iPhone SE (2016) Bad battery life on the new iPhone SE

[dsr2]

Picked this up at it’s launch cause I wanted a smaller phone to carry. Now, I didn’t expect to have the battery life of the bigger models, but I am finding the battery draining at a fast pace for very modest usage. This morning I did a 30 min workout stream from Peleton and one or two texts and the battery went from 100 to 77. Is that normal for that usage?

Am I doing something wrong? The phone is very snappy, but I am very disappointed in the battery life.

 

[chrfr]

Picked this up at it’s launch cause I wanted a smaller phone to carry. Now, I didn’t expect to have the battery life of the bigger models, but I am finding the battery draining at a fast pace for very modest usage. This morning I did a 30 min workout stream from Peleton and one or two texts and the battery went from 100 to 77. Is that normal for that usage?

Am I doing something wrong? The phone is very snappy, but I am very disappointed in the battery life.

What phone were you using before, and how did the battery compare in similar usage?

 

[dsr2]

What phone were you using before, and how did the battery compare in similar usage?

11 pro and although I didn’t really a ton of attention, it seemed that phone battery did not drop so precipitously so fast.

 

[chrfr]

11 pro and although I didn’t really a ton of attention, it seemed that phone battery did not drop so precipitously so fast.

The 11 Pro is rated for several hours longer battery life than the SE, so that you're getting much worse life should be no surprise. I think the Pro is at something like 50% more battery life but I can't find where I might have read that.

 

[rui no onna]

The 11 Pro is rated for several hours longer battery life than the SE, so that you're getting much worse life should be no surprise. I think the Pro is at something like 50% more battery life but I can't find where I might have read that.

Yep. iPhone 11 Pro has 3046 mAh battery while the iPhone SE2 has 1821 mAh.

I expect battery is a large part of the reason why the 11 Pro is 188g while the SE2 is only 148g.

23% for 30 minutes of video streaming seems high. What was your screen brightness? If it was 100% or close to it, then yeah, that's probably normal.

 

[snipr125]

I can get around 2 days battery usage on my iPhone SE with fairly moderate usage (mainly using WhatsApp, texting, checking on macrumours and also Instagram). if you start watching videos for extended times then it will tax the battery quickly so you have to bare this in mind. Your better off using an iPad if you have one for video streams like peloton, Netflix, utube etc.

 

[Harris Tweedale]

I am very satisfied with SE battery life. No problem getting through the day.

 

[rui no onna]

Watching on my iPhone SE.

Streaming 30 minutes of Witcher S1E1 on Netflix's lowest quality setting on LTE (wifi off) and 50% screen brightness, battery dropped from 100% to 90%.

 

[Tsepz]

11 pro and although I didn’t really a ton of attention, it seemed that phone battery did not drop so precipitously so fast.

Yeeeah, you are definitely going to see a significant battery life drop coming from the 11 Pro, the battery size difference is incredibly significant. The 11 Pro is more of a 1.5-2day phone whereas the SE2 seems to be more of a 1 day type affair, depending on usage. Maybe try use Low Power Mode?

Yep. iPhone 11 Pro has 3046 mAh battery while the iPhone SE2 has 1821 mAh.

I expect battery is a large part of the reason why the 11 Pro is 188g while the SE2 is only 148g.

23% for 30 minutes of video streaming seems high. What was your screen brightness? If it was 100% or close to it, then yeah, that's probably normal.

Exactly.

The SE2 body comes from an era where Apple was obsessed with how thin the phone was, so they could probably not fit a larger battery hence they used the same as the iPhone 8 battery.

 

[JagRunner]

It's kind of expected. It has a super small battery.

I would wear that thing out in 4 hours lol

 

[cbreze]

My SE battery has been really good. I knew going in the small size battery was a trade off for the smaller sized phone. But wasn’t worried because I don’t stream more than 15 min or so at a time. It has so far lived up to my expectations as expected. Coming from an iPhone 7 which is basically the same sans the better chip I knew what to expect. The 7 had excellent battery life as well. Really love the pocketable size, best feature!

 

[rui no onna]

My SE battery has been really good. I knew going in the small size battery was a trade off for the smaller sized phone. But wasn’t worried because I don’t stream more than 15 min or so at a time. It has so far lived up to my expectations as expected. Coming from an iPhone 7 which is basically the same sans the better chip I knew what to expect. The 7 had excellent battery life as well. Really love the pocketable size, best feature!

