The Droid Maxx, Two Weeks In
Posted on April 4, 2014 Posted by John Scalzi 13 Comments
I’m two weeks in to owning the Droid Maxx, and I gotta say that I love love love the thing, and the reason is almost entirely down to the battery life, which for me at least lives up to its advertised claim of lasting up to 48 hours. The acid test was me taking it to Emerald City Comicon and keeping it off a power tether from the moment I woke up until I put my head on the pillow. I simply never had to worry about how much battery life I had left. That’s literally the first time I could do that with a smart phone.
For those about to ask, I will note that I am not a “power” smartphone user, which is to say I don’t watch a lot of video or play many processor-intensive video games on it. I’m mostly text-based: I check Twitter and email, hit Facebook occasionally, cruise around the Web and read books, text every now and then and even (rarely) make a phone call. If I used the phone as a primary screen for Netflix and HBO Go, I could see possibly running out of juice at some point before midnight. But how I use the phone? Really, not a problem at all.
The phone is otherwise more than sufficient for what I use phones for — it pops up apps quickly, doesn’t get bogged down, processor-wise, and so far I haven’t once cursed at it, which may be a record for a smartphone. The screen is lovely (it’s not 1080p, which I understand some people hold against it, but it’s more than hi-def enough for me) and the no-touch commands Motorola and Google have baked into it work like a charm for me. My only real complaint is with the camera, which is inconsistent, particularly with auto-focus. But then I don’t think I’ve ever had a phone that has been more than barely adequate on that score, so I don’t really count it against it.
Also, while the five-inch screen is bright and lovely, I think I now know the maximum size I want my phone to be — I can only just get my thumb all the way across the screen while holding the phone with one hand. I can’t imagine wanting a larger phone. I mean, the thing is big enough as it is.
But really, again, for me what it comes down to is battery life, and this phone’s got it. Tons of it. Scads of it. The Droid Maxx is now my benchmark for that particular aspect of a smartphone. In the future, if a phone can’t match its battery longevity, I’m probably not going to get it. Likewise, if battery life is as much a consideration for you as it is for me, take a look at the Droid Maxx. So far, at least, I’ve been very happy with it.
That’s great, Scalzi! I’m maybe a bit more of a power user than you (I sometimes watch video on my phone, and I listen to music and podcasts on it pretty steadily) – I have an iPhone 5S, which gets really good battery life, and I still have to sweat power by the end of the day.
If there’re enough pixels so that you don’t see the ’em (jaggy text, weird shaped pupils etc) the res is perfect, and more pixels just hurts battery life.
Very cool, John!
Possibly useful observation (possibly not): I have an older Android phone (Galaxy S) which does not have a great camera. I was surprised by how much better it does since I got a better camera app off the app store (in my case Camera Zoom FX).
I am about 5 weeks in on my Maxx and love it!
Super Battery Life!
Great write up!
I have a Galaxy Note and it’s a juice hog, just web use and no downloads or games runs it dry in about 4 hrs. I imagine it’s the huge screen, which I thought would be nice for watching basketball games on (my job has a lot of downtime.)
I wouldn’t buy one this big again – awkward to store in pants, though it seemed okay when I tried it in the store.
Glad you like it. I love my Note 3 for the same reasons. I can get 2 – 3 days of life out of it with moderate use. Camera is fantastic as well for a smartphone. BIG beautiful screen sure doesn’t hurt either…
I’m a BB Z30 owner and a heavy user at times; the battery lasts on average 3 days! 2 if I’m using a lot of video… I was curious about the Maxx as well, but my boss is a major BB10 booster, so I took a look at it as well and found myself leaning toward the BB by the end of the day.
I’ve started to listen to podcasts on my Droid Maxx, and there’s still plenty of power at the end of the day. I should also say that at this point I have the “OK Google” feature turned off, which I’ve read will increase battery life. I’ve also not found use for it – yet. That’s probably because my smartphone usage hasn’t migrated to 2014 at this point.
I’ve had my Droid Maxx since the day my local Verizon store had it in stock. I work in IT, have a ton of apps on it, accessing three different email accounts, web and text, have watched some video, (March madness, HBO Go). And I love the thing, it’s the best darn phone I’ve ever ever had. Battery life is fantastic, I normally charge it every other night or so, for one never knows when you’ll be chatting with tech support all night, it’s never died yet. (Just wish it could translate Indian English!) I have large hands so it’s no problem handling it as it lives in an Otter Box. Let’s pray Lenovo doesn’t screw it up.
I also have been using mine for two weeks and I also LOVE it! I don’t even need to take a charger with me to work.
The hot spot feature works about 100 times better on the Maxx than on my old phone–I never lose internet service now while using it. So far haven’t had a problem with the camera, but I haven’t taken too many pictures yet.
Soo happy. Now I just have to remind myself to keep my data usage down. I’m coming off an unlimited plan.
After getting my HTC One with it’s 1080×1920 screen, I have realized that my eyes are now at the point where they can’t tell the difference between a “retina-equivalent” and “non-retina-equivalent” resolution :), so HiDef is no longer a selling point for me :)
I’ve standardized on only buying phones that have removable batteries. I then purchase several spare batteries and a desktop battery charger (the site I buy from sells batteries for about 6 bucks apiece and desktop chargers for about 10 bucks). Tuck a spare battery in my pocket then all I have to do is swap the battery for a fresh 100% availability of power. I also keep a charge cord in the car and if I’m working onsite in an office, bring a spare charger to just leave there.
@John Armstrong “…awkward to store in pants, though it seemed okay when I tried it in the store.”
I know you’re referring to putting it in your pocket but oh the images that went through my head when I read that… ;)