If there’s one thing we all want from our next smartphone, it’s more battery life. Thankfully, battery cells are bigger than ever, while processors are increasingly frugal. This means that many, but certainly not all, flagship and mid-range handsets can take us through a day without leaving us suffering from battery anxiety.
However, some phones are definitely better than others at lasting through more demanding work/life balances or taking lighter users through a second day. Not to mention, there’s a massive variation in how quickly phones charge back up when they eventually run out of power.
To help you pick the best phone for rock-solid battery life, we run all of our review units through a series of automated endurance tests, checking how long phones can survive daily tasks like web browsing, video playback, camera capture, and more. Based on that data and hands-on experience, these are the phones that I think you should buy.
OnePlus 13: The best phone for battery life overall OnePlus 13 Gorgeous design • Clever AI features • Flexible cameras MSRP: $899.99 The OG flagship killer's killer flagship. The OnePlus 13 is the company's most killer flagship to date, offering a massive battery, speedy charging, and powerful cameras that give Google and Samsung something to worry about. See price at AmazonSee price at OnePlus Positives Gorgeous design
Gorgeous design Incredible camera zoom and overall photography
Incredible camera zoom and overall photography Helpful AI integration
Helpful AI integration Excellent charging options
Excellent charging options Simplified Oxygen OS experience
Simplified Oxygen OS experience Great performance Cons Magnetic charging requires accessories
Magnetic charging requires accessories Fewer updates than Samsung or Google Many powerhouse smartphones will survive plenty of hours of intense use. However, the OnePlus 13 stands out for a few reasons. First, its cutting-edge 6,000mAh silicon-carbon-enhanced lithium-ion battery is massive. Even before looking at our test results, it’s clear the phone has the battery size to take power users through a full day or more. It’s also the best phone I’ve tested for wired charging, and it’s pretty quick with wireless charging, which we’ll get to in a minute. Importantly, the OnePlus 13 powers through our battery life benchmarks exceedingly well. It puts in a well-rounded effort, surviving up to 24 hours of 4K video playback, nearly six hours of 4K video recording or photo capture, 12 hours of web browsing, or over 11 hours of video calls. I think you’ll agree that’s plenty of battery life for anyone, regardless of your daily mix, with some spare for the next day. That said, our battery life test results are quite close, with some phones having clear strengths and weaknesses. Technically, the ASUS Zenfone 12 Ultra is a little more frugal than the rest, while the Pixel 9 Pro XL is a great choice if you’re primarily taking photos. To really separate the phones for daily use, we need to look at a few additional metrics. Charging speed is a hugely important factor, allowing you to quickly top up the phone if/when the juice eventually runs out. The OnePlus 13 is a clear winner here. It reaches full in just 35 minutes, compared to closer to the hour mark for our other four contestants. Better still, it managed to reach the 50% mark in just 12 minutes, ensuring enough juice to power through the day without spending ages attached to the wall. While it relies on SuperVOOC to reach those peak speeds, the phone also plays nicely with USB Power Delivery plugs and power banks, delivering at least 35W of power in my testing. The OnePlus 13 is also a beast when it comes to wireless charging. With an appropriate SuperVOOC wireless charger and after jumping through a few compatibility hoops, the phone can wirelessly charge to full in around 80 minutes. That’s much slower than over a wire, but still far faster than other phones can achieve on a wireless pad. The OnePlus 3 lasts all day, charges back up quickly, and is affordable. What's not to like? Besides its brilliant battery, the OnePlus 13 boasts superb hardware elsewhere. A speedy Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, sublime-looking display, and a camera package that far exceeds previous models and even rivals the best in the business make the OnePlus 13 a superb all-around phone, especially if you want a flagship that’ll last more than a day of heavy use. Oh, and it’s very affordable too. Read more
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