We subjected the Sony Xperia 1 IV to our rigorous SBMARK battery test suite to measure its performance in terms of range, charging and efficiency. In these test results, we will analyze how it fared in a variety of tests and several common use cases.
Overview
Key specs:
- Battery capacity: 5000mAh
- 30W charger (not included)
- 6.5-inch, 1644 x 3840, 120Hz OLED display
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 (4 nm)
- Tested ROM / RAM combination: 256GB + 12GB
Pros
- Fair autonomy when calling in calibrated mode
- Good autonomy during calls and using the camera on the go
- Very low residual consumption of the battery charger, as well as of the wireless charger
versus
- Poor autonomy during a typical use scenario
- Inaccurate battery indicator
- Extremely low battery life when streaming video in calibrated mode
- Low battery life when playing and streaming music in calibrated mode
- Very low autonomy when scrolling social apps on the go
- Long charging time
- Low autonomy obtained after a 5 minute recharge
- Low charging efficiency
- Very high discharge current when streaming videos and music, games and scrolling on social apps
The Sony Xperia 1 IV showed poor battery life when tested at default settings during typical usage scenario tests. Its on-the-go performance was decent when calling or taking photos and videos, but when it came to scrolling through social apps, battery life dropped dramatically to one of the lowest levels we’ve measured to date. When tested in calibrated mode, the Sony Xperia 1 IV had decent battery life in the call test as well, but struggled a lot when streaming video, where it had one of the lowest battery life readings in our database. Game and music streaming use cases also have little battery life.
When it comes to charging, the Xperia 1 IV didn’t show great performance either. The 30W took 2 hours to fill the large 5000mAh battery and only provided 2 hours and 40 minutes of battery life after a 5 minute charge. The wireless experience was average, taking 2 hours and 18 minutes to fully charge the device.
Charging efficiency was poor, but the residual power consumption of both the wired and wireless chargers was low, consuming a very small amount of power.
Discharge efficiency was also poor, with the Sony Xperia 1 IV discharging very high discharge currents during use cases such as gaming, music streaming, GPS navigation and especially video streaming, showing that it is not well optimized for such use. . The camera and call use cases, however, were well handled, which was evident from the low current drain.
When compared to devices in the Ultra-premium segment ($ 800 +), the Sony Xperia 1 IV also scores very low. Battery life is close to average, but the charge and efficiency scores were very low.
Test summary
About SBMARK Battery Tests: For the score and analysis in our smartphone battery reviews, SBMARK engineers perform a series of objective tests over a period of one week both indoors and outdoors. (See our introductory article and how we test articles for more details on our Smartphone Battery Protocol.)
The following section collects the key elements of our exhaustive tests and analyzes performed in SBMARK laboratories. Detailed performance evaluations in the form of reports are available upon request. Do not hesitate to contact us.
| Battery | Battery charger | wireless | Screen | Processor | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 mAh | 0W (not included) |
– | X | ||
| Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max | 4352 mAh | 20 W (included) |
15W | OLED 1284 x 2778 |
Apple A15 Bionic |
| Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Snapdragon) | 5000 mAh | 45 W (included) |
15W | AMOLED 2X 1440 x 3088 |
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 |
Autonomy
87
Wiko Power U30
Wiko Power U30
How the autonomy score is composed
The range score is made up of three performance sub-scores: stationary, moving, and calibrated use cases. Each sub-score includes the results of a full range of tests to measure autonomy in all kinds of real-life scenarios.
67 hours
Light use
Active: 2h30 / day
47 hours
Moderate use
Active: 4 hours a day
29h
Intense use
Active: 7 hours a day
Home office
85
Viva Y72 5G
Viva Y72 5G
A robot housed in a Faraday cage performs a series of touch-based user actions during what we call our “typical use scenario” (TUS) – making calls, streaming video, etc. – 4 hours of active use over a 16-hour period, plus 8 hours of “sleep”. The robot repeats this series of actions every day until the device is discharged.
In movement
107
Samsung Galaxy M51
Samsung Galaxy M51
Using a smartphone on the go puts a strain on autonomy due to additional “hidden” needs, such as the continuous signaling associated with the selection of the cellular network. SBMARK Battery experts take the phone outdoors and perform a well-defined set of activities while following the same three-hour travel itinerary (on foot, by bus, by subway …) for each device
Calibrated
84
Samsung Galaxy M51
Samsung Galaxy M51
For this series of tests, the smartphone returns to the Faraday cage and ours robots repeatedly perform actions related to a specific use case (such as games, video streaming, etc.) at a time. Starting at an 80% charge, all devices are tested until they have consumed at least 5% of the battery charge.
Reload
103
Realme GT Neo 3
Realme GT Neo 3
How the Charge score is composed
Charging is completely part of the overall battery experience. In some situations where autonomy is minimal, knowing how fast you can charge becomes a problem. The SBMARK battery charge score consists of two secondary scores, (1) Full charge and (2) Fast boost.
Full charge
102
Realme GT Neo 3
Realme GT Neo 3
Full charge tests evaluate the reliability of the battery charge indicator; measure how long and how much energy the battery takes to charge from zero to 80% capacity, 80 to 100% as shown by the user interface, and up to an actual full charge.
The charging curves, in wired and wireless mode (if available) show the evolution of the battery level indicator as well as the energy consumption in watts during the charging phases towards full capacity.
The charging curves, in wired and wireless mode (if available) show the evolution of the battery level indicator as well as the energy consumption in watts during the charging phases towards full capacity.
Fast thrust
104
Realme GT Neo 3
Realme GT Neo 3
With the phone at different charge levels (20%, 40%, 60%, 80%), Quick boost tests measure the amount of charge the battery receives after being plugged in for 5 minutes. The graph here compares the average runtime gain from a 5 minute quick charge.
Efficiency
61
Oppo Reno6 5G
Oppo Reno6 5G
How the efficiency score is composed
The SBMARK energy efficiency score consists of two secondary scores, Charge up and Discharge rate, which combine both data obtained during a typical use scenario based on robots, calibrated tests and charge evaluation, taking into account the battery capacity of the device . SBMARK calculates the annual energy consumption of the product, shown in the graph below, which is representative of the overall efficiency during charging and in use.
To load
114
Nubia RedMagic 7 Pro
Nubia RedMagic 7 Pro
The secondary charge score is a combination of four factors: the overall efficiency of a full charge, relative to the amount of energy needed to fill the battery versus the energy the battery can provide; the efficiency of the travel adapter when it comes to transferring power from an outlet to the phone; the residual consumption when the phone is fully charged and still connected to the charger; and the residual consumption of the charger itself, when the smartphone is disconnected from it. The graph below shows the overall efficiency of a full charge in%.
Discharge
45
Apple iPhone 12 mini
Apple iPhone 12 mini
The discharge secondary score evaluates the discharge rate of a battery during a test, which is independent of the battery capacity. It is the ratio of the capacity of a battery divided by its autonomy. A small capacity battery may have the same runtime as a large capacity battery, indicating that the device is well optimized, with a low discharge rate.
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