In recent advertising, struggling iPhone knockoff peddler Samsung has been “suggesting that iPhones are so battery inadequate that their owners are wall-huggers,” Chris Matyszczyk reports for CNET.
“Apparently, iPhone owners huddle around power outlets like the destitute around a fire burning in a trash can, hoping to watch just one more YouTube video and read just one more email,” Matyszczyk reports. “Now you can go to selected airports and see words around your power outlets. These words, stunningly, are courtesy of Samsung, and they’re as biting as a ravenous, rabid raccoon.”
“They explain that the Samsung Galaxy S5 has Ultra Power Saving Mode. Once you’ve absorbed those words, you’re met with: ‘So you have the power to be anywhere but here,'” Matyszczyk reports. “Given its penchant for marketing-speak, Samsung describes these ads as ‘reaching consumers right at their pain point.'”
Read more and see Samsung’s ad in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: First off, Apple needs to do a better job explaining to users who might not be very technically inclined how their iPhones work and how to maximize battery life.
We’ve met people with iPhones who’ve never downloaded a single app, never updated any of the apps they do have, never updated their OS, never even restarted their iPhones, never removed photos and now have no more room left to snap another, never turned Bluetooth off/on, never increased their data-fetching interval, never turned off push email, leave their iPhones in hot car glove boxes for hours, have never disabled even a single push notification, never adjusted display brightness, allow every app access to location services, have never reduced their Auto-Lock interval, never deactivated Automatic Downloads, and grant every app the ability to Background App Refresh.
These people are the iPhone “users” who “hug walls” and constantly complain about their iPhone’s battery life. It’s like complaining about Congress, but never bothering to cast a vote.
Apple should include more than just a link to their website on the “instruction” card they put in each iPhone box. Apple’s in-package “instructions” take simplification to a ludicrous level; they are harming users, not helping them. Apple should include the same battery information they include on their website, how it works and how to maximize it, printed on a card, in every box. Maybe some of these cards will even get read.
Our iPhones last and last and last. And last. And last some more. Why? Because we RTFM and therefore know how to use them.
All that said, besides inferior iPhone knockoffs, all Samsung has left are iPhone-obsessed ads. If Apple’s paradigm-destroying iPhones are so awful, why is Samsung are so thoroughly obsessed with them and virtually everything else that Apple does or is even rumored to do?
Apple’s products came first, then Samsung’s:
Here’s what Google’s Android looked like before and after Apple’s iPhone:
Here’s what cellphones looked like before and after Apple’s iPhone:
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Pah. I just deleted Facebook messenger and my iPhone’s battery life is as long as ever.
I saw someone changing the battery on their Samsung. Never wanted to do that on the iPhone! Imaging having to charge two batteries — eew.
I’d love to turn the tables on Shitstorm and do an ad showing Android clumsiness & hapless tinkering fugly Fandroid. All too easy.
I’ve never ever hugged a wall with my iPhone ever, since 2007. If I needed more power there are other ways to go about it.
If you want to do an ad turning the tables on Samsung, do one showing current Galaxy owners using the very same outlets Samsung is mocking. I’m sure they are using them too.
That’s what I thinking too, emailing as they put the second battery in and it’s dead too, then pushing iOS users out of the way more urgently having no power at all. Good one! Heh. Shamdung sure can open up Pandora’s Box can’t they?
Certainly with Samsung taking it in the guts from everyone they would certainly be a soft and easy target
Apple could do an ad that would rip them apart but unfortunately are too classy to try. Maybe a new “I’m an Android/I’m an Apple iPhone” Mac/PC commercial revival. That would be hysterical. Of course the Android character would be this cold robotic-speaking unemotional thing that regularly goes into a malware fit after iPhone tells them not to gullibly hit that Trojan Horse button, but does anyway.
Fandroid customization idiocy would be cute too with Android dancing in and looking like Carmen Miranda and fooling around looking silly wasting time while the iPhone guy says “Excuse me I have to take this personal call for a date. But you have fun…”
Another one while the goofy Android guy is fooling around again with customization when we hear the voice of it’s “mother” calling it upstairs for dinner. Obviously hinting he still lives in Mom’s infamous basement.
And the reason is:
iPhone and MacBook users actually USE their Apple devices while on planes while Samsung users soak up the seatback TV!
Just a tiny comment on MDN commentary – turning off Bluetooth doesn’t have any effect on battery life. Since iOS 5 and iPhone 4s Bluetooth uses no power even when on as long as no devices are paired.
From Apple’s battery info web pages to which MDN so helpfully linked:
“Bluetooth wireless. Likewise, you can turn off Bluetooth to maximize your battery life, since it also consumes power when not in use.” – Apple Inc.
