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>Why don't phone makers optimize for power efficiency?

They do. I don't know what misunderstandings could lead you to believe that phone makers don't already spend significant effort and resources on power efficiency.

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what OP is saying is "Why don't new phones last 20% more than last year's phones"

The CPU isn't the only user of power. The CPU may be 20% more efficient, but the screen and radio probably aren't.

And memory is also a large user of power budget. This is exactly right… larger and brighter screens, better wifi, BT, and cellular systems, more memory, and higher system speeds (because you know that 20% more efficient processor is X% faster offsetting that efficiency) all eat up that power budget.

That's because, if the chip uses 20% less power, if the latest Soc performs the same as last year but consumes 1w less power no one will buy it. So Qualcomm has to increase its power limits to show graphs like 50% FASTER WITH SIMILAR POWER CONSUMPTION

Personal anecdote:

the lower end chips like SD695 and SD732 have amazing battery lives. I personally use a SD732G smartphone with a 6000MAH battery and it gives me amazing 3-4 days of battery on one full charge

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