Which uses more power/drains more battery: HTC Evo 3G or 4G?

I've read mixed reports online about which radio uses more power -- 3G or 4G. Has anyone done any semi-scientific tests that would answer this question?

  • When constantly downloading data over the same period of time, which uses more battery (battery drain per second of download)?
  • When downloading the same amount of data, which uses more battery (battery drain per KB)?
  • Do both radios sleep with the same consistency? Do they use the same amount of power when sleeping or is one better than the other?

I don't think this is a simple question since the different frequencies might take different amounts of power to transmit/receive, since 4G is faster and may get to go back to sleep sooner, since the process of holding onto a signal may be different, etc.

My city won't have 4G until the end of the year but I'd really like to know.

Topic htc-evo battery-life android

Category Android

1
answered at

So I can't give you a scientific (or even semi-scientific) answer, but I can give you an anecdotal one based on my experience over the past couple months..

We have 4G here in Atlanta, and while it works most everywhere I go during the day, I've found myself leaving it off most of the time because it has a noticeable impact on battery drain.

The way I understand it, the 4G radio is separate from the 3G radio, and I'm not sure the 4G radio turns "off" the 3G. I say this because when you use 4G it's possible to receive data during a voice call, which you can't do otherwise.

That said, using the 4G widget it's really easy to flip it on when you need it, and leave it off when you don't. It's not inconvenient, and will help your battery life..

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