Synthetic, real-world or a mix of both

[D13H4RD]

This comment by Razer's CEO in response to my concerns have kinda sparked this question.

 

What do you use to judge stuff like performance or battery life?

 

Do you use synthetic tests, real-world testing or a mix of both.

 

Personally, I use a mix of both. I check synthetic results to get a baseline and then checking real-world results to see how they measure up. Synthetic tests to me tend to be more objective and real-world testing can have elements of subjectivity, especially for battery life.

 

[kerradeph]

I know that a while back with laptop battery testing they would run a youtube video on repeat.

[Zando_]

I’d say for phones especially, real world testing is important, but also inconsistent. Depending on what apps you run, what they do in the background, whether you phone is always checking for updates, if you enable or disable WiFi, etc, the battery life will change. So synthetic benchmarks are a good baseline for a worst case scenario, you can expect to get slightly better battery life in real world use, maybe even a lot more depending on what you do with your phone. 

[Drak3]

Worst case scenario. Also, I don't care if there is a battery case available or it has quick charge.

[dizmo]

I can't help but think that this deserves a poll

[D13H4RD]

1 minute ago, Zando Bob said:

I’d say for phones especially, real world testing is important, but also inconsistent. Depending on what apps you run, what they do in the background, whether you phone is always checking for updates, if you enable or disable WiFi, etc, the battery life will change. So synthetic benchmarks are a good baseline for a worst case scenario, you can expect to get slightly better battery life in real world use, maybe even a lot more depending on what you do with your phone. 

I agree.

 

The problem with real-world testing for phones is that it's highly subjective. What apps do you load? How do you use your phone? What's your charging habits? What do you watch on YouTube? Etc.

 

Synthetic testing is important to establish a baseline figure.

[Zando_]

Just now, D13H4RD2L1V3 said:

I agree.

 

The problem with real-world testing for phones is that it's highly subjective. What apps do you load? How do you use your phone? What's your charging habits? What do you watch on YouTube? Etc.

 

Synthetic testing is important to establish a baseline figure.

Yep. Like my iPhone 6 Plus could last me 2 days easy, depending on how much YouTube I watch. But my Samsung S6 battery life seems to suck, until I take into account that whenever I’m using it I’m downloading something, and running an antivirus I’m the background, custom app overlays, a launcher, playing games, and whatnot. If I use it the same as my 6 Plus, then it’s fine. 

[Drak3]

3 minutes ago, dizmo said:

I can't help but think that this deserves a poll

I disagree. We should have a poll on it though.

[Gale]

Synthetic tests are more consistent. In science, the best way to measure/test something, is to take the human variable away as much as possible.

[mr moose]

I don't really even look into it.  The worst phone I've had lasted a day and the best (smart phone) lasts 3 days.  Seeing as I can charge every night and have a spare battery in the glove box for those rare occasions it runs flat, it's just another metric that I don't need to worry about. 

 

I tend to worry more about physical quality and if it is fast enough not to piss me off when using it.

[D13H4RD]

1 hour ago, Drak3 said:

I disagree. We should have a poll on it though.

Done