Ryan Haines / Android Authority
Between the Google Pixel 9a, Apple iPhone 16e, and Samsung Galaxy S24 FE, we’re spoiled for flagship-tier features without the price tags. Still, with prices ranging from $499 to $659 and a lot of differences under the hood, there’s plenty to weigh up when deciding between these three for your next purchase.
Having previously examined the performance of these three plucky mid-rangers (TL;DR: the iPhone 16e and Galaxy S24 FE come out on top), it’s time to see which one is the best for all-day battery life — and hopefully a bit more. I’m feeling pretty good about the Pixel 9a’s chances here; its new 5,100mAh battery is the biggest of the bunch, but let’s find out if reality matches the specs.
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Pixel 9a vs iPhone 16e vs Galaxy S24 FE battery endurance tests
To test smartphone battery life, we run each phone through a series of looped workloads with a fixed 300-nit screen brightness, monitoring the battery drain and then extrapolating how long the phone would last for that particular task. Our tests track everyday web browsing, video calling, video playback, and content capture uses.
Sadly, the iPhone’s reputation for dubious battery life remains concerning with the 16e. It’s firmly at the back of the group, except for the 4K video recording and 4K playback tests, where it marginally bests the Galaxy S24 FE. The most alarming result is just how far behind the phone is in our Zoom call and web browsing tests. In what are arguably the most humdrum of activities, it scores a couple of hours behind Samsung’s flagship and even further behind the 9a in both cases. Worryingly, this means the iPhone’s 16e battery might last just two-thirds as long, or even less, than its closest rivals, if these are your primary use cases.
The results are closer between the Pixel 9a and Galaxy S24 FE, depending on the task in question, but it’s clear that the 9a’s 5,100mAh battery lasts longer than Samsung’s 4,700mAh choice. The Pixel 9a is by far the most frugal when it comes to 4K playback, web browsing, and Zoom calls — meaning it’ll last the longest for most daily tasks.
The Pixel 9a also has an edge when it comes to content capture, outlasting both rival handsets in camera and 4K video shooting times. Google’s budget model lasts an impressive six hours here, although the other two are above the five-hour mark as well.
The Pixel 9a lasts the longest, but it and the Galaxy S24 FE blow the 16e out of the water.
Looping back to performance, the Pixel 9a came in a clear last during our benchmarking session, but that more conservative performance profile seems to be a boon for battery life. Apple’s iPhone 16e is essentially the polar opposite. It powered through our CPU benchmarks at a breakneck pace, but that overkill performance seems to sap battery life far too quickly. This is clearly not ideal — especially when the phone is paired with a mediocre 4,005mAh battery to begin with. Then there’s the Galaxy S24 FE, which sits right in the middle of both, offering solid performance and very good battery life from its 4,700mAh cell.
What about charging back up?
In the best case, we’re looking at around seven to eight hours of screen-on time here (probably closer to five for the iPhone 16e), which is good — but you’ll still need to charge these phones up at some point. Unfortunately, none of these three phones support high-speed charging if you need to top up quickly. The iPhone 16e and Galaxy S24 FE are capped at 27W, while the Pixel 9a is limited to just 23W.
Robert Triggs / Android Authority
But peak power is only a small part of the story. The Samsung Galaxy S24 FE is actually the fastest to charge to full, taking around 75 minutes, though that’s hardly what we’d call speedy. It also hits 50% and 75% battery capacities faster than the competition, taking 25 and 39 minutes, respectively. Again, that’s not fast, but it’ll do, given you shouldn’t need to charge the phone up mid-day.
The iPhone 16e and Pixel 9a are glacial by comparison, taking about 95 minutes to fill up from empty. The iPhone 16e’s higher peak power level means it hits 50% and 75% a smidgen quicker than the 9a, taking 26 and 44 minutes, respectively, compared to the Pixel’s 30 and 50 minutes. We also recorded that the Pixel 9a became somewhat warm during charging, hitting 40.4°C — a minor warning for long-term battery health.
So, what’s the mid-ranger for battery life?
Ryan Haines / Android Authority
Google’s budget flagship is the undeniable winner, coming out on top in all five of our battery tests. It’s an impressive showing for a $499 handset. The only drawback is that the Pixel 9a is slow to charge up. Thankfully, all-day battery life means that you can likely wait until the evening and charge back up slowly overnight.
While the FE didn’t win our battery tests, it’s not too far behind the Pixel 9a and will undoubtedly take most users through a demanding day without issue. Given that it charges back up quicker and packs in additional performance, I’m equally happy to recommend it as a solid all-air pick. However, it is more expensive than the Pixel 9a at $649.
The Pixel 9a offers the best battery life, but the Galaxy S24 FE has a great balance of performance and charging too.
In any case, I really can’t recommend Apple’s affordable model for those with a demanding daily schedule. Not only does it offer battery life that lands in the anxiety-inducing 5-6 hour mark for most daily tasks, but the phone is also slow to charge back up. Unless you’re married to the iOS ecosystem, both Google and Samsung offer far better battery life for roughly the same price. The iPhone 16e has the performance edge, but that doesn’t count for much when you’re tethered to an outlet.
See price at Amazon
14%off
Samsung Galaxy S24 FE
Flexible cameras for the price
Class-leading update commitment
Great value
See price at eBay
Apple iPhone 16e
Great update support
Solid performance
Simple, straightforward design
