iPod iPod Touch 4th Gen Battery Life

mish · 10-30-2010, 05:56 PM

I was just wondering what the experience 4th gen owners are having with battery life. Now that I am in the market (unexpectedly and much to my chagrin) for a new iTouch, I've been looking at the reviews on Amazon and it seems a lot of people are complaining the battery life is horrible. Losing a full charge in one day or less even when not in use. I know the wi-fi drains the battery and I only turn it off if I'm reading because when I'm not reading, I usually am using the email or internet and don't want to keep turning it on and off.

What is your experience with the battery life on the 4th gen compared to previous gen?

Donnageddon · 10-30-2010, 06:25 PM

Seems much better than the 2nd gen I have.

NNolan · 10-30-2010, 06:33 PM

The battery life is about the same as my old 2nd gen, but it won't charge from a Windows USB port like my 2nd gen did.

aagstn · 10-30-2010, 06:49 PM

I think it is less than my 2nd gen touch, but maybe it depends on what you are doing. For book reading it seems the same, but you start playing a game and the battery is dead in no time. Much faster than the 2nd Gen for me.

mish · 10-30-2010, 08:00 PM

Hmmm..interesting. I had a 3rd gen so not sure if that is any different than the 2nd gen. So far, it doesn't sound like it is much different.

@NNolan - you mean the USB that you hook up to that brings up Itunes? How do you charge it?

tomsem · 10-30-2010, 11:01 PM

I have nothing to compare it to directly, but probably the main issue I have with my new iPT4G has to do with power management, or at least my own understanding of it. What I've learned:
- turn off wifi when you don't need it
- shut down apps when you are done using them
- power down if you aren't using it for awhile

The thing could use some power 'profiles' - for example, why, if it is USB connected/powered, does the screensaver kick in? You have to constantly 'feed' it with input, or the screensaver kicks in and you have to 'unlock'. Multitasking is great sometimes, but it would be nice if you could disable it to possibly save some CPU cycles (sure, what if I don't want Pandora to play in the background etc.). Wifi should automatically turn off when nothing is using it (or should be an option etc.), and you should be able to wake it up without having to go to settings and crawl your way back to the app that needed it. Why can't I toggle wifi on/off by touching the icon in iPod status bar? That sort of thing. It could be better/more usable/intelligent, and I guess I had assumed that it would be, and am surprised it is not.

That said, I'm getting used to it, and otherwise like it very much, but look forward to the day when battery charge lasts a couple of days on a device like this.

Donnageddon · 10-30-2010, 11:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NNolan

The battery life is about the same as my old 2nd gen, but it won't charge from a Windows USB port like my 2nd gen did.

Mine charges just fine with my windows USB.

NNolan · 10-31-2010, 08:54 AM

Quote:

@NNolan - you mean the USB that you hook up to that brings up Itunes? How do you charge it?

It will charge from a USB port on my MacBook, or from AC. I've got a Maxell wall plug for USB that works great for everything.

Quote:

Mine charges just fine with my windows USB.

Some do, some don't; there are complaints about this that go back to the first iPod Touch. Mine is one that doesn't, but as long as the Maxell wall plug works there's no point in going through the hassle of trying to exchange it for one that will charge from my Windows laptop.

star · 10-31-2010, 11:28 AM

Mine actually seems to last longer than my. In fact, it is noticeable. I use it mainly for audio. If you look at the official specs, it seems like the battery life is technically better. But that's just my own experience.

tyche · 10-31-2010, 12:00 PM

I mainly use my Touch for games so the battery life has never been all that great. Maybe 2 hours but it does recharge very fast. With my 2G I can leave it in standby with wifi enabled and the battery doesn't drain. My new 4G will lose almost half its battery overnight if I leave wifi on. I switch to airplane mode the battery doesn't drain. I've learned to deal with it that way.

mish · 10-31-2010, 12:52 PM

Would be nice if they made it easier to toggle the wifi on and off since it is such a drain on the battery.

Maggie Leung · 11-01-2010, 07:47 PM

Mine charges fine via Windows USB.

I dunno what battery life is, because I rarely use wi-fi and I have yet to run down the battery. I just charge nightly. I use mine only to read books and listen to music. I got it in addition to an iPhone 4, so I can read without worrying about running down my phone battery.

Solicitous · 11-01-2010, 08:04 PM

What sort of battery life do people get with just reading ebooks? 10-12 hours? Less? More?

Maggie Leung · 11-02-2010, 08:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Solicitous

What sort of battery life do people get with just reading ebooks? 10-12 hours? Less? More?

Not sure. I read without tracking and charge nightly. I read 1.5 books yesterday and still had juice when I powered off for the night. I was listening to music, too.

Haven't drained my Touch yet. I don't use wi-fi, play games or watch videos on it, which I'm guessing takes much more juice. (I use wi-fi to load books, though.)