I actually find the iPhone SE2 to have better battery life compared to the iPhone 7.

Back when my iPhone 7 was new running iOS 10, I'd get home with 30-40% left with light usage.

On the iPhone SE2, I usually still have 60-70% when I get home with the same usage and settings.

I know bigger phones have better battery life but I'm not willing to sacrifice pocketability, either. Granted, 11 Pro is probably gonna be pocketable for me if paired with an ultrathin case. Probably still too heavy and will drag down the pocket, though.

 

[ACG12]

Do yourself a favor and get the smart battery case. My battery life is amazing with it and no issues with having to find a charger all day.

 

[Ryguy18]

I'm not familiar but what is a Peleton workout stream. Is this streaming a live workout video to your phone screen via safari or a Peleton app?

YMMV - I notice third party steaming apps can be a huge battery drain.

 

[JagRunner]

I'm not familiar but what is a Peleton workout stream. Is this streaming a live workout video to your phone screen via safari or a Peleton app?

YMMV - I notice third party steaming apps can be a huge battery drain.

They have an app where you can stream workout classes like cyling and running.

I have the bike but the monitor is connected to the bike. I don't use my phone.

 

[tonybarnaby]

Do yourself a favor and get the smart battery case. My battery life is amazing with it and no issues with having to find a charger all day.

How long does it last?

 

[cbreze]

Those battery cases work great. I used one on an 6s I used to have.
The big problem for me was the added bulk and weight, it got annoying after awhile but in certain cases like on a trip away from power sources it would be a nice option.
90% of what caused me to get the S.E. was the nice svelte size and weight ratio. Having a battery case on all the time would certainly kibosh that

 

[chrfr]

Do yourself a favor and get the smart battery case. My battery life is amazing with it and no issues with having to find a charger all day.

Of course the SE + Smart Battery Case outweighs the 11 Pro the OP started out having, so getting the case would seem to be rather counterproductive since the goal was to end up with a smaller phone.

 

[TechLord]

If you're a heavy user and used to any of the 11 series battery it won't be a great experience. I was charging my 8 twice a day at times and the SE is meant to be "about the same". On the flip side, it'll be an all-day phone with light/average use which is the group most people fall in; and the battery is so small it should charge pretty quick, especially if you grab an 18w fast charger.

Best thing I can suggest is lower the brightness and use low power mode if you don't already. Also check if there's any background apps which are utilising a lot of battery. Other than that, get a fast charger. If your battery doesn't last long enough, at the very least you can charge it quicker as an alternative.

 

[rui no onna]

If you're a heavy user and used to any of the 11 series battery it won't be a great experience. I was charging my 8 twice a day at times and the SE is meant to be "about the same". On the flip side, it'll be an all-day phone with light/average use which is the group most people fall in; and the battery is so small it should charge pretty quick, especially if you grab an 18w fast charger.

For that matter, the 12W iPad charger will charge the SE2 just as quickly as an 18W fast charger.

 

[TechLord]

The 12W iPad charger will charge the SE2 just as quickly as an 18W fast charger.

Why is that, is it not capable of using the full 18W?

 

[rui no onna]

Why is that, is it not capable of using the full 18W?

Apple's definition of fast charging is 50% in 30 minutes. If 18W can do that for devices with much bigger batteries, you obviously need less for the SE which only has just 1/2 - 2/3 the battery capacity. Apple probably limits the charging speed for long term battery health.

I actually ran some tests on my SE2 and the difference between 12W and 18W to me falls within the margin of error.

% Charge vs Time

Anker 18W charger
USB-C to Lightning

​

 

[ACG12]

Of course the SE + Smart Battery Case outweighs the 11 Pro the OP started out having, so getting the case would seem to be rather counterproductive since the goal was to end up with a smaller phone.

How is it counterproductive? Do you use your phones caseless? If not, the smart battery case isn’t as big as you think.
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How long does it last?

12+ hours with light-medium use between the case and phone batteries combined.

 

[ian87w]

Well, I think we learn something here. Smaller battery gives less battery life.

 

[1rottenapple]

OP just fast charge it afterwards. That’s my recommendation. Get an anker battery pack with pd or an ac adapter with usb-c. Fast charge it while taking a shower after your workout assuming.