Category: Phone battery

How to Check the Battery Cycle Count of Your iPhone

Do you know how many times you’ve charged your iPhone battery?Here’s how to find out.
Battery cycle count can be an excellent way to determine the condition of your battery. On an iPhone, it gives you a better idea of ​​how the battery has aged over the years.
You may be familiar with Apple’s method of displaying the battery health of your iPhone. While this certainly gives you some information, you can compare the battery cycle with Apple’s health percentage to gain even more insight into your battery.
Before you learn how to check the battery cycle count on your iPhone, let’s see what this term exactly means.


What Is the Battery Cycle Count?Battery cycle count is simply the number of times a battery is fully charged and depleted. When you exhaust the battery of a fully charged iPhone, you complete one battery cycle.
In reality, rarely does anyone charge and use their iPhones like that. So, let’s take a look at a practical scenario, shall we?


Assume you have a fully charged iPhone and you drain it to 40%, meaning you used 60% of the battery. Then, you charge it again all the way up to 100%. Since you only used 60% of the battery, you haven ‘t completed a full charge cycle yet. It only counts when you use another 40% of the battery, because it’ll add up to a total of 100%, no matter how many times you charge your iPhone in the middle.
Hence, the battery cycle count would ideally show the total number of times you’ve used 100% of the batteries capacity, even if you only ever used it a little bit at a time in between charging.


How to Check Your iPhone’s Battery Cycle CountFirst and foremost, we’d like to point out that you’ll only be able to view this data if you’re sharing iPhone analytics with Apple, which most people do. If you don’t, you need to turn this on and wait for two days before you go ahead with these steps.
RELATED:iPhone Settings And Tweaks To Boost Your Privacy
To enable this option and check your cycle count:


Open the Settings app on your iPhone. Scroll down and select Privacy from the settings menu.In the Privacy section, scroll all the way to the bottom and tap on Analytics & Improvements.You’ll be able to see if you’re sharing analytics with Apple here. Next, tap on the option called Analytics Data.

Privacy settingsiPhone Analytics and ImprovementsiPhone Analytics DataIn this step, you need to scroll down until you find a file that starts with log-aggregated. If you see multiple files with the same name, select the one at the bottom, since that’s the latest one.Now, you’ll see nothing but lines of code. Tap anywhere on the code to access the selection tool and then drag it to select everything in this file.Next, tap on the selected portion and choose Copy to store it in the clipboard.


Log aggregated filecopying the log aggregated filecopying the entire log aggregated fileLaunch the Notes app on your iPhone and create a new note. Then, tap anywhere on the blank note and choose Paste.Next, tap on the three dots icon in the upper-right corner of the screen to access more options. Select Find in Note.Now, simply type batterycyclecount, and the Notes app will take you to the exact position in the file. Here, you’ll see a number right below the highlighted line. This is the battery cycle count of your iPhone.
pasting log aggregated file in Notes appfinding battery cycle count from log filefinding battery cycle count


You have what you needed. We had to use the Notes app since there’s no way to search for a specific line of code within the log-aggregated file. Of course, you can scroll and find it yourself, but this will take a lot of time and effort.
RELATED:Hidden Apple Notes Features You Should Know About
Monitoring Your iPhone’s Battery Is EssentialNow that you know both the battery cycle count and the battery health percentage, you can better understand your iPhone battery’s condition.


According to Apple, the iPhone battery is designed to retain 80% of its maximum capacity by the time it reaches 500 charge cycles. However, if you see a much higher battery cycle count with similar battery health, it means that you have good charging habits and you’ve preserved the battery quite well.

Cell phones: to carry or not to carry?

Everyone seems to have some sort of mobile device. Me, I use a flip phone that takes and receives calls and can do some texting. I can leave it in the car while I shop or have a meal. It is not the first thing I look at when I get up in the morning, nor the last at night. I used to travel without a phone and I seemed to get where I needed. So why have we become so dependent on such a device?


I really can’t answer that question. My observation is everyone seems to be in need of one, or think they are. What happened to allowing life to happen, and why do we need to know so much information? Of what use is it ? I know for some the phone has become a mini-computer and people rely on these phones for their business. Others use it for their social life and their identity. The phone can fill our recreational desires, and yes I know it takes great pictures .

I like my pictures in my hand so I can see them and touch them, hang them on a wall to see at all times. Phone can also rob us of the interpersonal part of our life, such as going to the bank and talking with a teller, instead of snapping a picture of a check for deposit.


