Question Z Fold 3 battery life discussion

[blackhawk]

Each to there own mate ... We live in a democracy so patch or run on outdated os your choice

Life is moving faster and faster paced all the time and hacks and vulnerability are being exploited more and more each day

It's no longer a question of WILL I be hacked it's WHEN will I be hacked

Nobody on this forum will thank you for advising them to disable OTA when their bank account is emptied because they didn't apply security updates regularly

Back to the OP topic tho battery life is poor on the Fold3 and for me it's bad ebought that I might give up on Samsung's foldables and go back to candy bar fornat. I am old school, my first phones were Nokia 3xxx range with 5 to 7 days battery. I need 1 full days usage from my smartphone - and using out of the box settings - nothing else is acceptable for the huge money manufacturers charge these days .

Let's agree to disagree mate

I'm a pragmatist; I use what works best. Hype doesn't get the job done.

Redundant backup for everything, not just data.
My account$ are fully insured.
The user themselves are the most likely to load or download malware... weakest link.
Many don't even have their critical data backed up redundantly. Some data can't be replaced.

A constantly changing platform means malware is harder to spot by behavior. If I can't ID/correct a glitch, it means reload time, zero tolerance.
Not saying it's impossible to be compromised but it's highly likely unless you do something stupid.
A reload costs me about half a day to get back 100% unless the SD card gets hit too then add 4-6 hours to the reload.
Pie is high enough to stop the worst rootkits that require a reflash.

 

[jeromepearce]

Each to there own mate ... We live in a democracy so patch or run on outdated os your choice

Life is moving faster and faster paced all the time and hacks and vulnerability are being exploited more and more each day

It's no longer a question of WILL I be hacked it's WHEN will I be hacked

Nobody on this forum will thank you for advising them to disable OTA when their bank account is emptied because they didn't apply security updates regularly

Unless you are connecting to dodgy free wireless, installing dodgy apps or clicking on dodgy links, you are very unlikely to get hacked. I've been using computers on the net very intensively for 25 years, and smartphones intensively on the net for 16 years, without a single hack or even a virus.

Most of my problems have been caused by upgrading the OS or apps, so I avoid it most of the time until updates are proven not to cause problems.

 

[dezborders]

I'm a pragmatist; I use what works best. Hype doesn't get the job done.

Redundant backup for everything, not just data..

A reload costs me about half a day to get back 100% unless the SD card gets hit too then add 4-6 hours to the reload

All power you you mate

99% of ppl are not so organized as you are and for them prevention is better than cure

One question tho if your os is 1.5 years old how can you be using Z Fold3? ZF3 can't be running older than 3 months os and apps?

 

[Nsoo]

Disable all power management in Device Care.
Clear logs in Device Care>storage as needed.
Clear data in Google play Services
Clear system cache
You can package disable Playstore when not needed.
You can temporarily Google play Services but Gmail needs it to open. Disable Find my Device as Administrator in Security if Google play Services disable button is greyed out.

A factory reset will likely solve nothing unless you did a recent major firmware upgrade. Find the root cause(s) or they will just reoccur after the reset.

Thanks so much for getting back to me!
1) Not sure what you mean or to do?
2)done from the apps menu and then device manager
3) Done that already with no change.. I even lost !y galaxy watch 4 and had it to set it up again.
4) done
5 and 6 not sure how to do it but I need Gmail as I'm using it

And.. few hours before your message as I was a bit desperate did a factory reset and the issue is still there and maybe even worst.. https://ibb.co/ck2ZZLM .. really don't know what to do anymore

 

[blackhawk]

All power you you mate

99% of ppl are not so organized as you are and for them prevention is better than cure

One question tho if your os is 1.5 years old how can you be using Z Fold3? ZF3 can't be running older than 3 months os and apps?

I'm running 2 N10+'s. So I can't predict exactly how that hardware or UI will respond on the Fold. Samsung tends to use similar power management though and have the same issues.
The only reason I ended up with one running on Android 10 was its manufactured date, oops
However it was interesting to compare and use the 2 OS versions side by side with the same hardware and 3rd party app loads.

It could be that the Fold updates will bring fixes to bugs in Android 11. Samsung has heavily modified it as they did with Android 10.
I probably roll the dice for those.

Jumping to 12 though may bring more bugs than fixes. More than once I've seen Samsung firmware and app updates break the phone or app completely over the years
So I tend to be very conservative especially if things are running well.
It's always safer to let others be the lab rats...

