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Bit of both and it's generally had really good battery life. I wonder if your battery is fucked? I would expect to be able to take a load of photos with or without the screen before the battery ran out.
Admittedly I take a fuji x100t on bike rides rather than the Sony because the lens is really bulky. But I've very rarely had the battery run out of charge on the Sony.
(the usb charging I've just used to top it up on the rare ocassions it has got a bit low).
Do you use Viewfinder or LCD screen? I've checked brightness is down and I've turned on Airplane Mode.