Let's talk battery life - which phone will fit the requirements?

[Shortfromthemountain]

Right, at the moment I'm in the process of browsing the current smartphone market for a new phone. My 3 year old HTC Desire has entered an steep downward spiral when it comes to it's health. I need a new phone.

One of my main concerns with the Desire HD is it's battery life, it's rubbish. If I take the a 2-hour train ride back home with ~60 or ~70% battery life left, and I spent the majority of the trip browsing my phone, it's empty by the time I arrive. Also the camera produces some really boring, flat-colored pictures. Naturally I would like my new phone to excel in these two features.

My own definition of 'good' battery life is as follows: I would like to wake up in the morning, say 8 am, unplug it from the charger, use it for about 3 to 4 hours during the day (some browsing, texting, maybe some photos, and have plenty ( > 30%) battery life left by the time I go to bed at around midnight. Ideally if it's going to be a late night (clubbing, all-nighter, etcetera) I would like the phone to last 'till the next morning. Basically I just don't want to have the same Desire HD 2-hour train ride scenario described above.

So, what type of phones should I look for this time of year?
It'll probably be one of the high end models, like the S4, HTC One, Xperia Z, iPhone 5 ; i usually do not trust tech site reviews when it comes to battery life, user reviews are for more valuable.

TL;DR What phone will last me all day from 8 am till midnight, ideally till ~5 am in the morning if I'm going out, with moderate to heavy use ?

 

[Doonoohardware]

Look at this chart.

 

[DeNachtwacht]

You first have to make the decision which OS you want. All iPhones have a quite nice battery life, though it is not really exceptional. On Android, I don't know which devices have good battery life, but for Windows Phone I'd advice the Nokia Lumia 720. This one easily gets 2 days without a charge.

Furthermore, if you really want good batterylife you need to tweak you phone. If you don't use internet via 3G, set your network to 2G, this is a HUGE battery saver. Every OS has its own tweaks but its important that you check them.

 

[rawraj]

You first have to make the decision which OS you want. All iPhones have a quite nice battery life, though it is not really exceptional. On Android, I don't know which devices have good battery life, but for Windows Phone I'd advice the Nokia Lumia 720. This one easily gets 2 days without a charge.

Furthermore, if you really want good batterylife you need to tweak you phone. If you don't use internet via 3G, set your network to 2G, this is a HUGE battery saver. Every OS has its own tweaks but its important that you check them.

Please an Iphone does not fit into the category of a nice battery. Otherwise there would not have been battery packs for it.
The iphone has a better battery life in comparison to the mah. basically an Iphone that has a 1420 Mah battery may last the same as an android phone that has a 1850 mah battery. But thats only because of the ecosystem.
lets not get into that.
The fact is that Android phones have better larger batteries and are smaller/thinner and weight much lesser than the iphones.
I own a Huawei Ascend mate but I would not recommend it as it has a homebrewed CPU and GPU that does not work well with games. I still have a phillips E122 for talking( a dual sim regular phone) I used the Ascend Mate only to browse.
the screen is huge 6.1 But I like it because I can code on it. This can last for 2 days with a decent usage.(with GPS and Data on all the time. If I enable Battery saver x then it gives me 3 days)
But it only has a full usage life is only 9 hours that means you can watch 9 hours of movie browsing or talk time.


I would recommend the Lenovo P780. I might buy it just waiting for the S860 from Lenovo again, Which seems to be the succesor They both have a massive 4000 Mah battery.
It costs a fraction of what an Iphone costs and it performs well.
Lenovo are known for optimized battery life. In comparison the Ascend mate it claims a 24 hour talk time(3g)
Stand by time is a ridiculous 840 h
It Says power Bank like the Ascend Mate which means you can charge other phones with an OTG cable.

The Lenovo is 5.5 or 5.3 Its smaller.
The Mate 2 is coming but the only improvement seems to be a higher clock speed and 4G.
I like the back of the Mate its self healing back. I have not protection on my ascend Mate I just put in my pocket with my keys and no scratches brand as new.

I am hoping the S860 has the same back. But I doubt it. I am not yet buying the Lenovo phones cause I am hoping someone release a huge batter phone with a scratch/dust/water proof back and front with a 4000 mah battery, Yeah I am a dreamer .

Now apart from these if you want a branded phone check out the HTC they have a great battery life. Don't let the lower Mah fool you they last longer than an Iphone too.
I think HTC one max has a 3300 mah batter but lasts as long as the Lenovo and Ascend. But its almost double the price.
There is a HTC one M8 which has a 2200 battery but like I said even if the battery is low it gives a pretty good time of 14 hours more than the ascend mate.