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While smartphones keep getting better, one aspect that can sometimes seem forgotten about is battery life, with many handsets prioritising slimmer builds over big batteries.
But there are some phones that have great battery life, and we’ve come up with a list of ten of the very best ones that are widely available in the UK.
The good news is, you don’t even have to buy a flagship to get a long-lasting handset – some budget phones have some of the biggest batteries, so you’ll find handsets at a range of prices here, covering everything from the top-end Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra and iPhone 11 Pro Max, to the very affordable Moto G8 Power, among many others.
Capacity: 4,500mAh | Official life: all-day | Charging power: 25W wired / 15W wireless
The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra has a 4,500mAh battery, and while that’s not the biggest battery in this list it is bigger than the ones in some of the phones below. So why doesn’t the Note 20 Ultra rank better? Simply because with its massive 6.9-inch 1440 x 3088 screen it takes a lot of power to keep it lit up.
Even so, this is quite a long-lasting phone. You’ll easily get a day out of it at the very least, and that’s with fairly heavy use.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra also has reasonably speedy 25W charging, plus wireless charging and reverse wireless charging.
Other than its big screen and battery credentials, the main selling point of the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra is its handy S Pen stylus, but this is a phone that’s full of features, including a high-end chipset, 12GB of RAM, a triple-lens camera (with a 108MP main snapper), and plenty more besides.
In most top ten lists it would rank higher than this, but for battery it’s simply very good, rather than the best.
Read our Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra review
Capacity: 3,969mAh | Official life: 20 hours of video playback | Charging power: 18W wired / Qi wireless
The iPhone 11 Pro Max is the best iPhone available at the time of writing, which is all many people will need to hear before making their buying decision, but it also sports the best battery life of any current iPhone.
It has a 3,969mAh battery, which is marginally smaller than the juice packs of most phones in this list, but Apple makes it go a long way, delivering up to five hours more life than its predecessor, the iPhone XS Max.
That in practice means it’s easy to get over a day from this phone and conservative users could get two days at a push.
Of course, being the best iPhone there’s also plenty of other stuff to like here. The iPhone 11 Pro Max has tons of power, thanks to Apple’s A13 Bionic chipset, which is arguably the best one used in any 2019 handset and even a rival for the best of 2020.
It also has a great 6.5-inch 1242 x 2688 screen, brilliant triple-lens cameras, advanced facial recognition, and of course iOS, making it a top choice for anyone who prefers Apple’s smartphone operating system to Google’s.
Capacity: 4,300mAh | Official life: a full day | Charging power: 30W wired
The OnePlus 8 isn’t even the OnePlus phone with the best battery life – you’ll find that below, but with its 4,300mAh juice pack it certainly impresses, no doubt helped by its 6.55-inch screen, which at 1080 x 2400 is sharp but not packing as many pixels as some phones, so should be lighter on the battery.
With average use this should see you beyond a day, but it won’t stretch to two. That puts it in the same category as a number of phones with above average battery life. There’s also 30W fast charging, so you can juice it up quickly, but there’s no wireless charging.
Beyond the battery, other reasons to recommend the OnePlus 8 include its top-end power, with a Snapdragon 865 chipset at its heart, and its support for 5G. The phone also packs a capable triple-lens camera, a stylish design, up to 12GB of RAM, and up to 256GB of storage.
Capacity: 4,500mAh | Official life: 24 hours of video playback | Charging power: 25W wired
As part of Samsung’s slightly confusing A range, the Galaxy A70 is a phone that’s easy to overlook, but that would be a mistake, especially if you want great battery life from a mid-range handset.
It has a 4,500mAh battery, allowing it to just about stretch to two days of life if you’re a fairly light user. And impressively it also supports fast charging, which is something you don’t always get outside the top-end.
Other highlights of the Samsung Galaxy A70 include a big 6.7-inch 1080 x 2400 screen, a triple-lens rear camera, an in-screen fingerprint scanner and a fairly high-end design.
The power is mid-range, but in most other ways this phone isn’t far off a flagship, and it has most flagships beat for battery life.
Read our Samsung Galaxy A70 review
Capacity: 4,500mAh | Official life: all day | Charging power: 25W wired / 15W wireless
The Samsung Galaxy S20 Plus is a phone that should need no introduction, after all it’s part of the most high-profile Android range, and it’s the second best of that range, both in terms of battery and other things.
It has a 4,500mAh battery, which is enough to beat out most but not all other phones, and battery life generally follows suit. You can get close to two days of life with frugal use, but if you’re a heavy user, or make a lot of use of the 120Hz refresh rate (which can be disabled) or 5G, then life drops, but you should still comfortably get a day.
It’s a shame that two of the key features hit the battery life so much, but at least you have the choice of whether to use them or not, and the S20 Plus does support both fast and wireless charging (as well as reverse wireless charging) so you have plenty of powering options.
