There is a common belief that wireless audio devices drain a smartphone’s battery faster than wired earphones. This makes total sense, since wirelessly transmitting the sound from the source should, in theory, require more power as opposed to running through a cable. This is exactly what we want to find out in this post, and the final result may surprise you.
The devices
To make sure that we got most–if not all–of the bases covered, we ran our test on four different audio devices that represent different users. First, we used a stock wired earphone from Huawei that is bundled with their smartphone. We chose the Apple AirPods 2nd Generation for users who prefer wireless audio, and for more advanced users we selected the Razer Opus THX.
Finally, we have the audiophiles who typically pair a high-impedance audio device with their smartphones. For this, we chose the combo of KZ ZSN10 Pro X and JCally JM20 which offers a balance between better sound quality without breaking the bank.
Testing parameters
To test our theory, we used the following device, and some other factors to consider:
- Smartphone: Nothing Phone 1
- Volume Level: 50%
- Audio files: A playlist saved locally on the phone consisting of 10 songs with 192Kbps bitrate played in a loop.
- Play duration: 1 hour
The result:
- Pre-bundled Huawei USB-C earphones - 23.6 hours at 4.2% per hour
- AirPods 2nd Generation - 22.9 hours at 4.4% per hour
- Wireless Headphones (Razer Opus THX) - 24.4 hours at 4.1% per hour
- KZ ZSN 10 with JCally JM20 - 17.8 hours at 5.6% per hour
When it comes to battery consumption on smartphones, our investigation revealed some interesting findings. While wired earphones seem to be the most energy-efficient option, the difference in battery usage for going wireless isn’t really that significant. This means that the freedom of movement that wireless headphones provide doesn’t come at a steep cost to the smartphone’s battery.
What is more surprising is the result we got from the KZ ZSN 10 with JCally JM20 combo. Given that this is a wired setup, one would assume that it will not eat up this much power from the smartphone. That’s the price that we have to pay for having a better listening experience.
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