This Is Why Some New iPhones Have A Longer Battery Life

"Look at my new iPhone 6S - isn't it great?"

"Yeah mate - I've got one too. It's brilliant; 3D Touch screen? Magic."

"Wait... when did you last charge your phone?"

"Around 8? Why?"

"Because you've got 15 per cent more battery than me..."

*Dramatic orchestral music*

Horrifying as the above may seem, it's actually a very plausible scenario.

It turns out there are two slightly different versions of Apple's new iPhone 6S, that use different versions of the A9 processor chip.

One, made by TSMC, is more efficient in its power usage than those made by Samsung. 

A number of complaints have been collected together by the Apple obsessives at MacRumours that indicate the Samsung-made A9 chip offers up to 50 minutes less battery time than the TSMC chip.

TechCrunch spoke to Apple about the issue, receiving this fairly evasive response:

Certain manufactured lab tests which run the processors with a continuous heavy workload until the battery depletes are not representative of real-world usage, since they spend an unrealistic amount of time at the highest CPU performance state. It’s a misleading way to measure real-world battery life. Our testing and customer data show the actual battery life of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, even taking into account variable component differences, vary within just 2-3% of each other.

How do I know which A9 chip I've got?

Simple. Download this app which will show you the technical build of your phone.

If you find a model number of N66AP or N71AP, your phone has a Samsung-made chip, while N66MAP or N71MAP models contain the apparently hardier TSMC chip.

The chances are you won't be able to tell the difference between the battery life of your iPhone 6S and that of a friend's simply because you'll both be using very different apps and battery-draining processes.

The amount of time you leave your phone plugged in to charge could change the battery life by a few per cent. But still, if you want to raise your iPhone 6S bragging rights, find out which processor type you're rocking.

[Via: TechCrunch]