You also get a great 6.7-inch 1440 x 3200 screen, top-tier power, a brilliant quad-lens camera and most other flagship bells and whistles.
Capacity: 4,200mAh | Official life: not stated | Charging power: 40W wired / 27W wireless
The Huawei P40 Pro is the latest and greatest Huawei flagship at the time of writing, and on the battery front you’re looking at a 4,200mAh juice pack, which isn’t as big as some phones in this list, but in our tests we found it could realistically reach two days of life, which is an impressive figure.
The Huawei P40 Pro also supports fast charging, with or without wires, so it juices up quickly, and there’s 27W reverse wireless charging too, so it works as a capable charging pad for other devices.
Beyond the battery you get a 6.58-inch 1200 x 2640 screen, a powerful Kirin 990 chipset, a great quad-lens camera, and a sumptuous design. As with other recent Huawei handsets though, there’s no Google apps or services here, which is something to bear in mind if you’re considering a purchase.
Read our Huawei P40 Pro review
Capacity: 4,510mAh | Official life: not stated | Charging power: 30W wired / 30W wireless
The OnePlus 8 Pro is the first OnePlus phone to support wireless charging, and it does so at 30W speeds, so you can juice it up fast even without a cable.
That’s good, because at 4,510mAh the OnePlus 8 Pro can store a lot of juice, and that allows it to last well over a day even if you push it hard. With lighter use even a second day of life is feasible.
The OnePlus 8 Pro also excels in a number of other areas, so it’s a great buy whatever you want from your phone. It has a sharp 6.78-inch screen with a slick 120Hz refresh rate, a quad-lens camera, top-end power provided by a Snapdragon 865 chipset, up to 12GB of RAM, water resistance (another first for a OnePlus phone), and a stylish design.
Read our OnePlus 8 Pro review
Capacity: 4,500mAh | Official life: 24 hours of video playback | Charging power: 25W wired
The Samsung Galaxy A90 5G isn’t quite a match for the Galaxy S20 or S20 Plus in most ways, but it has them beat when it comes to battery life, as it has a big 4,500mAh battery, paired with a less sharp 1080 x 2400 screen, so it’s not as power-hungry.
The Galaxy A90 5G can therefore last up to around two days between charges if you’re careful – though that figure is likely to go down if you’re using 5G. It doesn’t support wireless charging, but does support 25W fast charging.
The Samsung Galaxy A90 5G also has a high – but not quite top – end Snapdragon 855 chipset, plus up to 8GB of RAM, and a triple-lens camera, so it’s slightly lower end than some phones in this list, but has most beat for battery.
Capacity: 5,000mAh | Official life: all day | Charging power: 45W wired / 15W wireless
The Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra is the ultimate, no-compromise flagship, and that includes the battery, which is an enormous 5,000mAh.
That gives this phone a whole lot of life, though using advanced features like its 120Hz screen and 5G can lessen this somewhat.
Still, most users will be able to go a long time between charges, and with 45W wired or 15W wireless charging you can power back up quickly. You can also make the most of that substantial juice pack by using the Galaxy S20 Ultra as a wireless charging mat to juice up other devices.
Elsewhere, the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra has top-end power, a quad-lens camera led by a remarkable 108MP sensor, a massive 6.9-inch 1440 x 3200 screen, and just about everything else you might reasonably want from a phone.
Read our Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra review
Capacity: 5,000mAh | Official life: Up to three days | Charging power: 15W wired
The Moto G8 Power is not one of the most exciting phones on this list, as it’s lower end than most. But that means it’s cheaper, and it has them all beat for battery life.
It has a 5,000mAh battery, matching the largest other options on this list, but paired with a less powerful phone, so it lasts longer.
Specifically, the Moto G8 Power should be able to get you through two days or more between charges – Motorola claims it can actually manage up to three, which is a remarkably long time. It’s not the fastest at charging, and there’s no wireless charging, but its longevity more than makes up for that.
Other specs include a 6.4-inch 1080 x 2300 screen, a mid-range Snapdragon 665 chipset, 4GB of RAM, and a quad-lens camera, so not a bad assortment of specs, especially considering the price, but it’s the battery you’ll really be buying this phone for.
So there you have it, ten of the longest lasting phones around. In tenth place we have the massive Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, then in ninth it’s the longest lasting iPhone: the iPhone 11 Pro Max.
The OnePlus 8 is an affordable flagship in eighth place, then the even more affordable Samsung Galaxy A70 takes seventh. Next, there’s the top-end Samsung Galaxy S20 Plus, Huawei P40 Pro and OnePlus 8 Pro in sixth, fifth and fourth respectively,
The Samsung Galaxy A90 5G is one of the cheapest ways to get 5G, and it also has brilliant battery life, taking third place in our list, followed by the stunning Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra in second. That phone will cost you a lot, but the Moto G8 Power won’t, and that’s the best choice overall for battery life.
So there should be something for everyone here, but any of these phones will last you a long time between charges.
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