7 best phones for long battery life: Failsafe handsets that won’t fall flat

Nokia’s latest, the G21, boasts three days of battery life, which is almost unheard of for a smartphone. Mostly, that’s because making a phone capable of playing video, running GPS, taking advanced photos and so on takes a significant toll on a battery. The more you use it, the quicker it’ll empty. Though Android and Apple’s iOS both have efficient performance, it’s still not enough. The G21 includes a special super battery saver mode that lets you choose exactly which features to use and which to shut down to save battery when you’re using it. This is a highly affordable phone but still manages to include three cameras, including one 50MP snapper.

Apple’s latest phones have great battery life, but none more so than the iPhone 14 pro max which, Apple says, has the longest of any iPhone ever. It really is epic, lasting a full day no matter what you do and edging into the next day easily. The large size means there’s room for a big battery, though this does mean it won’t suit smaller hands as comfortably. Apple regularly wins against competitors for the quality of cameras, speed of the processor, excellence of the display and more. There’s also 5G connectivity, a tough front glass called ceramic display and Apple’s sublimely simple interface.

Read our full review of the iPhone 14 pro and iPhone 14 pro max

The original Nokia 6310 was one of the most successful phones of its time. This revival mimics the shape of the original while replacing the small monochrome screen with a larger colour one. Because it’s a feature phone, it lasts a very long time on standby. Nokia claims 21.7 days and that seems about right. It’s a great fit in the hand and the big buttons are easy to use. Features include FM radio and a new version of the popular game Snake. It’s a 2G phone, so though you can look at web pages, it’s pretty slow.

Sony’s phone is impressive because it offers 5G connectivity as well as exceptionally long battery life – enough to last well over a day and a good part of the next. It means you can watch video on the 6in display (which looks good because of the 21:9 aspect ratio that’s properly widescreen) for ages and still have plenty of juice left. It also has decent cameras – though you can find better on other phones, it’ll usually come with shorter battery life.

Punkt. (which spells its name with a full stop in it) is a brilliant design house from Switzerland. The MP02 is a stunning phone that feels great in the hand and has a pleasing nostalgic-meets-modern feel. It’s a phone that encourages you to stick to calls and texts, while the screen is colour but shows up as monochrome in almost all situations. It has 4G connectivity, but doesn’t run social apps, instead suggesting that getting online should be done on a tablet or laptop, though you can share the phone’s 4G connection with your bigger device. Because of its small display, the battery life is excellent (the brand promises 180 hours on standby).

OnePlus has had great success with its budget nord range and this newly announced update continues its tradition of strong battery life. You’ll get almost two days between charges and it has another speciality: fast charging. The supplied plug means it recharges from flat to almost full in just half an hour. The battery life and fast charge together mean this phone is rarely short of juice. It’s also a very slick handset with a gorgeous design and fingerprint sensor built into the display. This has an OLED screen, by the way, with a fast refresh rate, so it looks great. Add these features together, and the fact that it’s a 5G phone, and it performs like a much pricier smartphone.

When HMD Global started licensing the Nokia brand, it re-issued some of the brand’s classics, like the 6310 above (£59.99, Nokia.com). But the first, and arguably the most striking, was the refresh of the 3310. It perfectly evokes the original while offering a fun, attractive new design. The camera is basic, the display is small and there are relatively few apps available. But the standby time is 31 days. Like the Nokia 6310 above, this is a 2G phone, something which contributes to the remarkable battery life.