The Samsung Galaxy S4 received a recent software update that gave it improved battery life. Tests on the Snapdragon 600 variant, model I9505 show that battery life extended up to four hours more.
Before the software update, talk time on the Galaxy S4 battery was 13 hours and 53 minutes. The update helped extend the battery talk time by just over four hours, to 18 hours and 3 minutes.
Testing how Web browsing affected the battery life of the Galaxy S4 after the software update, results show the prior battery life of 8 hours and 42 minutes was brought down to 7 hours and 24 minutes.
The Galaxy S4 software update made an improvement to the battery life during video playback. Before the software update, the total battery time was 10 hours and 16 minutes. The software update added an additional 2 hours to that, bringing the battery life up to 12 hours and 30 minutes.
Standby time on the Galaxy S4 also saw an increase from 63 hours to 69 hours, as GSM Arena reported. Overall, the software update extended the battery life on talk time and video playback with just a little more power drain under Web browsing.
Additional tweaks to the Galaxy S4 can also help you get the most out of your battery:
Turn on Power Saving Mode: The built-in Power Saving Mode toggle in the notification area is one of the easiest ways to gain some extra juice. Tap it once to turn Power Saving Mode and hold it down to open the menu and enable the features shown to save battery.
Turn Off Extra Features: The Galaxy S4 came with some great extra features for additional productivity. When you are in need of extra battery life, it's best to turn some of them off. Pull down the notification bar to access the toggles and tap to turn off the following features: Air View, Multi Window, Air Gesture, Smart Stay and Smart Scroll.
Screen Auto Brightness: The screen is one of the main drains on the battery due to the large HD display. Pull down the notification menu, and make sure "Auto" is tapped under the screen brightness menu. To save eve more battery, uncheck "Auto" and slide the bar all the way down for the lowest screen brightness. The screen will be difficult to view outside when the brightness is that low, so you may want to add a toggle widget on the home screen to adjust it more easily.
Turn Off Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Etc.: You can turn off Bluetooth, S Beam, NFC and Wi-Fi to save extra battery life. The notification bar in Android Jelly Bean offers quick access to most of these settings, so it's not difficult to turn them on as needed.
Limit Widgets: Keep widget use down to a minimum, especially the ones that update, such as Facebook or Twitter, since they can contribute to draining your battery.