Forget about better printed cards or instructions elsewhere. Apple needs to have the iPhone ITSELF do something like this: when the 20% warning pops up, the dialog has a button labeled “Help me save battery.” Pushing that button not only gives you advice on how to do it, but you can actually ask it to make some of the suggested changes in some kind of guided process.
Another non-battery example of where Apple should do this: my Dad’s iPhone hadn’t been backed-up in over a month. Guess why? Their Wi-Fi router was changed by the cable company, so his iPhone wasn’t logged in, which meant that even though he plugged the iPhone into power overnight, it wasn’t doing a backup automatically. That also meant he was using 3G data instead of Wi-Fi, even at home. It seems like it would be possible for the phone to notice that you are in the same place where you used to have Wi-Fi, but haven’t connected to it for many days. Perhaps it could suggest that you need help connecting. Basically, I think there could be a “help me” setting at the OS-level for users who could use guided assistance. Apple could make that work really well. More advanced users could turn that off.
As simple as iOS is, it is still much too complicated for a large percentage of the users out there. Just read the various how-to articles on the web, then realize that at least half of the users aren’t even advanced enough to find and read even those often-very-simple-concept articles.
Excellent post. The user shouldn’t HAVE to control all those thingees to save battery power. Apple just needs to have a low-power mode which turns off battery suckers.
The Bluetooth chip uses about 40 micro amps, if I remember correctly, *just being ready* to receive a signal. And with the Bluetooth LE implementation (used for iBeacon) it’s always there waiting to receive a signal. When operating (sending and receiving data) it’s more.
Yes, 40 micro amps is a very small amount, but if you don’t use Bluetooth with your iPhone and don’t care about iBeakon, why have it on at all?
I agree with MDN’s take. Still, many users of that ilk will not change their habits.
A contrast between the “wall huggers” and Samsung shows one who the the real smart phone USERS are.
Yeah, and I will mock Cadilac Owner’s because their cars don’t have the city millage that my yugo has.
My Escalade is probably made out of a recycled Yugo, and a Ferrari and Maseratti, and maybe a Pinto or two.
Great take MDN. There’s a rumor that Apple is taking big step towards educating users with the new “Tips” app that may be coming in iOS 8..
Rarely does mocking a competitor work. Usually it just highlights that competitors product. The only example I found that work well was Apple I’m a Mac campaign. Then the hurt over PCs reliability was massive and Apple clearly hit home with those ads.
Battery life is always hardest hit when traveling. The location is changing and the phone has to work harder at maintaining connection. I have iPhone portable chargers when I travel which can give a well needed boost. Scaling down services is the best way to go and the link that MDN has provided is a good start.
Absoultely correct!
Consumers are smart enough to recognize that the item mocked, must be really good if a competitor has to try to knock it down.
Again. Clueless Samsung management prevails!
Not how battery life compares between a galaxy and an iPhone, but tabletwise… iPads are way above any samsung.
Gosh, Samsung makes me feel so good. I just want to rush right out and buy a couple of Samsung phones, expensive ones with 2 year contracts. NOT!
If I have to RTFM then doesn’t that defeat the whole “it just works?”
I just want to use my phone how I need to use it and still have battery life left to use it. All I want is a full day of use. My wife has the S5 and it crushes my iPhone 5.
It’s funny this post even comes up. I was just walking through O’Hare yesterday, and noticed the advertisements around all the lower power outlets in the airport. Attached to most of all these outlets …. People charging their devices. In all fairness, I cannot say they were all Apple devices and for me my Note 2 needed just as much of a charge as my iPhone 5. I can only hope the iPhone 6 rectifies some of the battery issues.
iPhone isn’t a phone, it’s a computer in your pocket. if you don’t understand even the basics of how it works and what it’s doing, you don’t understand how to maximize your battery life. It just works out of the box, but “it just works” much better after you spend five minutes to RTFM.
They are all computers in your pocket, Apple, Android, Windows etc. How do you not comprehend that when I am saying phone it is short for smart phone, which are now all more powerful than my first computer. I understand how the “phone” works, I just don’t see why I should be shutting core features or constantly tweaking the phone just to eke out a days worth of battery, which I just don’t get. I understand if a third party app is chewing up the battery, but out of the box and under normal use without incessant tweaking the iPhone should last me a day if they are not going to allow me to swap the battery.
My iPhone 5 battery generally lasts 2 days or more, even though I live in an area where my cell coverage comes and goes several times a day. It does so because I don’t allow things like location services to apps that don’t need them (e.g. Facebook). If you can’t get a full day of battery life from your iPhone 5 you definitely ARE doing something wrong.
