Before owning an iPhone, I was always somewhat concerned by the apparent lack of long term battery life that the phone, in normal use, provides. As much as I understand this isn’t the fault of the phone – as just calling this device a phone is inaccurate, as it isn’t really a phone. it’s a portable device music playing web surfing app running social networking sort of thing – it’s an iPhone.

So, what about battery life then? What if I reduce the iPhone to merely just a phone, how long will the battery survive?

To find out, starting this morning and for the whole weekend, I’m going to try and use my iPhone as just a phone, nothing more. No Apps, no push notifications, no email, no Facebook(!) ,just calls and SMS.

I’ve taken drastic measures to scrutinise every available option in the devices settings and configuration. I will embrace every possibility to preserve battery life, except when using it as a phone. I will make and receive calls as often as usual and send and receive SMS as much as I always do – I’ll use it just as a phone and nothing else for one weekend.

On Monday I will post my results, and hopefully with some top tips which should be handy for when you need to be away from power for more than a day, at music festivals for example.

UPDATE:

The conclusion to this article is now available here.