Hi guys,

I've been a long-term Samsung user since the Galaxy S7: Note 8, S10+, Fold 2, Fold 4, S23fe, S24 Ultra. And with every phone, the battery seemed to get noticeably worse after about a year.

My last phone was the S24 Ultra, and after the April/May 2026 update, the battery started draining extremely fast, even though the phone was only 18 months old. It wasn't a gradual decline either. The battery performance dropped dramatically right after the update.

Over the next few months, I also kept having issues with WhatsApp's encrypted backup getting stuck, which made things even worse. My phone got hot every day, and my S24 Ultra, which normally only needed to be charged once a day, suddenly needed to be charged twice a day.

I honestly regretted installing that "security update" because I really felt that the battery performance dropped immediately afterward. But the damage was done. It NEVER recovered over the next few months, despite people saying that faster battery drain after an update can be temporary. Even though the screen time was low, the phone kept working in the background, draining my battery.

Then the Z Fold 8 Ultra was released, and I preordered it. I've had it for about a week now, and I haven't updated the software at all, not even the first update. I simply transferred everything from my old phone using Samsung Smart Switch.

I also kept the same battery-saving settings I used on my S24 Ultra: animations off, lower refresh rate, Battery Saver on, etc. Look how long my battery lasts on a single charge! My maximum battery protection is set to 95%. 

I'm honestly super impressed.

My assumption is that the current software version is still well optimized for most apps, so there aren't unnecessary bugs or processes running in the background. Or maybe, just maybe, manufacturers intentionally make older phones' battery performance worse over time to encourage users to upgrade. 

I’m planning not to update the software for the next 1 to 2 years, unless there’s a major or essential update. I’ll just have to resist those annoying update reminders every day for the sake of my battery.

I refused to update my new Z Fold 8 Ultra because my S24 Ultra battery died after an update.