Moto x battery life: Battery Life — Moto X Review

Moto X Play – Battery and Performance Review

Moto X Play: Battery Life

When I unboxed the Moto X Play, the phone’s battery was the first thing I was curious about. The non-removable 3,630 mAh cell is bigger than almost every similarly sized device on the market, including the Galaxy S6 Edge+, Note 5, iPhone 6 Plus and OnePlus 2. This combined with its less demanding FHD display meant I had real hopes that the Moto X Play would end my ongoing smartphone battery woes – I’m yet to find a phone that can survive two days heavy use off one charge.

And for the most part it has, but don’t pick this phone up expecting something that will last multiple days of heavy use.

Throughout my time with the device I’ve easily managed a day and a half of use. That’s with multiple email accounts pulling down messages every few minutes, a load of social networking, gaming, browsing and so on. Basically doing everything you would normally do on your phone.

The battery stats showed I had unplugged it from the charger at 12pm Sunday and it ran through until 5pm Monday, with five hours of screen on time. It also lasted for 13 hours playing a looped 720p video at 75 per-cent brightness. The following days matched up, I averaged five hours of screen on time before I needed to reach for the charger and each time I didn’t feel the need to plug it in overnight.

It did seem to lose battery quicker than other Android phones I’ve used when gaming, which is a little odd. A 30 minute session playing Monument Valley ate through 13% of the Moto X Play’s life, whereas the same time on the Nexus 6 used up only 9%. It was a similar story with more intensive titles. Streaming a 52 minute HD show on Netflix used up 8%, with the brightness turned up to about 80%.

It outperforms the OnePlus 2, which we found lasted for just over a day, and Alcatel’s OneTouch Idol 3, though as it has a much larger cell than those two you’d expect the increased performance.

Standby time, something I think is worse on Android than iOS, is particularly good here. Leaving the phone unplugged overnight would only result in a 5-7 per-cent loss. Pair this with the Doze tech that’s coming in Android Marshmallow and things should only get better.

But, there’s more to the battery in the Moto X Play than just capacity, it’s the first phone to come with the new TurboPower feature that Motorola claims will juice up device faster than the competition.

The first thing to note here is that while the Moto X Play fully supports TurboPower, it doesn’t actually come bundled with a charger capable of using it. That’s a bit of a shame, but I assume it’s a cost-cutting measure that can be forgiven. I’ve been using the Motorola block that came with the Nexus 6, this supports TurboPower. It’s £24.99 from the Google Store, which is quite pricey.

It’s definitely worth finding a compatible charger though, because the speed increase is massive. With TurboCharging enabled, I managed to jump from 0% to 50% in just over 30 minutes. I got a full charge in an hour. It’s perfect for a quick top-up and just like Qualcomm’s Quick Charge, a feature I would struggle without now.

On the whole, the battery is impressive. Especially with the addition of TurboPower. But it doesn’t quite match Motorola’s lofty claims and my own high expectations.

Moto X Play: Performance

Powering the Moto X Play is Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 615 processor, paired with 2GB of RAM and an Adreno 405 GPU. While far from cutting edge, that processor is a 64-bit octa-core chipset comprised of dual quad-core Cortex A53 processors and it provides the power for a number of phone vying for that £250-300 space.

The set-up is certainly capable of handling basic to mildy demanding tasks, but it does end up struggling in some surprising ways.

Running the Geekbench 3 benchmarks, it scored 1,802 on multi-core tests and 568 on the single-core versions, falling behind the older Alcatel OneTouch Idol 3 (2,058) which also runs on the same processor. It also falls well below flagship devices like the Samsung Galaxy S6 (4,547) and HTC One M9 (3,959), though both of these run on much more powerful chipsets. Testing with it AnTuTu, the Moto X Play scored 26,545 which puts its below the Nexus 5 and Samsung Galaxy S5.

But, benchmarks can only really tell you half the story. General day-to-day performance is far more important, especially for a mid-range handset that isn’t out there to disrupt the big boys.

Initially, I didn’t run into any lag, whether I was browsing Chrome, knocking out an email or even playing addictive, yet hardly processor intensive, games like Monument Valley or Two Dots. Apps opened up fast, swiping through homescreens was smooth and in places where lag is often present, such as swiping down the notification tray or opening up the app drawer, the Moto X Play continued to performe fine.

That isn’t to say everything to do with performance was stellar. Like we mentioned in our Alcatel OneTouch Idol 3 review, which runs on the same chipset, strange quirks and misplaced lag are fairly common. Opening up the multitasking overview often stalled for a second or so, as did waiting for the keyboard to show in the Messaging app. These instances were infrequent, but annoying nonetheless.

