Battery life the single most important factor for smartphone buyers

London: Forget games, camera or the new friend-making app. For most of British people, battery life of a smartphone is what concern them the most.

According to a latest survey, 89 per cent of them want a longer battery life. "The fact that a long-lasting battery is the leading criterion when buying a new phone may come as a surprise," said Ralph Risk, marketing director for GMI in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

People's concerns over battery life means that half of them turn off wifi, Bluetooth or GPS location services when these are not required.

Turning down screen brightness - one of the most effective methods of preserving battery power - was used by 40 per cent, said the survey of 1,000 Britons by research firm GMI.

While 68 per cent said brand name is important, 67 per cent want processor speed to be good.

Half of users charged their phone once a day, 10 per cent charged it more than once a day while a third charged it every two to three days, said a report in the Guardian.

The findings match with a survey of 50,000 smartphone users carried out by the research company IDC earlier.