Even so, my experience is that even just a few minutes on the charger will give you a substantial boost in battery charge status, so it’s really not an issue.
By the way, it’s only 12:56pm and my iPhone 5 is already down to 30%. Don’t think I’m getting a day out of this one….
Exactly this. Apple built their reputation on NOT having to RTFM, because their systems were designed to hide or even remove technical choices away from non-technical people.
To those who now turn around and demand users an offline RTFM… what are you, Linux snobs?
At the very least iOS should, at 20% battery remaining, show a *useful* warning with two buttons: continue current usage, or enter power-saving mode which disables things like push email, notifications, GPS, Bluetooth, etc… maybe even drop the CPU to a slower speed. Same warning/choice at 10% battery, except if user wasn’t around to make a decision on the 20% warning, power-saving mode is entered automatically.
Samsung, super uber power saving mode… Which turns your smartphone into a black and white basic phone only… Yeah I see how that helps those wanting to surf, text, and enjoy the full web experience… /s
Agree with MDN – Apple needs to provide a more detailed instruction card with every iPhone, iPad.
Second, Apple should just bite the bullet and use higher capacity batteries. Longer battery life will lead to more satisfied customers starting with me!
If you want larger capacity batteries, Your problem is solved.
There are several battery/case makers that double your battery life and use the case battery first.
These are great items, cost little and auto charge both the iPhone and case batteries at night when plugged in.
Most iOS users can afford seats on a plane that have outlets.
Glad to hear iOS users are so rich.
Snob!
Reminds me of a friend of mine years ago.
He owned a few rental houses. One day a new tenant called him to complain about the furnace and the $400 monthly bill they got. It was winter time.
He drove over to check it out. First issue was the front door, it was wide open with just the screen door closed. Then upstairs, there were two windows open. Thermostat was set at 80º.
These idiots had no idea that leaving the door and windows open affected their heating bill.
So no, “it just works” does need some common sense. Batteries can only power so many Apps and actions. Wish the settings could have a power rating next to them.
ie: Instagram – Will consume 1 hour of battery life per day.
I can dream.
I had a tenant who just set the thermostat all the way up and then regulated winter temperature by opening windows more or less. Sigh.
It is important to understand how stuff works.
Yeah, I have a personal iPhone 5S and a work supplied Galaxy S4, under similar use the iPhone battery lasts several times as long as the S4. I am sometimes shocked at how quickly the S4 kills the battery sometimes. And then recently my S4 started rebooting all of the time. In one three hour period a couple of weeks ago, it rebooted itself at least four times that I saw. No comparison.
The S4 is absolute trash. They locked the bootloader which means you’re forced to remain on the stock ROM.
Samsung makes devices with specs that look amazing on paper. But the ROMS they put with them are garbage and ruin the whole experience. I tried running my Galaxy Note 2 on the stock ROM when I got it and was immediately frustrated with how bulky, cumbersome, and awkward the ROM felt. I couldn’t even copy anything from my PC to my phone without it erroring out and getting a security alert on my phone. I mean, the hell?
Luckily the CyanogenMod installer supports my phone and I had it on CyanogenMod Android in less than ten minutes with just a few clicks. CyanogenMod is a much simpler, more streamlined, no bloatware and no bullshit distro of Android.
Now that I sat down and ran a stock ROM for ten minutes I can kinda see where Apple users are coming from when they talk down on Android.
But I maintain that no one’s Android experience has to be like that.
MDN’s take is nonsense.
A device is sold under the pretext of great performance. That’s what Apple promotes. That’s what Apple promises.
Reality is often much less than that.
Don’t get me wrong, other MFGs do it too.
Instructing the user on the limitations of a device is NEVER done by anyone.
Solution:
Whenever syncing, present the user with the status of their device in plain language. That’s what alerts are for.
Set up alerts for every power hog service. Warn the user of the potential impact on battery life. Allow the user to dismiss the warnings completely.
Warn a user repeatedly when the storage is about to be maxed out.
Finally, my iPhone’s battery life is usually pretty darn good. I’ve done no special optimizing to the system.
You are actually wrong in your analysis. You state that Instructing the user on the limitations of a device is NEVER done by anyone”
That is blatantly false. Try driving a manual car in first gear and go at 50 mph and tell me how you get optimal mpg from that. The user has to know that there are limitations to using any device, car and phones included. If you have your wifi “ON” and not using it you will drain your battery pretty fast. Yes. That is a “limitation” as you see it, just as its a limitation of driving your manual car in first gear on the expressway.