For gaming, we put it to the test with Real Racing 3 and Dead Trigger 2, two of the more graphically demanding games on the Google Play Store. The Moto X Play was capable of running both of them smoothly, with no frame drops or stutters in sight. In 3D Mark using the Sling Shot ES 3.0 test, it scored 217, a fairly low score but slightly better than Alcatel One Touch’s Idol 3 (175) and the Vodafone Smart Prime 6 (173).

Middling benchmark scores aside, the Moto X Play is a fine, if not standout, performer. Don’t come here expecting Samsung Galaxy S6 like performance at a bargain price, but there’s more than enough grunt under the hood for the majority of users.

We test every mobile phone we review thoroughly. We use industry standard tests to compare features properly and we use the phone as our main device over the review period. We’ll always tell you what we find and we never, ever, accept money to review a product.

Find out more about how we test in our ethics policy.

Used as our main phone for the review period

Reviewed using respected industry benchmarks and real world testing

Always has a SIM card installed

Tested with phone calls, games and popular apps

Max Parker is the Deputy Editor for Trusted Reviews and Recombu. He also directly manages Trusted Reviews’ mobile, wearables and tablet sections. Max joined Trusted Reviews as a features writer in 201…

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Moto X 2 (2014) – Battery Life and Verdict Review

Motorola Moto X – Battery Life

The Motorola Moto X has a 2300mAh battery, and thanks to the locked-in backplate you can’t get access to it. We got used to this in higher-end phones a long time ago, but the capacity is a little low, too.

It’s only 10 per cent higher than the Moto G 2014, which has a lower-res 720p display. A comparison with the Samsung Galaxy S5 also deserves to be made: the Samsung rival has a much larger 2800mAh unit.

As a result, stamina is not as impressive as it is in some of the top Android alternatives. Use the phone fairly intensively and you can quite easily drain it in the day. When displaying a full screen’s worth of content, the display seems to be fairly juice-sapping, even if it doesn’t use much power when showing the ‘glance’ notifications on the lock screen.

We should be clear – stamina is not dreadful by any means, and most people should comfortably get a full day, but it’s a way off what the other phones in this class can achieve, bar the Nexus 5 (which is also pretty poor on battery stamina).

In our standard video-playback battery test, in which we leave a phone playing a 720p MP4 file on middling brightness until it dies, we got a solid but ultimately only passable result of 10 hours and 30 minutes. When streaming video over 4G, the phone lasted for just under five hours. Rivals, particualrly the 14-hour Sony Xperia Z2, outperform the Motorola.

We also expect that the reasonable 10.5-hour result may have been helped by the black bars in the widescreen film, meaning that part of the screen is deactivated throughout.

Motorola Moto X – Call quality and other things to consider

The Motorola Moto X offers good call quality, with a more robust sound than most. We did notice a little treble fizziness when the quality isn’t too hot at the other end, but this may be down to the Moto X’s earpiece speaker outclassing what it’s trying to reproduce.

Connectivity-wise the phone offers a pretty good array of features, including 4G mobile internet and NFC. However, there’s no IR sensor, so bear that in mind if you’re used to using your phone as a universal remote. You can’t do so here.

Should I buy the Motorola Moto X?

The Motorola Moto X is a phone of hits and misses. It’s tough to ascribe a score to, as these wins and fails affect very important parts of the phone.

A nearly-always-on screen and the lock screen notifications all make the phone quicker to use, in a manner that’s gimmick-free. You’d barely even notice some of these speed-increasing elements as features unless you stop and think about what the Moto X is actually doing. As such they’re destined to be under-appreciated, but it’s their low-key nature which is why they work so well.

However, the poor screen calibration, so-so battery life and unreliable camera are all serious marks against it. The very likeable elements of the Moto X help dull their impact, but when, at the time of writing, you can buy an LG G3 for the same price, we’re just not convinced the Moto X is performing at the level it needs to.

Verdict

Despite offering great general performance and some very intuitive elements, some screen, camera and battery-life issues mean the Moto X isn’t quite up there with the very best flagship Androids.

Next, read more Phone Reviews

Find out more about how we test in our ethics policy.

Used as our main phone for the review period

Reviewed using respected industry benchmarks and real world testing

Always has a SIM card installed

Tested with phone calls, games and popular apps

Score in detail

Performance 9
Camera 7
Design 8
Battery Life 7
Value 7
Software 9
Calls & Sound 8
Screen Quality 6

Andrew Williams is a technology writer, who has contributed to Stuff, WIRED, TechRadar, T3, Wareable and, of course, Trusted Reviews. Here he test and reviews some of newest mobile, audio and camera d…

Why trust our journalism?

