Our community lists rank phones on battery health, standby time, screen-on time, efficiency and aging. So which phone is “the best”?
Honestly, it depends on you. A phone that’s perfect for someone who checks messages a few times a day may struggle in the hands of someone who streams videos on every commute. The trick is to look at the list that matches the way you use your phone.
In short
| If you… | Look at |
|---|---|
| use your phone lightly and want to charge less often | Standby time |
| are on your phone a lot and need it to last the day | Screen-on time |
| want a phone that makes the most of every charge | Efficiency |
| keep your phone for many years | Slowest aging |
| are buying a second-hand phone | Battery health |
Light user? Look at standby time
If your phone spends most of its day in a pocket or on a desk (a few messages, a call or two, a quick look at the weather), most of its battery goes while the screen is off.
Standby time tells you how long a full charge lasts in that quiet state. A phone that shines here can take you from charging every night to charging every two or three days. It’s also the list to check when choosing a phone for a parent, a child or a backup phone that should simply always be ready.
Heavy user? Look at screen-on time
Videos, games, maps, social media, photos: when you use your phone a lot, the screen and everything behind it become the biggest drain on the battery.
Screen-on time tells you how long a full charge lasts while you’re actually using the phone. If you often reach the evening hunting for a charger, this is the list for you.
Want the most from every charge? Look at efficiency
How long a phone lasts depends on two things: how big its battery is, and how much power it uses. A phone with a huge battery can last a long time while still being quite thirsty.
The efficiency lists set the battery size aside and only look at how much power the phone draws, a bit like the A+++ energy label on a fridge or a washing machine. The lower the number, the better. There are two of them: one with the screen off (standby power) and one with the screen on (screen-on power).
Efficient phones are simply well made. They tend to stay cooler, and when their battery starts to wear out years later, they still go further on what’s left.
Keeping your phone for years? Look at aging
Every battery slowly loses some of its capacity over time. Slowest aging shows how much it loses each year, on average.
A few percent may not sound like much, but it adds up. A battery losing 3% a year still holds about 88% after four years. One losing 8% a year is down to about 68%, and you’ll feel it every day. If you like to keep a phone until it really can’t go on, this is the list to watch.
One thing to know: the newest phones haven’t had their batteries for long, so their aging figures are early estimates. Batteries usually lose a little more in their first months and then settle down, so young phones often look better as time goes by.
And whatever phone you have, how you treat it matters too: avoiding heat and not leaving it sitting at 100% for hours helps any battery age more gently.
And battery health?
Battery health shows how much of its original capacity the battery still holds today, on average. It’s very handy when buying a second-hand phone, as it tells you what to expect from a model that’s been around for a while.
Don’t worry if even brand-new phones rarely show 100%: the number on the box is often a generous one. We explain why in Why your battery shows less than the box says.
A few tips for reading the lists
- Compare phones of the same age. A three-year-old phone and a brand-new one aren’t on equal footing, which is why we also look at brands one release year at a time: 2023, 2024 and 2025. For individual phones, see the Mobiles Top 10s.
- Tap a brand or a phone to see the details. An average can hide a lot of variety, and the chart shows how all the phones behind it spread out.
- Your own habits matter most. These are everyday phones in everyday pockets, not lab tests. Two people with the same phone can see very different results, and 3C NG Battery shows you your own phone’s numbers.
All of this comes from people who chose to share a little anonymous battery information from their phone. Thank you to every one of them! Want to add yours? Turn on community sharing in 3C NG Battery, 3C Battery Manager or 3C Battery Watch. Every phone makes the picture a little clearer. 💙
