problem with autonomy when working with 5G really shows up noticeably, owners will have to think about buying a convenient charger – for example, wireless, with a MagSafe interface.

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