Founded in 2004, Trusted Reviews exists to give our readers thorough, unbiased and independent advice on what to buy.

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Editorial independence

Professional conduct

Motorcycle batteries: a quick guide

08/14/2017

The article is devoted to the technical features of the operation and maintenance of motorcycle batteries (batteries). Here are the answers to the most frequently asked questions, the main terms and concepts are disclosed.

What does the Ampere-hour (Ah) characteristic mean in the marking of the battery?

Namely Ampere hour (Ah or Ah), not Ampere per hour (Ah)! In ampere-hours, the nominal capacity of the battery is measured — this is one of the main characteristics. For example, if you discharge the battery with a current equal to 1/20 of its capacity (at 12 Ah, the current will be 0.6 A), then the battery will be discharged to a voltage of 10.5 V in 20 hours. This is a technique that is understandable only to specialists. So a 12 Ah battery with a discharge current of 1 A will be discharged in 10 hours, and with a discharge of 12 A — in 35 minutes. This dependence is non-linear. Battery capacity is not constant, it depends on the degree of charge, temperature and age of the battery. The older the battery, the lower its capacity and starter characteristics.

What does the characteristic Ampere (A) mean in the marking of the battery?

In Amperes (A), it stands for cold cranking current (CCA) or starter current (starting current) — this is the second of the main characteristics. The marking indicates 180A (EN).

EN is one of many battery technical test standards. EN — European, DIN — German, SAE — American, JIS — Japanese, IEC — International.

Simply put, the higher the starting current, the easier the battery will start the motorcycle.

Is it possible to use a car charger to charge a motorcycle battery?

Yes, if the charger is automatic or if the charger has an adjustable charge current. In the case of accelerated charging, the battery plates overheat, its resource is significantly reduced. Remember that the maximum charge current should not exceed 1/10 of the battery capacity in Amperes! So for a 12 Ah battery, the charge current should not exceed 1.2 Amperes.

Why do I need to maintain the electrolyte level?

Maintenance or low maintenance lead acid batteries use an electrolyte that is a solution of sulfuric acid and distilled water. During operation, water evaporates, and the concentration of sulfuric acid increases. Concentrated acid can cause accelerated corrosion of the internal elements of the battery, which leads to the formation of a deposit, which can subsequently lead to the closure of bipolar plates.

What should I do if the electrolyte level in the battery is low?

Purchase distilled water and add it to the battery. The electrolyte is dilute sulfuric acid. During the operation of the battery, only a slight evaporation of water occurs, which needs to be topped up. In no case should you add a new electrolyte, only distilled water! It is necessary to periodically check the density of the electrolyte with a special device, a hydrometer, perform the check in accordance with the instructions that came with the battery!

Noise when charging battery?

When the battery is charging, the electrolyte reacts chemically with the lead plates, the acid in it releases gas (hydrogen) in the form of bubbles. Those. what you hear is the process of weak gassing in the battery. Visually, it looks like boiling.

Can you explain the difference between CTX12-BS and YTX12-BS battery designations?

The first letter in the marking indicates the manufacturer’s identifier. Different manufacturers use different letters. For example, YX12-BS stands for the Sprint plant, CTX12-BS stands for Exide, GTX12-BS stands for Delco. These designations are valid for most lead acid, AGM, and gel batteries. But there are exceptions.

How to check if the motorcycle battery is fully charged?

The voltage on a fully charged battery must be at least 12.8 volts. 12.5 volts corresponds to a half-charged battery. You should also check the battery under load, with a load plug or a special tester. The voltage of a healthy battery during testing should not fall below a certain value, depending on the load.

The motorcycle has a new battery, but it runs out quickly every time it is charged. What reasons?

There can be several reasons for the rapid discharge of the battery. Below we list the most common:

The burglar alarm is faulty or the alarm has been on for a long time. Any current leakage reduces the battery charge.
A faulty charge relay can cause the battery to simply not be recharged by the alternator while driving. You can check the performance of this device by turning on the headlight and increasing the engine speed — the brightness should increase. If the brightness decreases, most likely your regulator needs to be replaced.
Faulty generator. To check its performance, it is enough to measure the voltage on the battery, with the relay-regulator and generator running, it should be at least 13.8 volts, at 2-3 thousand rpm and the dipped headlights on.

What do you need to know about battery charge/discharge?

If the voltage on the battery is not lower than 12.5 volts, it’s okay, but you need to charge it as quickly as possible, otherwise sulfation will develop. Another thing is important — deep discharges reduce battery life. But if the voltage on the battery is below 12.5 volts, which indicates an unacceptably deep discharge, then the battery will really fail soon, as irreversible processes have begun.