10-30-2010, 05:56 PM	#1
mish Addict Posts: 215 Karma: 1930065 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: USA Device: PRS-350, Kindle 2	iPod Touch 4th Gen Battery Life I was just wondering what the experience 4th gen owners are having with battery life. Now that I am in the market (unexpectedly and much to my chagrin) for a new iTouch, I've been looking at the reviews on Amazon and it seems a lot of people are complaining the battery life is horrible. Losing a full charge in one day or less even when not in use. I know the wi-fi drains the battery and I only turn it off if I'm reading because when I'm not reading, I usually am using the email or internet and don't want to keep turning it on and off. What is your experience with the battery life on the 4th gen compared to previous gen?

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10-30-2010, 06:25 PM	#2
Donnageddon Now you lishen here... Posts: 2,494 Karma: 479498 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Seattle-ish Device: Sony PRS-650. Kobo Touch, Kindle Fire	Seems much better than the 2nd gen I have.

10-30-2010, 06:33 PM	#3
NNolan Compulsive Gadget Geek Posts: 407 Karma: 4219324 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: South Central Virginia Device: One of each, and two in some cases	The battery life is about the same as my old 2nd gen, but it won't charge from a Windows USB port like my 2nd gen did.

10-30-2010, 06:49 PM	#4
aagstn Evangelist Posts: 422 Karma: 1004351 Join Date: Jun 2007 Device: Kindle Paperwhite 3, iPad mini 2	I think it is less than my 2nd gen touch, but maybe it depends on what you are doing. For book reading it seems the same, but you start playing a game and the battery is dead in no time. Much faster than the 2nd Gen for me.

10-30-2010, 08:00 PM	#5
mish Addict Posts: 215 Karma: 1930065 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: USA Device: PRS-350, Kindle 2	Hmmm..interesting. I had a 3rd gen so not sure if that is any different than the 2nd gen. So far, it doesn't sound like it is much different. @NNolan - you mean the USB that you hook up to that brings up Itunes? How do you charge it?

10-30-2010, 11:01 PM	#6
tomsem Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,011 Karma: 27060353 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: USA Device: iPhone 15PM, Kindle Scribe, iPad mini 6, PocketBook InkPad Color 3	I have nothing to compare it to directly, but probably the main issue I have with my new iPT4G has to do with power management, or at least my own understanding of it. What I've learned: - turn off wifi when you don't need it - shut down apps when you are done using them - power down if you aren't using it for awhile The thing could use some power 'profiles' - for example, why, if it is USB connected/powered, does the screensaver kick in? You have to constantly 'feed' it with input, or the screensaver kicks in and you have to 'unlock'. Multitasking is great sometimes, but it would be nice if you could disable it to possibly save some CPU cycles (sure, what if I don't want Pandora to play in the background etc.). Wifi should automatically turn off when nothing is using it (or should be an option etc.), and you should be able to wake it up without having to go to settings and crawl your way back to the app that needed it. Why can't I toggle wifi on/off by touching the icon in iPod status bar? That sort of thing. It could be better/more usable/intelligent, and I guess I had assumed that it would be, and am surprised it is not. That said, I'm getting used to it, and otherwise like it very much, but look forward to the day when battery charge lasts a couple of days on a device like this.

10-31-2010, 11:28 AM	#9
star Junior Member Posts: 6 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: kindle 3, sony 350	Mine actually seems to last longer than my. In fact, it is noticeable. I use it mainly for audio. If you look at the official specs, it seems like the battery life is technically better. But that's just my own experience.

10-31-2010, 12:00 PM	#10
tyche Addict Posts: 227 Karma: 2530 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: PRS-505, iPad	I mainly use my Touch for games so the battery life has never been all that great. Maybe 2 hours but it does recharge very fast. With my 2G I can leave it in standby with wifi enabled and the battery doesn't drain. My new 4G will lose almost half its battery overnight if I leave wifi on. I switch to airplane mode the battery doesn't drain. I've learned to deal with it that way.

10-31-2010, 12:52 PM	#11
mish Addict Posts: 215 Karma: 1930065 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: USA Device: PRS-350, Kindle 2	Would be nice if they made it easier to toggle the wifi on and off since it is such a drain on the battery.

11-01-2010, 07:47 PM	#12
Maggie Leung Wizard Posts: 1,449 Karma: 58383 Join Date: Jul 2009 Device: Kindle, iPad	Mine charges fine via Windows USB. I dunno what battery life is, because I rarely use wi-fi and I have yet to run down the battery. I just charge nightly. I use mine only to read books and listen to music. I got it in addition to an iPhone 4, so I can read without worrying about running down my phone battery.

11-01-2010, 08:04 PM	#13
Solicitous Wizard Posts: 1,434 Karma: 1525776 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: TAS, Australia Device: Astak Pocket Pro (Black), 2 x Kindle WiFi (Graphite), iPod Touch 4G	What sort of battery life do people get with just reading ebooks? 10-12 hours? Less? More?

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