While the iPhone 4S is an impressive device with a lot to offer, many users are complaining about poor battery life, or unpredictable battery drain. Some users even report their device losing 50% or more of its power overnight while on standby.
According to The Guardian, Apple is aware of these issues, and is apparently working directly with customers to evaluate and solve the problem. One user told The Guardian that Apple has reached out to him in an attempt to study the issue, requesting that he install special monitoring software on the device so Apple could collect data on the problem:
I then got a call from a senior [Apple] engineer who said he had read my post and was ‘reaching out’ to users for data and admitted this was an issue (and that they aren’t close to finding a fix!) and asked lots of questions about my usage and then asked if he could install the file below and that he would call back the day after to retrieve the info. I extracted the file from my Mac after a sync and emailed it to him. He was incredibly helpful and apologetic in the typical Apple way!
No official explanation has been offered for the battery issue, and it doesn’t seem directly related to background tasks or location services, as even people with all extra settings turned off are experiencing battery woes.
Hopefully Apple’s consumer-driven research into the matter will help them discover and provide an official solution for those affected by the issue.