Report: 5G Could Be Battery Killer

5G data use drains batteries quicker than 4G connections, according to new research. However, improved performance in newer processors could make up the difference.

The figures come from Ookla, the company behind Speedtest, which measures broadband connections. Its worth nothing that the sample group in the study may not be representative of the overall 5G population, as those who use the Speedtest service are typically interested in the speed of their connections.

Ookla spotted the difference when analyzing data originally collected to compare the performance of different Android processors. That means the effects of connection type on iPhones isn't included.

5G Data Results in Significant Battery Drain

To produce the figures, Ookla looked for phones that reported a 100% battery level at some point between 6 am and noon. They then looked for the lowest battery level on the phone reported between noon and 6pm. This means any differences in drain could be more pronounced over an entire day.

With all eight processors, the 5G drain was bigger than with a phone using a 4G connection. According to the statistics, the difference ranged from six percentage points to 11 percentage points. (Source: ookla.com)

Those are absolute figures, with the effect more dramatic when viewed as a comparison. For example, one processor dropped 40 percent on average on 5G compared with 29 percent on 4G. That means the battery drained more than a third more quickly.

Streaming Video Could Be The Difference

The study does have some significant limitations that make it hard to tell how much of the increased battery use is directly related to the technology itself. The results don't take account of variables such as differing use patterns. For example, people on a 5G connection may be more likely to watch a lot of streaming video, which will eat up battery. (Source: ispreview.co.uk)

It's also possible that people on 5G are more likely to have a truly unlimited data package and thus use their phones for Internet-reliant activities for longer. The study did bring some good news. It looked at the latest and previous versions of four different common processors. In each case it found battery drain was reduced with the latest version. With one processor, the Snapdragon 8, the latest model had less battery drain on 5G than the previous model had on 4G.

What's Your Opinion?

Have you noticed battery drain being greater on a 5G connection? Do you think it's down to the technology or the way people use phones? How big a role does battery drain play when you choose devices and data plans?