How long does a motorcycle battery last?

Most motorcycle batteries last three years. To a large extent, this indicator depends on the operating conditions of the battery, the serviceability of the electrical equipment of the motorcycle and the correct storage of the battery in the winter season.

When I install a battery on a motorcycle, which terminal should I connect first?

The positive (+) terminal must be connected to the battery first, secured and covered with a protective cap. Then negative (-), while making sure that there are no flammable liquids nearby, since connecting the terminals can cause a spark if there is a current leakage in the network.

What happens if the polarity is reversed?

At best, the fuse will blow, at worst, you will need to buy a new battery.

What kind of white coating forms on the battery terminals?

White deposits are salt crystals. Not to be confused with sulfation! The process of formation of a white coating is associated with evaporation from the ventilation holes and, in rare cases, leaks in the current leads and the battery cover. The working place of the battery must be ventilated, never completely cover the battery.

What is sulfation and what causes sulfation?

Sulfation is an electrochemical process that takes place in a battery during discharge. The discharge is different, starter and long, low current.

In case of prolonged discharge with low current (leakage of current during inactivity) or undercharging from the generator, the plates are coated with lead sulfate. This process is reversible, called desulfation (occurs during the charging process).

There are a number of reasons for sulfation:

Frequent or constant undercharging, battery operation in a negative balance (gives more than it receives).
Long-term battery storage in an uncharged state. The voltage is below 12.5 volts.
Deep discharge. A discharge below 10.5 volts is especially dangerous. Then sulfation becomes irreversible. The battery loses a lot of its capacity and cannot be charged.

Many mistakenly believe that sulfation occurs when overcharging, overheating and high loads at low or high ambient temperatures. But it’s not. Under these conditions, there is a flow of the active mass of the plates into the sludge, warping of the gratings.

How to prevent sulfation?

The first thing you need to do is keep your motorcycle’s electrical system in good working order. The battery must replenish the charge spent while starting the motorcycle. If you do not plan to use the motorcycle for a long time, you must disconnect the negative (-) terminal from the battery. If the motorcycle is not regularly used, charge the battery with a special charger. Sulfation can be eliminated by charging the battery for a long time with a weak current. In the best case, a charger that has the function of charging with a pulsed current will cope with sulfation. There is also irreversible sulfation, in which the battery cannot be charged. The case of such batteries is usually swollen and gets very hot when trying to charge.

If the battery is disconnected, will it be discharged?

Disconnected from the electrical circuit, even if it is in good condition, the battery will still lose charge, although this will happen much more slowly than when it is connected to the motorcycle. This process is called self-discharge. And the older the battery, the faster the self-discharge proceeds.

Why do batteries differ in size?

Battery dimensions depend on the number and size of the lead plates. From this, in turn, depends on the battery capacity (Ah) and the output power. Sometimes batteries with the same capacity also have different sizes, this is due to different standards of motorcycle manufacturers.

How tight should the bolts on the battery terminals be?

The bolts on the battery terminals must be tightened as securely as possible, but without fanaticism. Since the weak fastening of the terminals can lead to problems with starting the engine, oxidation of the terminals, burning and melting of the contacts, sparking (and, as a result, to the explosion of the battery).

What is battery acid and is it corrosive?

As we wrote above, battery acid (electrolyte) is nothing more than dilute sulfuric acid. It is very dangerous and must be handled with great care using protective equipment such as special gloves, an apron and goggles! Avoid contact with skin, eyes and clothing!

How to store the battery in winter?

If the battery will not be used for a long time, such as in winter, it must be disconnected from the motorcycle, tested and recharged if necessary. It is better if the charged battery is stored at a low temperature, then the electrochemical processes in it slow down and self-discharge occurs more slowly. During the winter, it is necessary to carry out several charging cycles with a small current in order to compensate for self-discharge. Charge should be when the battery warms up in a warm room. This will extend the life of the battery and save you from unpleasant surprises in the spring.

Precautions for handling acids.

Batteries contain poisonous and extremely corrosive acid. To prevent personal injury or damage to clothing or the motorcycle, the following procedures must be followed when topping up, checking electrolyte specific gravity, removing, installing or carrying batteries:

mask and suitable gloves.

If acid comes into contact with clothing or body, neutralize immediately and then rinse with clean water. As a neutralizer, you can use a solution of food or soda ash or household ammonia.

If acid comes into contact with the skin, the affected area must be thoroughly rinsed with water. In case of contact with eyes, flush the affected area with cold, clean water for about 15 minutes, then seek medical attention immediately.

