We’ve come to a point where there’s only so far we can go when it comes to improving a smartphone’s raw power. This means that most of today’s flagships aren’t the massive jumps we once saw, and instead are more like incremental updates when compared to their predecessors.
Instead of attempting to fight in the spec war with increasing RAM sizes, powerful processors and high resolution displays, some manufacturers are choosing to turn to their attention to improving other aspects of the smartphone experience. For Motorola, the focus has been the user experience with its Moto X. Companies like OnePlus are trying to give us a reasonably low-cost device with high-end specs and a near-stock-like CM experience. And for Philips, the focus for the Philips W6618 is battery life.
The Philips W6618 is not at all a high-end device by any means, with a price tag of 1699 Yuan in China, or about $273. In fact, the specs are pretty boring with a 1.3GHz MediaTek quad-core CPU, 1GB RAM, microSD, and a 5-inch qHD display. Where the W6618 stands out is in the presence of a massive 5300 mAh battery, though that also means it is a bit thicker at 11.6mm.
Where the W6618 stands out is in the presence of a massive 5300 mAh battery
According to Philips, the handset can provide more than two months (66 days) of standby time, and as much as 33 hours of talktime! Of course actual battery life might be a lot lower if you’re running a bunch of apps or playing a bunch of games, but it’s hard not to be at least a little impressed.
The Philips W6618 is more than likely never going to make its way outside of select markets in Asia and perhaps Europe, and even if it did, the specs are probably too weak for most folks to care. That said, for modest first-time smartphone users that are used to feature phone battery lifecycles, something like the W6618 could be exactly what they are looking for.
What do you think, would you like to see other manufacturers take Phillips approach of shoving in a larger battery size at the sacrifice of thickness and weight? Would anyone be willing to buy a lower-powered device in exchange for battery life that can last days without much worry?
