Dual-SIM phones are still relatively rare and usually limited to the low-end, but the Samsung Galaxy S Duos takes after the Galaxy S III mini in terms of looks (though not in terms of specs, unfortunately).
Dual-SIM phones are usually bought when there are no good plans available – ones that offer enough talk time, texts and data. So, how long can the S Duos last if you need the second SIM for even more talking?
With a time of 8 and a half hours, the Galaxy S Duos manages to outlast its Galaxy Ace Duos cousin, even though it doesn’t have much of an advantage in the battery department – 1500mAh for the S Duos and 1300mAh for the Ace Duos. This is also an hour more than the official specs promise (those are usually conservative).
Talk time
Motorola RAZR MAXX (ICS) 21:18
Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX 20:24
Motorola RAZR i 20:07
Samsung Galaxy Note II N7100 16:57
LG Optimus G 15:30
Huawei Ascend P1 12:30
Samsung Galaxy Note 12:14
Samsung I8530 Galaxy Beam 11:58
Samsung Wave 3 S8600 11:07
HTC One X (AT&T, LTE) 10:35
Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III 10:20
Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III (JB) 10:15
HTC One V 10:00
Meizu MX 4-core 10:00
HTC One X 9:57
HTC One S 9:42
Samsung I9103 Galaxy R 9:40
HTC Sensation XL 9:30
Nokia Lumia 710 9:05
Motorola Atrix HD 9:04
HTC Vivid 9:02
HTC Rhyme 8:48
Apple iPhone 5 8:42
LG Optimus 3D Max P720 8:42
Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V 8:41
Meizu MX 8:39
Samsung Galaxy S II 8:35
Samsung Galaxy S Duos 8:28
Nokia Lumia 800 8:25
Samsung Galaxy Nexus 8:23
HTC Desire V 8:20
Samsung Captivate Glide 8:20
Sony Xperia T 8:15
HTC Rezound (LTE) 8:10
Samsung Galaxy Note (LTE) 8:02
LG Optimus Vu 7:57
LG Optimus 4X HD 7:41
Apple iPhone 4S 7:41
Samsung i937 Focus S 7:25
HTC Evo 4G LTE (LTE) 7:21
Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G 7:14
Sony Xperia acro S 7:09
Samsung Rugby Smart I847 7:09
Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro 6:57
Nokia N9 6:57
HTC Radar 6:53
Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos 6:53
BlackBerry Curve 9380 6:52
Samsung Galaxy Pocket 5:54
Nokia Lumia 900 for AT&T (LTE) 5:53
Sony Xperia ion LTE 5:52
Sony Xperia P 5:33
Nokia 808 PureView 5:16
LG Nitro HD (LTE) 5:16
HTC Titan II (LTE) 5:10
BlackBerry Bold 9790 5:00
Pantech Burst 4:46
The web browsing test was done over Wi-Fi and the phone lasted around 5 hours and 20 minutes. It’s a bit better than what the dual-SIM Ace did, which is pretty good considering the Galaxy S Duos has a larger, higher-res screen (4″ vs. 3.5″ and WVGA vs. HVGA).
