Zune 80 battery life sucks
- November 27th, 2007
- 18 Comments

I don’t want to dampen anyone’s spirits since we’re giving away a Zune 80GB, but I just felt that you should know what you’re getting yourself into. Other than capacity, the biggest concern should always be battery life. Many of you commute at some point during your day and who wouldn’t want some Positive Vibrations or an episode or two of Dexter to watch? In any case, I’d try and win the iPod Classic because the Zune 80 can only muster up about 22 hours of audio playback with the Wi-Fi turned off. It’s rated at 30 hours. The iPod Classic is a champ at 45 hours. Just thought you should know.
Zune 80 battery test results [Neowin]











Mike (Who am I?)
9 months ago
I’m hardly out of my house for more than 22 hours, so I’m good. Just sit it in the dock to charge when I get home and wireless sync action…
Chuck (Who am I?)
9 months ago
Let’s see now, the screen is twice as big. Also, this is a big improvement over the Zune 30 which is 14 hours and I have never had a problem with my 30 running out. Dry those crocodile tears.
Victor (Who am I?)
1 month ago
14 hour battery life on a 30 gig Zune? Dream on. More like four or five, if you’re incredibly lucky. I’d guesstimate the Zune 80 to be closer to 10 or 12 hours, given it’s predecesor’s performance
Randy (Who am I?)
9 months ago
22 hours…wow that means
I could listen to it while I get ready for work, then commute while listening, then listen all day at the office, then commute back and have background music while I play Call of Duty 4.
How many hours of audio do you need in a day?
Jeez…
ajadoniz (Who am I?)
9 months ago
Damn it, I’m going to have to figure out what to do for those two hours of down time in my day :(
AJ
9 months ago
ONLY 22 hours?! That’s still a lot of battery life and you’re complaining about it. Wow. Congratulations on being an Ipod fanboy and the largest nerd on the planet.us
Reply
Chuck (Who am I?)
9 months ago
4-8 hours is enough. I don’t spend my whole damn day listening to mindless crap. I do have conversations…with people…my family. I do spend some time reading and learning.. which why I don’t usually make dumbass comparisons.
Brainless Apple (Who am I?)
9 months ago
Are you programmed to like all things Apple or something? What the hell is going on with all the negative swipes at the new Zunes just because its a new product, Apple drones have to knock it because its not an Apple product. How sad that you can’t be impartial. Well, go ahead then and die for a company that sells you products based on style. You know you got something when others are looking at you, and its not because of the Ipod, which everyone has now, but its because you like strange. Haha….
I got my Zune 80 after I ditched my old Ipod 5.5 and I couldnt be more happier with this amazing player. Hate away….theres plenty of time to waste.
mike (Who am I?)
8 months ago
zune and ipod have the same bat its cause zune hase a screen 2x the size
Michael (Who am I?)
8 months ago
22 hours is bad?
Uh, I don’t exactly listen to my Zune non-stop the whole day. I actually take a break to have a life, do some work, etc.
Then I come home and recharge it if needed. Is it that hard to plug it in and recharge.
Is technology really making us that lazy. Sheesh. I love my Zune.
Daniel
6 months ago
It saddens me that people would go so far as to trash a product because of losing 2 hours of a full day on battery life. Why not compare more, whats the word, valuable features. I’m sure if you take the zune and compare it to its competition the ipod, you’d surprisingly find the ipod can’t do as much. So take your fanboy whining to the ipod forum where people will care what you have to say.
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yourmom (Who am I?)
5 months ago
wow….22 hours of video is a little? i dont even spend more than 3 hours watching videos. get a LIFE.
omg, i’m peter ha, i have no life and im the biggest apple fanboy. im a nerd. i write these stupid articles for crunchgear. i like to bash other mp3 players tht try to out-do ipods. omg, im peter ha ha ha ha ha ha. oh no, the zune only plays 22 hours of videos, what will i do for the other 2 hours of my retarded lonely life. oh no. now i actually have to live my life. oh nooo.
whoneedstoknow?! (Who am I?)
5 months ago
Yeah… i probably would love my 80-gb Zune. I charge it all night, turn it off and put it on hold in the morning, take it to school, don’t even touch it, get home, turn it on, AND THE BATTERY DIED?!?!?!?!?! Thats right, the battery on my zune lasts about 22 hours with everything off and nothing running on it. It is a pain for me because when i go to travel somewhere, it won’t last on a long ferry ride or plane ride… Oh i might mention that when i DO use it, it restarts on me about every 10 minutes, even when it is on hold.
If someone could help me out, i would be greatful. Thank You
MysticFish
4 months ago
I agree with the rest. Why do you need more than 22 hours in a day? I sleep just fine without music so I’m able to charge while I sleep. Bigger screen and a little cheaper price, why wouldn’t you buy a Zune?
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blah blah
3 months ago
well, think about it…. how many times has apple re-released the ipod video and how long has it been out. i mean the first ipod video that came out had like 8-10 hours of battery life; and this is microsoft’s first try at the 80 gig zune vid… so at 22 i think they’re beating the shit out of apple.
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Akamura (Who am I?)
1 month ago
in responce to whoneedstoknow?! if you keep it on sleep mode then the zune does drain fast thats why you turn it all the way off by holding down the down and back button and about it restarting idunno maby you wither got a defective one or reinstal the firmware
Jimcob (Who am I?)
3 weeks ago
The Zune 80 is among the greatest mp3 players that i have ever seen. It has a huge screen that plays excellent quality videos. You dont need to keep wireless on all the time, just when you want to wirelessly sync or send data between another zune, so you can extend the life by 8 hours, and even then you dont need it. I plug mine in every night into my wall and every day it is ready. I will admit that the battery for videos is rather short (4-5 hours) if you are taking a long trip, but I also have a car charger, so battery life is no matter. In comparison to the ipod equivalent, the zune is far better. The screen is larger, you can send pictures and songs to another device, you can wirelessly sync your device if you are in a hurry or lost the usb cable and it is cheaper because you are buying a much larger name with apple and microsoft is less money hungry. Plain and simple, Zune > iPod.
Jimcob (Who am I?)
3 weeks ago
Actually it is the best, i was just trying to be nice, but now im angry…