Don’t get me wrong: technology is here to stay, and it has its pros and cons. But I think we need to step back some and hold onto some simpler things in life. Example: while at a restaurant or having dinner at home , put the phones down and talk with each other. Or maybe while you are working, get rid of the ear buds and music, and pay attention to your boss. Be more respectful of others while you are walking, crossing streets, and paying attention to the beauty around you.


When was the last time you admired someone’s yard, or a lovely tree, looked before you crossed a street, or smiled at a passerby? A challenge would be to leave your phone alone for a few hours a day. Choose not to look at it first thing in the morning. Instead, enjoy the beauty of a sunrise or the fact you are alive and breathing. If you can’t do that, it’s time to reevaluate the function of your phone.
It is not meant to be your life source of all things. Surprise surprise! What do you do when there is no cell service? You don’t melt away; you find other things to do. Like go fishing, camping, riding your ATV , or maybe read a book.


What if we had a complete loss of service? No phones period. What would kids do without games to play on the phone? Would they have to learn how to play outside? High school students would have to talk with one another, and school would be quite different. Teachers could not use computers or iPads to teach. Students and teachers might be talking with one another…novel idea. Kids might have to write their homework, and maybe even know cursive. Most children have never learned cursive— I call it writing.


When technology is stopped, what can you do? Are you ready to survive on the basics of life, no immediate phone service, or possibly no lights or water? When a disaster strikes, being able to survive brings that reality close to home. Are you prepared? With all that is going on in the world today, get your minds out of the phones and into the real world of life. Look around and pay attention to how our country is changing, not for the good. Get involved with your local community and be proud of your country. So with that, God Bless America and “it’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood.”

What Is Protect Battery on Samsung Phones, and Should You Use It?

Samsung Galaxy phones have a feature that can extend the lifespan of your battery. But is it a good idea to turn it on?
All smartphones have a lithium-ion battery with a specified lifespan, measured in the number of full charge/discharge cycles it can go through before it starts to degrade. The average lifespan of a typical Li-ion battery is about 300 to 500 charge cycles , or about two to three years.


If you would like to keep your phone for a while, Samsung’s Protect Battery feature can help prolong the life of the battery. Below, we talk more about what Protect Battery is, how to use it, and whether you should leave it on.
What Is Protect Battery?

Protect Battery is a battery management system (BMS) included in Samsung smartphones running One UI 4.0 (Android 12) or higher. It works by limiting the maximum charge of the battery to 85% to extend the battery lifespan.
You may be wondering how limiting the battery’s capacity helps to increase its lifespan, but the science behind the Protect Battery feature is actually sound.


To start with, we need to explain what a complete charge cycle is. It is a full charge and discharge of the battery, that is, a complete charge up to 100% and then a full discharge to 0%. Once your battery goes through a charge cycle, it is used up, never to be getting back. This is not due to some sinister design flaw in battery technology. It is how all rechargeable batteries work. Charge cycles are explained more in our guide on checking the battery cycle count of your iPhone.

So, how does Protect Battery help? Although it is true that you can’t control charge cycles and a complete cycle will elapse as long as you’re using your phone and recharging it, there is a certain level to which it is more efficient and safer to charge your battery.
By restricting charging to 85%, Protect Battery reduces charging wear and maximizes performance. In other words, it stops the charging process as soon as it reaches the stage where your battery is most likely to degrade. It also helps to protect the battery from high temperatures and high voltage from a full charge, two major banes of Li-ion batteries.


How to Use Protect Battery

There are two main ways to use Protect Battery on your Samsung smartphone. The first is the most straightforward.
Find the Protect battery button by pulling down on the status bar.Swipe down again to reveal the Quick Settings Panel.Protect battery should be one of the icons displayed in one of the Panel’s sections.If it is not there, you can add it by tapping the three-dot icon, selecting Edit buttons, and choosing Protect battery from the list of options.

Quick Panel SamsungNavigate to Protect BatteryProtect Battery LockscreenAlternatively, you can turn it on from the Settings app:
Open the Settings app and select Battery and device care.Tap on Battery and navigate to More battery settings at the bottom.Turn on the switch next to Protect battery.
If you want to customize the feature a bit, you can set up a Bixby routine that turns on when certain conditions are met. For example, you could create a routine that turns on Protect Battery when you are asleep and automatically turns it off just before you wake up.

Should You Use Protect Battery?

Protect Battery has its benefits, but it has a major drawback in that it reduces your battery’s functional capacity. You are essentially trading off a battery with a larger capacity for one with a longer lifespan.