 

[dezborders]

I'm running 2 N10+'s. So I can't predict exactly how that hardware or UI will respond on the Fold. Samsung tends to use similar power management though and have the same issues.
The only reason I ended up with one running on Android 10 was its manufactured date, oops
However it was interesting to compare and use the 2 OS versions side by side with the same hardware and 3rd party app loads.

It could be that the Fold updates will bring fixes to bugs in Android 11. Samsung has heavily modified it as they did with Android 10.
I probably roll the dice for those.

Jumping to 12 though may bring more bugs than fixes. More than once I've seen Samsung firmware and app updates break the phone or app completely over the years
So I tend to be very conservative especially if things are running well.
It's always safer to let others be the lab rats...

Bugs are inevitable in a major OS update

However my s21u is smooth as butter on android 12 and I can't find ANY bugs so far and I'm getting around 10hrs SOT on s21u from a full charge and all default settings / 120hz adaptive refresh etc

So I'm kind of crossing my fingers battery life on Fold3 improve with android 12 update

 

[blackhawk]

Bugs are inevitable in a major OS update

However my s21u is smooth as butter on android 12 and I can't find ANY bugs so far and I'm getting around 10hrs SOT on s21u from a full charge and all default settings / 120hz adaptive refresh etc

So I'm kind of crossing my fingers battery life on Fold3 improve with android 12 update

It very well might improve.
Samsung had to heavily modify the UI for it to work with 10 and certainly for 11/12. It was no small task. Lol, Samsung's UI was already the most tricked stock UI to begin with.
Just compare a Samsung running on 11 or 12 to a Pixel. It's hard to believe it's the same OS.

Counterpoint to that is to get while the getting is good. If you think the Fold series is not viable now's the time to get top dollar selling it. If Samsung drops the Fold, it will be a dead end with more limited future support including firmware.
Samsung hasn't released sales numbers for the Fold 3 apparently but says it's the best selling Fold ever.
You can tell I'm heavily biased by my weapons of choice, the N10+ running on 9/10. Draw your own conclusions based on what you want and observe in the market. Go from there.

 

[WZDISMINE]

I have now 3 fold, regarding the price, this phone its fantastic amazing. But, It's gift for my wife . For my self, I need something next level: (Battery )

 

[pulyka]

Hey, I have the same battery issue.. samsung says 4400 mah, its nowhere near. However its slowly going up as I charge it more.
This app has been accurately working for my older phones in the past. Is it possible that samsung does not allow us to fully charge this battery to 100%? (Like electric cars - to save wear cycles...)

 

[blackhawk]

Hey, I have the same battery issue.. samsung says 4400 mah, its nowhere near. However its slowly going up as I charge it more.
This app has been accurately working for my older phones in the past. Is it possible that samsung does not allow us to fully charge this battery to 100%? (Like electric cars - to save wear cycles...)

Pretty typical for Accubattery. It's all relative... more a general indicator than an absolute.
If it makes you feel better set the battery capacity at 3832 mAh.
Now you have 100%... I do this on my N10+'s

If the top charge voltage is near the cell's nominal rated voltage than it's fully charging it.
It's a $20 battery, not a $5G one... you can limit the top charge to 80% to extend its service life though if you wish.

When it reaches about 3200 mAh I will replace the battery. The battery is rated at 4300 mAh but Accubattery never saw it as such.
Whatever

 

[Allesa]

My question and point was why is F3 25% worse battery life than F2...

F3 has SD888 which is supposed to be more power efficient over previous Snapdragon CPUs
F3 has LTPO screens which are supposed to use less power compared with older screen tech
All other functions (5G, GPS, etc are identical) between F2 and F3.

So why does a 10% smaller battery give 25-30% less SOT?
Its a source of frustration on an otherwise awesome device..

I am split 50/50 between selling my S21 Ultra and keeping my new F3... or selling F3 and getting a whole day (and more) from the S21U

Snapdragon 888 is not more power efficient than 865. Google it. It's a power hungry chipset that has been heavily criticized this year. It's faster yes. But cant sustain the maximum performance for longer period of time, only short bursts. Power hungry --> heat --> thermal throttling.

 

[dezborders]

Snapdragon 888 is not more power efficient than 865. Google it. It's a power hungry chipset that has been heavily criticized this year. It's faster yes. But cant sustain the maximum performance for longer period of time, only short bursts. Power hungry --> heat --> thermal throttling.

