Samsung comments on the battery issues plaguing the Exynos-powered Galaxy S9

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Samsung comments on the battery issues plaguing the Exynos-powered Galaxy S9

Samsung has responded to reports about battery issues plaguing the Exynos-powered Galaxy S9. In a statement to Android Central, a Samsung spokesperson said:

The Galaxy S9 is a reimagined smartphone designed to provide the best experience possible. Battery discharge time is dependent upon each user's specific installed apps and settings, as well as other environmental factors. Both processors go through strict and rigorous testing considering real life usage scenarios, in order to provide the same top-of-the-line experience regardless of processor. Samsung is committed to delivering consistent battery performance over the lifecycle of the phone to provide users with an optimal experience.

Simply put, Samsung is saying that there is nothing wrong with the Exynos-powered Galaxy S9. However, several publications believed the issue lies with the Exynos processor or software optimizations:

From AnandTech's review of the Galaxy S9:

This is such a terrible battery performance of the Exynos 9810 variant that it again puts even more clout into the new SoC. My theory as to why this happens is that not only do the higher frequency state require more energy per work done than competing SoCs – because this is a big CPU complex there’s also lots of leakage at play. The DVFS system being so slow might actually be bad for energy here as we might be seeing the opposite of race-to-sleep, walk-to-waste. The fact that Apple’s SoCs don’t have any issues with battery life in this test showcases that it’s not an inherent problem of having a high-power micro-architecture, but rather something specific to the Exynos 9810.

From Yonhap News Agency:

"Although the battery's capacity is also important, the phone's optimization algorithm is very crucial," an industry insider said. "The Galaxy S9 came with various new features, which possibly led to more stand-by power consumption. (Samsung) may have failed to develop power-saving algorithms properly."

From Android Central:

The reason for Samsung's poor showing isn't because the Exynos 9810 is a bad chip, or even that it's inherently power-hungry; it appears that Samsung merely programmed the core scheduler poorly, resulting in clock speeds and voltage settings that aren't appropriate for the task at hand.

Several HWZ forum members have shared their experiences using the Galaxy S9 models and how the battery life was poorer than their previous handsets. They also found the battery drain to be higher than usual.