MILLIONS of iPhone owners might be needlessly ruining their battery life with common mistakes.
Almost everything you do with your iPhone affects its battery life – so you need to treat it carefully.
One new iPhone owner asked for advice in a Reddit thread: “Camera is amazing, software is incredible. I really enjoy using it but I don’t know how to keep battery health.”
They continued: “Can you guys give me a few tips about battery and other things?”
And fellow Apple fans were quick to reveal some of the most common mistakes you’re making.
One standout mistake is something iPhone owners often think helps improve battery life – but actually does the opposite.
“Don’t close all apps in app switcher. It’s a common habit among people who switched from Android,” one iPhone owner replied.
“On iOS, memory management is different, it won’t affect performance as much.
“According to a study, closing all apps every time may reduce battery daily life up to 10% (because reopening the app requires extra CPU cycles).”
So it’s important to avoid swiping your apps closed all of the time – it’s better to leave them be.
Even Apple officially recommends that you only force-quit apps in one situation: “You should close an app only if it’s unresponsive.”
HEALTH IS WEALTH
The app fan also gave two other tips.
First up, try not to get below 10-20% battery every single day.
And make sure Optimized Battery Charging is on in Settings.
These are important tips because they aim to not “stress” the battery.
This isn’t to preserve battery life day-to-day, but instead to keep your iPhone battery “healthy”.
All lithium ion batteries – including the ones in Apple devices – degrade over time.
That means that as you charge and discharge your iPhone, its maximum capacity will get lower.
So after two or three years, your iPhone might only hold 80% of the charge that it would’ve held when new.
When the feature is enabled, your iPhone will delay charging
Apple
You can check this Maximum Capacity percentage by going into Settings > Battery > Battery Health.
Protecting your battery from stresses is one of the best ways to keep your battery healthy.
For instance, letting your iPhone get too hot regularly can permanently impact your battery’s health.
But ensuring you have features like Optimized Battery Charging switched on can also make a huge difference.
HOW DOES OPTIMIZED BATTERY CHARGING WORK?
Optimized Battery Charging is designed to keep your iPhone battery health by reducing the time it spends “stressed” at full charge.
Apple says that by having it switched on, you’ll “reduce the wear on your battery”.
“When the feature is enabled, your iPhone will delay charging past 80% in certain situations,” Apple explains.
“Your iPhone uses on-device machine learning to learn your daily charging routine so that Optimized Battery Charging activates only when your iPhone predicts it will be connected to a charger for an extended period of time.
“The algorithm aims to ensure that your iPhone is still fully charged when unplugged.”
For instance, if you regularly charge your iPhone overnight then Apple’s iOS software will learn this habit.
Your iPhone should then delay charging during the night, but still be ready for when you wake up.
You can turn Optimized Battery Charging on by going into Settings > Battery > Charging Optimization.
A notification will appear on your Lock Screen when the feature is active and delaying charging.
This will tell you when your iPhone is scheduled to finish charging.
And you can tap and hold this notification then choose Charge Now if you want to override the pause.
iPhone tricks to try today
Here are some of the best…
- Typing cursor – When typing, hold down the space bar to turn your keyboard into a trackpad, letting you move around words and sentences more easily
- Close all Safari tabs – To do this in one go, simply hold the overlapped squares in the bottom right-hand corner, and press close all tabs
- Delete lots of photos quickly – Hold down on a photo and then drag your finger diagonally in Photos to select lots of images at once, then hit delete
- Convert currency quickly – Swipe down from the top of your Home screen, then tap in the bar and type a currency (like €200) and it will automatically covert to your local currency
- Check if you’re due a battery upgrade – Batteries inside smartphones degrade over time. Just go to Settings > Battery > Battery Health, and check out the Maximum Capacity reading. Generally a battery is considered worn when you’re down to 80% capacity. If you’re below, you can buy a battery swap from Apple
- Move apps around faster – Hold an app until it starts wiggling, then (while still holding) tap other apps, causing them to stack so you can move them around easier
Alex Mitchell is your go-to expert for all things mobile. With a passion for the latest smartphones, apps, and mobile innovations, Alex provides in-depth reviews, insightful analyses, and breaking news about the ever-evolving world of mobile technology. Stay connected with Alex to navigate the fast-paced realm of mobile devices.
