My experience with the battery life of the S25 Ultra wasn’t great when I first got the device. I was getting an average of 5.5 hours of screen on time as shown in my first review, but back then the phone was running December update. So, let’s see if things changed over time.
Test Setup
First, let me show you how the test will take place:
- I will be using similar data on both, but unfortunately 5G stopped working on my 9 Pro XL for some reason. So, I will set the S25 Ultra to 4G to match the Pixel.
- The displays are set to their maximum resolutions.
- The 120 Hz refresh rate is activated.
- Both are set to light theme and the battery saving mode is deactivated to avoid any inconsistencies.
- The screen brightness is calibrated on the same light meter.
Battery Test Results
Initial temperature of each device from left to right are 28.4° and 27.3° C.
Hour 1: YouTube Video (2160p)
The S25 Ultra consumed 8% versus 9% on the 9 Pro XL. The Galaxy was a tiny bit cooler at 34.3° versus 34.8°. Overall, the S25 Ultra did slightly better in battery consumption and temperature, but the Pixel is very close.
Hour 2: Facebook Scrolling
After one full hour of Facebook scrolling, the 9 Pro XL didn’t only close the 1% gap of the YouTube test, but it’s ahead by 1%, consuming only 12% battery. In contrast, the S25 Ultra consumed 14% to be at 78% battery. Not only this, but the S25 Ultra was 4.5° hotter than the 9 Pro XL, which is totally unexpected.
Hour 3: Instagram Scrolling
The 1% gap remained the same in favor of the 9 Pro XL to be at 66% versus 65% on the S25 Ultra, and the Pixel remained cooler as well with 2° less than the Galaxy. It seems like the Pixel does better in social media apps.
Hour 4: WhatsApp (Texting, Voice Messages, Video)
This hour was classified into three sections: 30 minutes of texting, 15 minutes of voice messaging, and 15 minutes of sending back-to-back videos using the front camera. The S25 Ultra went down from 65% to 53% (12% usage), while the Pixel consumed 13%. Both ended at 53% battery, but the Pixel maintained better thermal management with 1.4° less temperature.
Hour 5: Google Maps Navigation
After 1 hour of navigation, the S25 Ultra consumed 12% to be at 41%, while the Pixel consumed 14% to end at 39% battery. For the third time, the Pixel led in thermal management with 2.8° less heat. It seems like Google did work really well on this area.
Hour 6: Gaming (Temper Run)
Both phones consumed exactly 10% battery. The 2% gap remained in favor of the S25 Ultra. The Pixel still had better thermal management, but with a smaller gap of 0.7 degrees.
Hour 7: Microsoft Teams Meeting
The 9 Pro XL consumed significantly more battery during this test. It went down from 29% to 4% (25% usage). In contrast, the S25 Ultra consumed only 19% to end at 12% battery. This shows the biggest weakness of Tensor G4. Plus, the Pixel generated more heat, reaching 48.8° versus 45.3° on Samsung’s side. Because of this Teams meeting, the gap expanded from 2% to 8%.
Final Results
After 7 hours and 7 minutes of screen time, the 9 Pro XL switched off while the S25 Ultra still had 11% remaining. The S25 Ultra was able to finish one more hour of video playback with 1% battery left and turned off 40 seconds later, reaching a total of 8 hours of screen on time.
What I’ve Learned
First, the S25 Ultra battery improved significantly after multiple software updates. When I first got the device, I was only getting between 5.5 to 6 hours of screen on time on Wi-Fi and cellular data combined. Being able to get 8 hours on cellular data only is impressive.
Second, the 9 Pro XL improved quite a lot when it comes to thermal management. Most of the time, it was running cooler than the S25 Ultra with the exception of video calling that can easily kill the 9 Pro XL battery and generate more heat. I hope to see Google addressing this specific issue with future software updates.
Third, the chipset efficiency differs from app to app. The Snapdragon 8 Elite is more efficient in video playback, navigation, and camera-related tasks like Microsoft Teams and using the camera in WhatsApp, while Tensor G4 is better in browsing social media apps with no differences spotted in gaming.
Finally, we need to keep in mind that the 9 Pro XL is 6 months older than the S25 Ultra and is still performing really well.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inUw7YCnZkc
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