Web browsing
Apple iPhone 5 9:56
Motorola RAZR MAXX (ICS) 9:12
Samsung Galaxy Note II N7100 8:48
Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX 7:23
HTC Radar 7:17
Motorola RAZR i 7:06
Apple iPhone 4S 6:56
HTC One V 6:49
Motorola Atrix HD 6:40
BlackBerry Curve 9380 6:40
Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III (JB) 6:27
Samsung i937 Focus S 6:15
Sony Xperia ion LTE 5:56
Samsung Rugby Smart I847 5:53
Pantech Burst 5:51
Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G 5:45
HTC Desire V 5:44
HTC Evo 4G LTE 5:41
Samsung Wave 3 S8600 5:34
Sony Xperia T 5:33
Samsung Captivate Glide 5:33
Samsung I8530 Galaxy Beam 5:28
Samsung Galaxy Note LTE 5:24
Samsung Galaxy S Duos 5:23
HTC Sensation XL 5:20
Meizu MX 4-core 5:19
Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III 5:17
Sony Xperia acro S 5:16
HTC Rezound 5:16
LG Optimus G 5:15
HTC Rhyme 5:08
Samsung I9103 Galaxy R 5:07
HTC One X (AT&T) 5:03
Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro 4:50
LG Optimus Vu 4:49
HTC Vivid 4:46
Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos 4:45
Meizu MX 4:35
Nokia N9 4:33
Samsung Galaxy S II 4:24
Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V 4:20
HTC One X 4:18
Nokia 808 PureView 4:14
LG Optimus 3D Max P720 4:10
Nokia Lumia 900 for AT&T 4:10
Nokia Lumia 800 4:07
HTC Titan II (LTE) 4:05
HTC One S 4:03
BlackBerry Bold 9790 4:02
LG Nitro HD 4:00
LG Optimus 4X HD 3:59
Sony Xperia P 3:59
Nokia Lumia 710 3:51
Samsung Galaxy Pocket 3:47
Samsung Galaxy Note 3:35
Huawei Ascend P1 3:23
Samsung Galaxy Nexus 3:01
The video playback time of the S Duos was disappointing at 4 and a half hours, which is two hours less than the Ace and puts the phone towards the bottom of the chart. It’s worse than the performance of the HTC Desire V – another dual-SIM droid with almost identical specs.
Video playback
Motorola RAZR MAXX (ICS) 16:35
Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX 14:17
Samsung Galaxy Note II N7100 11:27
Apple iPhone 5 10:12
Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III 10:01
Nokia 808 PureView 9:53
Samsung I8530 Galaxy Beam 9:42
Samsung Rugby Smart I847 9:34
HTC One S 9:28
Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III (JB) 9:27
Apple iPhone 4S 9:24
HTC Evo 4G LTE 9:07
Nokia N9 8:40
Samsung Galaxy Note 8:25
Motorola RAZR i 8:11
Samsung Galaxy S II 8:00
Samsung i937 Focus S 7:55
Samsung Wave 3 S8600 7:52
Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V 7:45
Huawei Ascend P1 7:38
Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G 7:33
Samsung Galaxy Note LTE 7:30
LG Optimus G 7:16
Meizu MX 4-core 6:33
HTC Desire V 6:26
HTC One X (AT&T) 6:26
Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos 6:25
LG Optimus Vu 6:23
Samsung I9103 Galaxy R 6:21
HTC Sensation XL 6:12
Samsung Galaxy Pocket 6:06
Samsung Captivate Glide 6:04
Sony Xperia ion LTE 6:03
Samsung Galaxy Nexus 6:02
Sony Xperia T 6:01
Motorola Atrix HD 6:01
HTC Vivid 6:00
HTC Radar 5:54
Nokia Lumia 800 5:52
HTC Titan II 5:50
BlackBerry Bold 9790 5:47
HTC One X 5:45
Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro 5:44
Sony Xperia acro S 5:38
Pantech Burst 5:38
Meizu MX 5:27
HTC Rhyme 5:23
HTC One V 5:20
Nokia Lumia 900 for AT&T 5:18
BlackBerry Curve 9380 5:09
HTC Rezound 5:03
Samsung Galaxy S Duos 4:30
Sony Xperia P 4:30
LG Nitro HD 4:17
LG Optimus 4X HD 4:14
LG Optimus 3D Max P720 3:28
Nokia Lumia 710 3:27
After running the calculations, the endurance rating for the Samsung Galaxy S Duos works out to 43 hours, barely better than what the Ace Duos got, but a bit less than the Desire V score.
This is partially due to the poor video playback performance. If all you do is call, the S Duos should offer very decent battery life. The web browsing time is average but should be used with caution, especially if you got the second SIM for its data plan.