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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 12 Pro Max, to the very affordable Moto G8 Power and OnePlus Nord N100, 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: 3,687mAh | Official life: 20 hours of video playback | Charging power: 20W wired / 15W wireless
The iPhone 12 Pro Max doesn’t have the biggest of batteries, coming in at just 3,687mAh (at least, according to reports – Apple never reveals the battery size). Yet despite that it lasts quite a long time, with Apple claiming you’ll get up to 20 hours of local video playback from it, or up to 12 hours of streamed video, or up to 80 hours of audio.
In all cases those are impressive stats, and should translate to over a day of life in general use, though this isn’t likely to match the very longest lasting phones further down on this list.
The iPhone 12 Pro Max also supports 20W wired charging or 15W wireless charging, and with its MagSafe tech you can get chargers to magnetically connect to the back, to ensure they’re lined up right.
Battery aside, the iPhone 12 Pro Max has a lot to recommend about it, including a quad-lens camera, a seriously durable build (with water resistance to depths of 6 metres, and Ceramic Shield protection for the screen), a 6.7-inch 1284 x 2778 OLED display, a premium design and an enormous amount of power, from its class-leading A14 Bionic chipset. A chipset which is also designed to be as power efficient as possible.
Capacity: 4,500mAh | Official life: all day | Charging power: 65W wired
The OnePlus 8T isn’t the OnePlus phone with the best battery life, but thanks to a 4,500mAh juice pack it’s still very good – and it also benefits from 65W charging, so you can power it up remarkably quickly too.
It will in general last a day comfortably, and while it’s unlikely to stretch to two days, its battery life is still above average. Plus, that 65W charging means you can get it from zero to 58% in just 15 minutes, or all the way to 100% in a mere 39 minutes. There’s no wireless charging, but with speeds like these that hardly matters.
Beyond its battery, highlights of the OnePlus 8T include a high-end Snapdragon 865 chipset, up to 12GB of RAM, support for 5G, a quad-lens camera, and a 120Hz refresh rate on its 6.55-inch 1080 x 2400 screen.
Read our OnePlus 8T 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
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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 almost all of them 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 than most, 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.
Capacity: 5,000mAh | Official life: TBC | Charging power: 18W
The One Plus Nord has the same size battery as the Moto G8 Power, but we’re giving it the edge because it has a lower resolution 720 x 1600 screen, so is likely to draw less power in the first place.
Other than battery size it’s a slightly lower end phone all round than the Moto G8 Power, so it’s an incredibly affordable way to get excellent battery life.
It has a 6.52-inch screen, a triple-lens camera with a 13MP main sensor, a 2MP depth one, and a 2MP macro one, an 8MP selfie snapper, 18W charging, a low-end Snapdragon 460 chipset, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of storage. Unlike other recent OnePlus phones this doesn’t support 5G, but you still get a lot for your money.
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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 12 Pro Max.
The OnePlus 8T is an affordable flagship in eighth place, then the less affordable Samsung Galaxy S20 Plus takes seventh, followed by the Huawei P40 Pro and OnePlus 8 Pro in sixth and fifth, respectively.
The Samsung Galaxy A90 5G is one of the cheapest ways to get 5G, and it also has brilliant battery life, taking fourth place in our list, followed by the stunning Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra in third. That phone will cost you a lot, but the Moto G8 Power and OnePlus Nord N100 won’t, and they’re the best choices overall for battery life, taking second and first place, respectively.
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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