Samsung Galaxy S4 Battery Life: My Handset Lasted On Battery Power For Nearly Two Days

Pesky issues like excessive battery drain have not stopped the Samsung Galaxy S4 from selling more than 10 million handsets in just one month since its release.

While some users have had trouble with the Galaxy S4's massive 2,600 mAh Li-Ion battery, such as power quickly exhausting overnight, others have faired well, especially when they follow tips for conserving battery power on a Galaxy S4 handset.

We have compiled a list of the 10 best ways to maximize battery power on your Samsung Galaxy S4 handset, which you can find at “Samsung Galaxy S4 Review: 5 Ways To Maximize Battery Power” and “Samsung Galaxy S4 Review: 5 More Ways To Maximize Battery Power.”

As a Samsung Galaxy S4 owner for a little under one month, I haven't had any trouble maintaining battery life on my handset for extended periods. I would consider myself an average user. For communication, I favor texts over phone calls and send a considerable number daily. I check social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter and access the Internet with data a few times daily, and I also play the addictive game of my choice during commutes. On any given day I will check my email or use GPS to find a location at least once. I also use my phone for regular note taking, such as creating to-do lists and jotting down things I need to remember.

Of the 10 battery conserving techniques we've listed, I follow eight of them regularly, including: only using Wi-Fi and data when needed, not syncing my email accounts, regulating my extra features and screen brightness, utilizing power-saving mode, limiting my use of location services, home screen widgets, live wallpapers and fancy ringtones and unplugging my handset when at 100 percent charge. The only reason I don't follow all 10 is because I don't own an external battery and I often forget to place my phone on Airplane mode when I am out of signal.

At my best, I have gone nearly two days in between charges, but I average between 16 and 24 hours between charges. Check out some screen captures taken at random showing my battery life at various states of usage and various points of the day.

May 9: Day after purchase

May 14: Overnight test - before

May 15: Overnight test - after

May 20: Random day of average use

May 21: Heavy data usage

May 23: Moderate data usage

May 29: Longest discharge to date

The most important measure to conserve power is to leave my handset discharged overnight, regardless of whether I have charged it during the day. I have yet to see my handset drop in power more than 10 percent overnight. Many Samsung Galaxy S4 users report being happy with between eight and 10 hours of battery power during an average day; however, there is no reason a user shouldn't be able to aim for upwards of 16 hours.

We encourage you to use some or all of our battery-saving tips in order to get the most out of your Samsung Galaxy S4. You may surprise yourself with how long your handset can can go between charges.