HTC just launched its One M9 with a 2840mAh battery. Samsung gave the Galaxy S6 a 2550mAh battery. And yet the iPhone 6 only has one that comes in at 1810mAh. Now sure, it’s a smaller phone, and there’s always the 6 Plus with its larger battery, but that doesn’t change the iPhone 6’s reputation as a phone where its battery life is often considered just “OK;” it’ll usually get you through most of the day, though heavy usage will take its toll. In a recent interview, Apple design guru Jony Ive touches on the issue of the iPhone’s battery life, and he paints the picture of bit of a catch-22 situation.
The way Ive sees it, iPhone battery life can be low because of just how much we use the phone – like it’s almost too compelling for its own good. And we use it so much, he argues, because it’s such a thin, light, convenient-to-hold phone – all direct consequences of it having a smaller battery to begin with. In a sense, it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy.
The flip side to that – that a phone with a more generous battery would automatically be larger, heavier, and less desirable than the iPhone – can be a difficult pill to swallow. Ive seems to imply that at the end of the day, a successful device will be an attractive one rather than a functional one – though that’s hardly a surprising position to take considering his background.
