Could the new Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) iCloud service be one of the causes of the reported battery life problems with the iPhone 4S?

Our sister publication Information Week has noted that iPhone 4S users are complaining about the low battery life of the new device.

"As the owner of an iPhone 4S myself, I can attest to the fact that the phone's battery drains faster than it did when I was using the iPhone 4," writes Thomas Claburn on the issue.

Apple said when launching the 4S that it would have more 3G talk time than its predecessor. The company hasn't officially addressed battery life complaints from users. (See Apple's Latest Is a Faster 3G 'Worldphone'.)

Some of the key new features for the iPhone 4S include the iCloud service, the Siri voice assistant and 14.4Mbit/s HSPA+ support in the AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) version of the phone.

iCloud enables large data updates over Wi-Fi by automatically synchronizing content between separate Apple devices, including music, pictures and contacts. Heavy data and Wi-Fi usage can help to increase battery drainage so it might be one of the reasons for the complaints -- although it would also affect iPhone 4 users over time, since they can also use the cloud service with the iOS 5 operating system update.

Faster HSPA+ 3G could also be a factor.

Yankee Group Research Inc. says that it might still be a little while until Apple addresses the issue as delivering a fix could take time.

"Apple likes to deal with facts when it is investigating claims of problems with its products," notes Carl Howe, research director at Yankee Group. "When confronted with usability issues of this type, Apple has to chase down the customers experiencing it, find a reproducible cause (if any), and then craft a fix." (See Apple's Answer to 'Antennagate'.)

— Dan Jones, Site Editor, Light Reading Mobile