If you buy a stick shift car there is a general understanding that the person purchasing it knows that they need to shift the gears. Manual transmission implicitly implies that you better know how to do it yourself. This is not the same as battery life as the iPhone is more comparable to an automatic transmission. It should just work, you don’t need to RTFM, and if it stays in first gear there is something really wrong with the car and your solution shouldn’t be “you’re shifting it wrong.”
Yeah, here’s an idea: Have iTunes show us battery drain by app since the last sync. That might motivate developers a bit, and help the situation out for Apple and the users.
I have hugged the wall at the airort before getting on my 11 hour nonstop trip in a seat that doesn’t have a charging outlet or USB port, why not, waiting for flight is downtime anyway.
I can see it now. The next wave of mobile phones, to follow the phablets, will be the PHATPHONES: They’re 5x thicker than a standard mobile phone in order to accommodate fat batteries, resulting in longer battery use times. “It fits in your glove box!”
And of course they will also have longer battery charging times.
Result: Phat Phablets. The cartoon character Little Lotta will be dragged out of the cartoon archives to be used as its mascot:
Lowest life company on the planet!
Copy then mock the person u copied from..
How classy !
I actually really like this comment!!! Spot on!
I just checked my iPhone 5 and my Usage since the last full charge done yesterday is 1 Hour and 48 Minutes. Standby is 21 Hours, 12 Minutes.
Usage comprised of surfing the net for the most part, as well as the following apps: Clock (Alarm), Camera, Calendar, 1Password, Maps, Messages, TomTom, Magic Plan, Houzz, Mail and Photo.
Admittedly, my Standby was not as high as it is now until I personally and recently reviewed (AGAIN) and followed Scotty Loveless’s guide*. Much of which is posted and recommended by Apple via their iOS Help/Support/Manuals.
The idea that a battery operated device of any nature should an entitlement, that is, to provide unlimited service, is ludicrous. One of the primary dictates of Jobs was that the iPhone make phone calls, thus the limitation of apps at time of launch and the protocols instilled in their development since.
For those who have issues with iPhone’s battery life, I contend that either, they don’t understand why leaving a flashlight light on, will eventually kill the battery; that operating multiple applications simultaneously on any mobile device will speed up its demise, or that not servicing, i.e., abusing any mobile device, routinely and properly can equally decrease its longevity.
Now the idea that Apple should forsake it’s diminutive form to enlarge its power supply is ludicrous. However, the concept that one should vehemently chastise Apple because they ran out of power is equally asinine.
If one leaves the comfort of their home or work knowingly or expects that their mobile device is undercharged, what would be wrong carrying along a juice pack or two, a car charger (they work in taxis too), as well as their power adapter. Surprising how many do.
* http://www.scottyloveless.com/blog/2014/the-ultimate-guide-to-solving-ios-battery-drain
I own an iPhone 4 purchased in 2010 on release. I can still get a full day, today for instance my phone with an old 4 yr old tired battery lasted from 6am – 8pm – using internet all day, screen at full brightness and a phone call or two plus emailing. Oh and I took a few snaps too. Enough said I think.
Wow.. Talk about making a mountain out of a molehill.. Rather than targeting iPhones, it seems to me those stickers are saying if you have any phone OTHER than the Samsung Galaxy S5 you too may be a wall hugger.. This would include all models of every OEM out there including older models of the Galaxy.. Seems Chris Matyszczyk and MDN are WAY too sensitive to anything that may even sniff of being anti-Apple.
Maybe the TV ad Apple should respond with wouldn’t use words at all. From a helicopter outside the Indianapolis Motor Speedway the camera would show us all the parked cars, and the cars would all be white or blue, parked so they spell Samsung. Quick cut inside the speedway of cars blurring by at such high speed. Back out to the parking lot, maybe some litter blowing through. Cut into pit row where cars are coming in to refuel. Back out to the quiet parking lot — figure out some where to show maybe a lonely fellow with a 5 gallon gas can and a sandwich board over his chest advertising 5 gallons for $20. Back inside to zooming cars swooping in for a quick fill up. Back out to the lonely gas boy kicking a tire in frustration. Ariel shot pulls up showing the Samsung parking lot again, with a push transition back into pit row as another car screams away to get back to doing what it’s there for. Tagline fades in: “Fuel your life. iPhone 6x”
It seems odd to me for a company to make a big deal to install charging stations at places like airports, to turn around and start mocking the very people who make use of them.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=agjR24mfxPJo
Oh wait, this is Samsung. It doesn’t have to make any rational sense.
But I don’t want to turn off all that makes the iPhone cool and amazing. Albeit I still have loads of coolness left, but I want it all on AND at the same time I want I a full days charge 🙂