Sometimes it feels like, in the rush to make phones slimmer and more powerful, battery life gets lost in the shuffle.
Fortunately, there are still a number of solid devices out there to choose from that won’t leave you high and dry halfway through the afternoon. Here are our picks for phones with the best battery life.
For those who want the ultimate smartphone camera experience, might we suggest the Huawei P20 Pro? While the P20 Pro is every bit the performance powerhouse you’d expect, the real magic is in its triple camera array, allowing you get excellent shots in just about any situation.
While the camera may be the marquee feature on the Huawei P20 Pro, it’s 4,000mAh capacity battery is nothing to balk at. During our review, we were easily able to eek out two days of moderate use on the phone. And when you’re ready to charge, Huawei’s SuperCharge system will get your phone charged completely within 90 minutes. Sadly, it’s not available in the U.S., so Americans might want to look at the Huawei Mate 10 Pro instead — it also offers two-day battery life.
The Razer Phone might be the number one choice for media-enthusiasts thanks to its Dolby Atmos speakers, 120Hz display, and HDR support — but it’s also a strong contender for its battery life. There’s a huge 4,000mAh battery hidden underneath all of the Razer branding, and with the extreme focus on gaming and media consumption, it’s easy to see why Razer thought it would be a good idea to max out on battery life.
Run some games at the phone’s top performance with the 120Hz refresh rate and you’ll see that battery quickly disappear. But that doesn’t have to be the case if you’re not such a heavy gamer. Drop the phone’s refresh rate down using the inbuilt settings, game a little less, and you should get yourself close to two days lifetime out of this battery, while still getting the benefit of the strong (and very loud) speaker system and stunning HDR display. A gaming phone might not be your first thought when seeking a battery-focused device, but the Razer Phone is certainly a contender.
As TCL’s latest BlackBerry-branded handset, the BlackBerry Key2 combines gorgeous design with capable specs. And let’s not forget the awesome physical keyboard and BlackBerry suite of productivity apps that earned this phone our Editor’s Choice award.
You’ll find a chunky 3,500mAh battery inside the Key2. The battery along with its smaller screen and BlackBerry optimized software means you’ll have no problem making it through a day of heavy use. If you do find yourself running on empty, the Key2 supports Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0, meaning you can add hours to your battery life in just 15 minutes.
If you’ve grown tired of the iPhone or Samsung Galaxy, might we suggest giving the Sony Xperia XZ2 a look? In addition to its interesting ergonomic design, the XZ2 is a performance powerhouse with a Snapdragon 845 chip alongside 4GB of RAM.
The Xperia XZ2 packs a 3,180mAh battery. Sure, it’s not the biggest battery we’ve seen by a long shot, but you should have no problem making through a day of heavy use with plenty of juice to spare. In addition to offering excellent battery life, the XZ2 also supports Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0, as well as wireless charging.
Apple’s iPhones haven’t generally been known for their long battery life, but that doesn’t mean that they’re a disappointment on the battery front. If you’re dedicated to picking up an iPhone, but still want strong battery life, then you’re always going to be picking up one of the Plus models. Apple’s iPhone 8 Plus may not be the most advanced model out there now, thanks to the iPhone X, but it does have a big, strong battery and Apple’s usual world-beating specs.
It’s not the largest battery available on a recent iPhone — the iPhone X and the iPhone 7 Plus trump it in terms of sheer size — but the combination of a more efficient processor than the iPhone 7 Plus and a smaller screen than the iPhone X means that the iPhone 8 Plus generally comes out on top when battery life is a concern. After a day of heavy usage involving taking pictures, watching videos, streaming music, and browsing the web, we’d get home at 6.30 p.m. with around 40 percent battery still available. That’s well within the bounds of most flagship phones, and an impressive performance for a phone with a smaller battery than most. Thanks to the addition of a glass back panel, you can also wirelessly charge it back up again once it’s finally drained.
If you’re looking for a budget phone that can get you through the day, and then some, you may want to check out the Moto E5 Plus. The phone is Motorola’s latest budget option, featuring a 6-inch HD display along with 32GB of storage and 3GB of RAM.
The Moto E5 Plus packs a huge 5,000mAh battery that should last for about 36 hours. During our review, we were easily able to make it through a day of heavy use, with plenty of charge to spare. Should you find yourself running low on battery, you’ll find a 15W charger in the box that will add six hours of use in just 15 minutes.
In addition to a host of budget phones released this year, Motorola also released its latest Z-series phone. The Moto Z3 Play packs a 6.01-inch AMOLED display along with a Snapdragon 636 chip and 4GB of RAM into a super-slim 0.25-inch chassis. You’ll also find the requisite pogo pins on the back of the phone, making it easy to snap Moto Mods to its back.
The Moto Z3 Play packs the same 3,000mAh battery as its predecessor. During our tests were able to make it through a day of heavy use with 50 percent battery capacity to spare. If you want to push the limits of your battery even further, the phone comes with a Moto Mod Power Pack that adds an additional 2,28mAh battery to the mix.
Need a rugged and waterproof phone that can stand up to just about anything? While Caterpillar may not be the first name you think of, the Cat S61 smartphone can handle just about anything you subject it to. In addition to having all the features you’d expect to find on a typical smartphone, the S61 also offers a thermal imaging camera as well as an indoor air quality sensor.
In addition to its hearty shell, the Cat S61 has a huge 4,650mAh battery to boot. During our review, we found the phone could easily handle two days of normal use between charges. If you find yourself running low on battery, the phone supports Quick Charge 3.0, giving you a few hours of light use in just 15 minutes.
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What's happened? This week, China's Quality Certification Center released information about a battery (EB-BS04898ABY) with a maximum capacity of 4,855mAh. That's the same capacity as was previously seen in the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, and fans have taken this certification to mean the Galaxy S26 Ultra will not see a capacity increase after all.
The Samsung Galaxy Ultra models have had the same battery capacity for the last five years.
What's happened? Samsung has officially announced the Galaxy Tab S10 Lite, a budget-friendly alternative to the Galaxy Tab S10. The device has been rumored for months, but this is the first time Samsung has officially acknowledged its existence.
The Galaxy Tab S10 Lite will have a 10.9-inch display and a peak brightness of 600 nits — a bit on the lower side, versus the iPad Pro's maximum brightness of 1,600 nits.