Is the iPhone 4S battery life that bad?

I got mine today and I don't see why its so bad. When I got it, it was half charged and I was texting on it a TON and the battery lasted for 4.5 hours. Then, I charged it to 100% almost five hours ago and I was on the phone for 1 hour and 45 minutes and I've been texting non stop and the battery is only a little half gone.

Does it get worse over time?

Yeah, it is kinda. The retina display is the culprit! It uses so much battery. I would suggest turning down the brightness on it. It should last a lot longer.

The battery life is good. It's comparable to previous iPhones. You're just reading posts of people who have problems, but not the other people who have none, which I suspect is a lot more. I can last a whole day, almost 2 if I use it sparingly, about 6 hours of total usage time. For your use, it definitely can last you a whole day.

It really is bad, or at least in my opinion. I upgraded to a 4s from a 4 and I noticed the difference within a few hours of my normal usage that I'd do on my 4.It drains a lot quicker than my 4 ever did, I found myself charging my phone sometimes twice daily, when I had my 4 I would use it the same amount if not more and only have to charge my phone once at night. I even turned the screen down lower than I had to on my 4 and still it would drain it relatively quick. In the end I gave up and returned it since I was getting better use out of my 4!

I have a Galaxy 3 and compared to the iPhones battery life under heavy use the iPhone is far superior. But again it all come down to usage. If i use the Samsung constently i get maybe 3 hours… Maybe.

Its not that bad! But heavy graphical usage like games n net can drain battery fast. But with push notifications off, Wi-Fi off n dimmed brightness its decent enough.