This article was published on May 10, 2021

DxOMark’s new battery benchmark ranks phones for how juicy they are

The Samsung Galaxy M51 takes the top spot


DxOMark’s new battery benchmark ranks phones for how juicy they are

DxOMark, the french analytics company, has launched a new score to rate your phone’s battery based on its charging speed, efficiency, and how it fares in different real-life scenarios.

To build this score, the company formed various lab-controlled and everyday scenario tests to gauge how a smartphone battery performs. It developed its own Faraday room and network simulators to mimic how you would use your phone on a given day.

Credit: DxOMark
A device being tested for daily battery usage in DxOMark tests

DxOMark said that this score involved testing almost 100 parameters for more than 150 hours per device. There are three key things that the firm takes into account while measuring the battery score:

  • Autonomy: This denotes a battery’s range i.e. how long it can go on for in a single charge under various scenarios.
  • Charging: How quickly a device gets charged. While DxOMark looks at the usual 0-80% charging speed, it also looks at the difference between when your phone’s UI shows 100% charging and when the power brick actually stops drawing power from the source.
  • Efficiency: This score mimics a car’s mileage. It takes into account both the charging and usage efficiency.

The company also takes into account if there’s a difference between the actual battery level and what the manufacturer shows on the phone’s interface. The final score looks something like this:

DxOMark’s overall battery score for a device

With the launch of this new analytics measure, the company has released scores of 17 devices. The battery monster Samsung Galaxy M51 with a 7,000 mAh battery is unsurprisingly on the top and the Wiko Power U30 with a 6,000 mAh battery takes second place.

DxOMark battery scores of the first 17 devices measured

But it’s not all about the gigantic batteries. The Oppo Find X3 Neo takes the third spot because of its blindingly fast charging feature and the iPhone 12 Pro Max takes the fourth spot thanks to its great efficiency.

DxOMark was known primarily for its photography scores, but in the last few years, the company has launched new measures for display and audio on phones. These two scores are dependant on a lot of subjective measurements and might not give users a clear idea of what to expect out of a device. However, the charging and autonomy subscores of battery measures can give you a fair idea of a device’s battery prowess.

Get the TNW newsletter

Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.

Also tagged with