# Samsung Galaxy S3 vs Iphone 4 or 5 GPS ON battery life?



## xnofriendsx (Jun 21, 2005)

Does anyone have a Samsung Galaxy S3 that they use for GPS tracks on rides?
Or an iPhone 4 or 5? Or any smartphone for that matter with GPS ON?
I have a iPhone 3GS and the battery life is horrible with GPS ON.
My friend has the Samsung Galaxy S3 and after our 2-3 hour ride, my battery was dead and his was at 76% left still. Granted, he did use it a bit less than i did cause he didnt include the climb.
But... Does anyone use any of these phones and can give me some real world examples of battery life when GPS is ON for the duration of a ride?

Thanks,
Brian


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## FujNoob (Dec 20, 2009)

I use the galaxy and find if I start with a full charge after a 3 hour ride it's down to about 60%


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## edubfromktown (Sep 7, 2010)

I've been running Cyclemeter since iPhone 3gs days... for 2+ years on an iPhone 4 until my iPhone 5 pre-order showed up a couple weeks ago. I never ran the battery out with the iPhone 4. The other weekend I did a 6 1/2 hour ride in WV (with poor signal quality to the maxxxx which sucks up even more power). At the start the iPhone 5 had 84% battery charge and at the end I still had better than 20%.


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## rogerfromco (Jun 22, 2007)

I use a Droid Razr Max (not one you asked about) with Endomondo during my rides with both bluetooth (HRM) and GPS on. I've never watched the power level specifically, but never come off a ride with a low battery either. I guess what I'm saying is that even after some 2.5 - 3 hour rides, I still have plenty of juice on an android phone.


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## xnofriendsx (Jun 21, 2005)

Cool, thanks guys. Looks like the batteries on the iPhone 5 and Android stuff is at least way better than my iPhone 3GS battery life. I do some pretty long rides on both dirtbikes and mountain bikes (4-6 hours) and i cant even make it through halfway before the battery dies. 
@edub... yeah, i get really poor signal up here in the mountains with my 3GS. iPHone 3 and 4 signal are based off of towers, NOT satellites like the 5 and the S3 so that is what is killing my battery too. 
I am still considering the Galaxy S3 for the 2100 battery, 5in screen, external micro sd card slot, satellite feed, etc. Just sort of wondered on battery life.
Thanks.


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## crashtestdummy (Jun 18, 2005)

I use an iPhone 4 with Motion X. I also play music through the phones speaker. On a 3 hour ride with zero cell coverage I will run my battery down to 50%. The same ride using Runtastic Mountain Bike Pro, I will run the battery down to less than 10%.


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## Trackho (Sep 23, 2011)

I just got the iPhone 5, should last 10-12hrs as a 3 hour ride uses about 15% of the battery, the GPS radio is way more efficient, my 3GS would crap out after 2 hrs. The iPhone 5 also let's you use a Bluetooth hr monitor which is kind of cool


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## offroadcmpr (Apr 21, 2012)

I have the regular Droid Razr and I have never had an issue with batter life when using Strava. Of course the screen is off the whole time I am riding so that may play into it. But unplugging my phone at 6:15am, leaving it on all day at work, going for a 2 hour ride after work, still leaves me at 40% or so when I plug it back in at 9pm. so I can't be losing too much.


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## ihaveagibsonsg (Nov 29, 2010)

I set my S3 to the power saving mode while I ride and after a 3 hr ride or so, its battery will be down to 85%. I also run 2 GPS tracking programs at once, stava and endomondo. If I'm out in the middle of no where and theres no service, it will do even better. I have it set to refresh basically everything instantly so it eats a lot of battery but I like it that way.


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## Boatracer (Aug 31, 2012)

Hey Guys what are you using for a mount for the Galaxy s3? I just got one and in the process of figuring it out.
What is the best app for charting and odometer?


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## webmstrk9 (Aug 4, 2007)

I have a case and mount from Shop iPhone Aluminum Heavy Duty Cases, iPhone accessories | Rokform, it's rock solid and the case takes a beating without any damage to the phone.

FWIW when I ride with my verizon s3, I turn off the 4g radio and any other wireless connections(wifi and bt) and switch to 3g. The battery drain is less, additionally, I carry an extra battery as I dont have to tear my phone apart to change a battery.


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## khronus79 (Dec 2, 2012)

I have a galaxy note that I use daily as a gps for work, It lasts me well over 10 hours, only once has the battery completely drain and that was on a 14 hour day. I use an app called task manager and kill all active applications, it also has a RAM manager that clears all background processes, by doing these 2 things I never have any battery problems.


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## Eville140 (Nov 26, 2010)

Lot of variables, I've used iPhone 3vs, 4, 4s and now a galaxy S3. And battery life will depend a lot on screen usage. If to let the screen sleep while the tracking app is running even with music going the batteries of any of them will last plenty long. Leave the screens on the while time with the brightness up on high and the run time will be a while lot shorter. 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2


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## tex22 (Dec 15, 2012)

I was thinking of replacing my horrible thunderbolt with a galaxy note 2, anyone have experience with the battery life for one of those? Though I'm also wondering if I can come up with a mount for such a large phone!


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## dorkboy69 (Mar 8, 2013)

I have a Galaxy Note 2 and I can get 40 hours of battery life with up to 6 hours of screen on time. 

Sent from my GT-N7105 using Tapatalk 2


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## donalson (Apr 13, 2004)

it's a great phone... among the best battery life avl with stock battery (and you can get an extended battery relatively inexpensively)

if you get an OTG cable and ant+ usb2 stick you can run full ant+ stuff with ipbike (my ant stick is in the mail)

I ordred this so we'll see how bad it is lol
Bicycle Bike Protective Waterproof Bag w/ Mount Holder for Samsung i9220 / N7100 / GPS / PSP - Free Shipping - DealExtreme


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## dorkboy69 (Mar 8, 2013)

donalson said:


> it's a great phone... among the best battery life avl with stock battery (and you can get an extended battery relatively inexpensively)
> 
> if you get an OTG cable and ant+ usb2 stick you can run full ant+ stuff with ipbike (my ant stick is in the mail)
> 
> ...


Just ordered one for my note 2. Thanks for the link, looks like a decent holder for cheap.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk 2


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## donalson (Apr 13, 2004)

Ya mine is in the mail... just to be safe I'll make sure to strap it with some string or something in case the mount gives...


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## dorkboy69 (Mar 8, 2013)

donalson said:


> Ya mine is in the mail... just to be safe I'll make sure to strap it with some string or something in case the mount gives...


Good idea!
Don't ned a $500 phone rolling down the trail. Lol

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk 2


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