If battery acid comes into contact with any parts of the motorcycle, it must be neutralized with baking soda solution and rinsed with clean water.

When acid is mixed with water, heat is released. If you want to prepare an electrolyte with a certain specific gravity, SLOWLY and little by little pour concentrated acid into water (not water into acid), constantly stirring the solution. If the electrolyte becomes noticeably warm, allow it to cool. Be sure to use non-metallic containers and/or funnels (lead or lead-lined containers may be an exception). Do not store acid in places with excessively high temperatures or in direct sunlight.

When charging, gases and heat are released. There are times when batteries explode!

Battery Precautions

Batteries continuously emit explosive hydrogen, especially during charging. To prevent the potential risk of fire when working near the battery, observe the following rules:

Do not smoke near batteries.

Keep sparks, short circuits or other ignition sources away from the battery.

When disconnecting/connecting conductive cables, be sure to first switch off the consumers, switch off the ignition, turn the key to the off position.

Provide adequate ventilation in the battery charging area.

The charger must be switched off in the following cases: a) when connected to a battery; b) when disconnected from the battery.

The ground wire (-) must always be disconnected from the battery first and connected last.

Good to know

To protect the terminals from oxidation and the appearance of white deposits, they must be cleaned, securely fastened and only then lubricated with grease (technical petroleum jelly, Litol, Solidol, etc.) or protected with a special acid-resistant mastic.

The serviced battery must have a special tube for venting gases, it must be brought outside the motorcycle and not closed, it serves to vent gases and condensate during operation.

You can insert the battery into a rubber or plastic box just above the battery. Then if the electrolyte suddenly spills out, it will not fall on the frame and other parts of the motorcycle.

Source

Vehicle Battery Life

Some car batteries last ten or more years, while others cannot even reach three. Battery life is affected by various factors. Let’s figure out which ones. We will consider only the most common acid batteries, AGM, helium and we will not take into account all the rest.

What is the standard life of a car battery?

According to GOST R 53165-2008, the period of battery use should be an average of 24 months in cases where the vehicle mileage does not exceed ninety thousand kilometers. The same GOST obliges companies that manufacture car batteries to provide a guarantee for their products. The warranty period is usually between twelve and thirty-six months. This time is quite enough to detect a random marriage.

Service life

The service life of a car battery depends on the following factors:

version;
temperature regime;
assembly quality of the unit and the duration of its use;
current leakage;
performance of the charging system;
fastenings;
city driving.

Battery build quality

Maintenance-free batteries of well-known brands last up to 6-7 years. They usually have an extended warranty that can last up to four years. Modern technologies do not allow users to interfere with the operation of the battery, which prolongs their life.

Serviced models typically last no more than three years. The warranty period for such devices does not exceed one year.

Temperature rating

9019eight
Always warm up your vehicle before driving. By driving around with a cold battery, you are worsening the condition of your car’s alternator.

Extremely high or low temperatures cause an unpleasant effect called battery sulfation. In the summer, warming up the car with electrical appliances on allows you to avoid its appearance. In the summer, when the temperature under the hood can reach 70 degrees of heat, nothing can be done.

In order to prolong the life of the car battery, it is recommended to regularly desulfate the battery.

Version

Batteries are serviced and maintenance-free. Owners of serviced batteries should constantly monitor the density of electrolytes by adding clean water and performing other manipulations. Maintenance-free units do not have this problem, so they last 2 times longer than serviced units.

Charging System Health

Alternator . When the generator is running normally, the battery will last longer. If the battery does not work correctly, if it is not sufficiently charged, the battery is discharged much more often, which leads to accelerated sulfation, causing deep discharges and failure of the device.

Regulator relay . Provides battery protection against overdischarge. If this element fails, the battery life is significantly reduced.

If the alternator and relay are working correctly, nothing bad will happen to the battery.

Current leakage

Various external equipment can drain the battery — a multimedia system, an alarm system, etc. A week of such work can lead to a deep discharge. If this situation repeats several times, the battery will have to be changed.

City driving

As you know, when using a car in an urban environment, when a large number of short trips are made, the batteries work much less than during long country trips. Using a car within the city limits leads to the accumulation of underdischarges, a drop in battery voltage and a critical discharge.

To fix the problem, experts recommend regularly driving the car without stopping for more than forty minutes.

Mount

Many motorists do not pay attention to this factor, and in vain. A battery that is loose in the socket may fall out of the socket on a sharp turn. Also, the terminal may short on the body or break. These minor, according to many motorists, breakdowns can significantly reduce the period of battery use. Therefore, the battery should be properly fixed.