I stand corrected However I am not a power user and I dont play games so sustained max performance wont be a problem for me.
I have now sold my ZFold3 as its incapable of running a full day on one battery charge for "normal" usage. Maybe I will try Z Fold4 in 2022

 

[Allesa]

Yup.. Sold mine too a month ago too. Checking out this thread to see if somehow magically Samsung found the magic sauce to reduce 888's battery consumption but apparently not. For a device screaming to be used 24/7 it doesn't have the juice to do so

I stand corrected However I am not a power user and I dont play games so sustained max performance wont be a problem for me.
I have now sold my ZFold3 as its incapable of running a full day on one battery charge for "normal" usage. Maybe I will try Z Fold4 in 2022

 

[blackhawk]

Snapdragon 888 is not more power efficient than 865. Google it. It's a power hungry chipset that has been heavily criticized this year. It's faster yes. But cant sustain the maximum performance for longer period of time, only short bursts. Power hungry --> heat --> thermal throttling.

The 888 has a 5mm form factor vs fat 7mm.
It likely is more efficient.
It's not suppose to run wide open except for brief time periods.

The elephants in the room...
Variable rate displays and 5G come with higher power consumption.
AMOLED displays can use a lot of battery and look at all those square inches of displays.
The physical design of the phone, all that space.
Longer conductor pathways means higher resistance.
Android 11, it's a hog. Burning extra cpu cycles for scoped storage.

 

[Allesa]

The 888 has a 5mm form factor vs fat 7mm.
It likely is more efficient.
It's not suppose to run wide open except for brief time periods.

The elephants in the room...
Variable rate displays and 5G come with higher power consumption.
AMOLED displays can use a lot of battery and look at all those square inches of displays.
The physical design of the phone, all that space.
Longer conductor pathways means higher resistance.
Android 11, it's a hog. Burning extra cpu cycles for scoped storage.

In theory yes. But in practice no. Just google it. This one article is just an example. Read first paragraph. It is quite well known til now 888 tends to overheat and burn through juice more than 865.

How do I know? Not just from articles. This is my channel. Not an english speaking channel tho. Reviewed enough SD888 phones and i'll take 870 or even 865 anyday.

 

[blackhawk]

In theory yes. But in practice no. Just google it. This one article is just an example. Read first paragraph. It is quite well known til now 888 tends to overheat and burn through juice more than 865.

How do I know? Not just from articles. This is my channel. Not an english speaking channel tho. Reviewed enough SD888 phones and i'll take 870 or even 865 anyday.

Perhaps. Lack of adequate heat sinking is likely the real issue. Prolonged high intensity gaming on a phone like this is unrealistic*. There are physical limits to how much power you can use and still safely dissipate the cpu's waste thermal energy. It's not just the chipset; Li's are stressed when subjected to prolonged high current drain rates.
If there actually is an issue a future instruction set update will likely correct it.
The processor is the least of this phone's issues if it's properly heat sinked.


*on my N10+'s I limit games to 10-20 minutes before giving it some rest time. Charging isn't rest time, doing a low demand activity like using the browser is ok. I do the same when streaming vids although the usage interval is increased. That's more to protect the battery than concerns about overheating the chipset.

 

[dezborders]

Yup.. Sold mine too a month ago too. Checking out this thread to see if somehow magically Samsung found the magic sauce to reduce 888's battery consumption but apparently not. For a device screaming to be used 24/7 it doesn't have the juice to do so

Ditto... I will continue to review this thread in the vain hope that the (now delayed) Fold3 Androind 12 Upgrade solves the poor battery life situation. I can always pick up a 2nd hand F3 on eBay or Facebook if this wish comes true. (But I wont hold my breath).

 

[dezborders]

How do I know? Not just from articles. This is my channel. Not an english speaking channel tho. Reviewed enough SD888 phones and i'll take 870 or even 865 anyday.

I have to admit I now regret selling my Fold2 in September and upgrading to Fold3 lol.
I will sit on the fence until Android 12 update has been out a few weeks to assess if its any better in battery life then decide.

 

[dezborders]

In theory yes. But in practice no. Just google it. This one article is just an example. Read first paragraph. It is quite well known til now 888 tends to overheat and burn through juice more than 865.

How do I know? Not just from articles. This is my channel. Not an english speaking channel tho. Reviewed enough SD888 phones and i'll take 870 or even 865 anyday.

Just one side comment... I ran with Mi 11 12/256 as daily driver for a month and that has an SD888 and got 8-9 hrs SOT.
Ditto for an Oppo Find X3 Pro... SD888... 8+ hours SOT.
Also worth pointing out i am NOT a gamer and I dont take 100s of pics daily so use camera lightly.

With the above experience in mind I am not 100% convinced that SD888 is the *main* casue of poor battery life on the Fold3.
... and gives me hope that Samsung can "fix" the issue in software. ... fingers crossed for Android 12.

 

[tigsandmitch]

hopefully it can only get better and not worse......(famous last words)... :')