LG G2 review

The G2 is still a top performer, and now it's cheaper

LG G2 review
It's good - but is it the one?

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Battery life on the LG G2 is excellent. It seriously impressed when it first arrived on the scene in 2013, and I'm pleased to report that since the Android KitKat update battery life has managed to get even better.

LG G2 review

LG made a big deal out of taking up more internal space by staggering its battery shape within the device. As the back curves, the battery staggers or pyramids a little in shape to take advantage of what would otherwise be empty space.

That means LG was able to cram a 3000mAh power pack inside the G2, which is larger than the new flagships in the form of the Samsung Galaxy S5 and HTC One M8.

While the LG G2 doesn't benefit from the additional power efficiency of the Snapdragon 801 chip housed inside 2014's flagship devices, it trumps the likes of the Galaxy S4 and HTC One which had to make do with the Snapdragon 600 processor - giving the G2 a boost in the battery department.

With relatively heavy use (e-mail, social network, phone calls, messaging and some gaming) and all push notifications turned on, along with GPS and Wi-Fi on most of the day, the LG G2 still had some juice left by the time the work day was over.

LG G2 review

I unplugged the device from its charger at around 8am on average, and found that I'd still have about 20-25% battery life by the time I went to bed, which was around midnight. That's impressive.

We subjected it to our proper and in-depth battery test, placing the phone on Wi-Fi and brightness correcting the display to 305 lumens, and then running a 90 minute Full HD video.

With the updated Android 4.4 KitKat software the LG G2 took the prize as the longest-lasting phone on test - it lost just 7% of juice during the video.

That is some serious performance, as I usually see top end smartphones lose between 15% and 25% of juice in the same test.

If you do find yourself running out of juice the LG G2 comes with a power saving mode which you can flick on to help get the most out of the last few drops.

You can get the power saving mode to come on automatically when the battery drops below a certain percentage, and there are various options you can enable/disable while it's in operation.

John McCann
Global Managing Editor

John joined TechRadar over a decade ago as Staff Writer for Phones, and over the years has built up a vast knowledge of the tech industry. He's interviewed CEOs from some of the world's biggest tech firms, visited their HQs and has appeared on live TV and radio, including Sky News, BBC News, BBC World News, Al Jazeera, LBC and BBC Radio 4. Originally specializing in phones, tablets and wearables, John is now TechRadar's resident automotive expert, reviewing the latest and greatest EVs and PHEVs on the market. John also looks after the day-to-day running of the site.