So, should you use it? If you are concerned with squeezing almost every jot of power out of your smartphone, Protect Battery is likely not for you. If you don’t mind shelling out the cash for a battery replacement (or a new phone ) after two to three years, you can definitely do without the feature.
However, if you would prefer to keep your phone/battery for as long as possible, Protect Battery is a step in the right direction.

Protect Battery vs. Optimized Battery Charging

Optimized Battery Charging is a similar battery management feature to Protect Battery in iOS 13 and newer. It works to improve battery lifespan by reducing the time the battery spends fully charged. Unlike Protect Battery, it also uses machine learning to recognize periods when your phone is likely to be left charging for a long time. The algorithm aims to ensure that your battery is still fully charged when unplugged.
There is no “better” approach though, and it all depends on what works for you. Basically, you could replace Apple’s algorithm with a Bixby routine and there wouldn’t be any difference.

Limit Maximum Charge to Extend Battery LifespanBattery replacements have never been more expensive than they are today due to the relatively recent trend of non-removable batteries in smartphones and laptops. It has therefore become more important to maximize the lifespan of these batteries using battery protection features. If you intend to keep your smartphone for more than a few years, leave Protect Battery on.

Tips for Optimizing Battery Life on Your Samsung Galaxy Smartphone

If you find that your Samsung Galaxy smartphone’s battery drains quickly, especially during usage, there are ways to reduce heavy battery consumption without relying on additional applications. One UI, the interface found on Samsung phones and tablets, offers various features and configuration options that can help you maximize your device’s battery performance.


To start, access the settings menu on your device and navigate to the “Display” section. Enable Dark Mode, which significantly reduces battery consumption on AMOLED panels compared to bright mode. Additionally, disable the “Extra brightness” feature unless you are under direct sunlight.


You can also activate Adaptive Brightness, which adjusts the screen brightness based on ambient lighting conditions. However, if you prefer to have control over brightness settings, you may choose not to enable this feature. Consider changing the screen resolution to FullHD+ instead of WQHD+ to save battery power in most situations. You can find this option in the “Screen” settings section.


In the same “Screen” settings section, adjust the refresh rate to “Standard” instead of “Adaptive” for energy efficiency. This change limits the refresh rate to 60 Hz.
In the “Lock Screen” section of the settings menu, you can enable or disable the “Always On Display” feature. If you want to conserve battery life, you can turn it off completely or choose the “Tap to Show” option, which briefly activates the display when you tap on the screen. This way, you can check the time and notifications without fully illuminating the screen.


To further optimize your Galaxy’s battery life, review and uninstall any unused apps or games. Deactivate apps that can’t be uninstalled to prevent them from running in the background.
In the “Battery and Device Care” section of your device’s settings, enable automatic optimization to keep your phone optimized and restart it when necessary. You can also set a background usage limit for apps and activate the “Adaptive Battery” option. Set the performance profile to “Lightweight” to reduce processing speed and extend battery life without significant impact on performance.


Disable the “Nearby Device Search” option in the “More Connection Settings” of the “Connections” section to save battery life if you don’t frequently use the feature.
For quick access to battery-saving settings, utilize the quick settings panels wiping down twice from the top of the screen. From there, you can quickly disable Wi-Fi and Bluetooth when not in use, enable Battery Saver mode, and adjust the screen brightness .


Remember to regularly update your apps and device software for better performance and power efficiency.
By following these tips, you can optimize yourSamsung Galaxy smartphone’s battery life and overall performance. If you have any more questions or need further assistance, feel free to ask.

iPhone 15 release date: How much energy will you save by not buying the new model?

Apple’s latest model includes a universal charging point, but the environmental cost of upgrading your mobile is not to be ignored.
Apple is set to launch its latest iPhone today (12 September) during an online showcase at 7pm CEST.


Millions of new iPhone 15s will then be wending their way to excited customers, with the expected release date on 22 September.
Its new and improved features include a USB-C port on the bottom, after the European Union made the universal charging port mandatory to reduce electronic waste.
But trading in your old smartphone for the newest model is the worst thing you could do. According to Apple’s own metrics,79 per cent of the phone’s lifecycle carbon emissions are released during production.


Resisting the urge to own the latest iPhone won’t reverse emissions for the products hitting the shelves next week, but it will help to limit how many phones are made in the future.
With around 211 million smartphones sold in the EU annually, each lasting on average three years before they are replaced, battling the forces of ‘planned obsolescence’ is crucial.
Apple was previously fined €10 million by Italy’s antitrust watchdog after it found the company’s software updates “caused serious dysfunctions” and sapped more energy without warning. This pushed people towards buying new phones, though Apple denied that was its intention.

Is Apple getting more sustainable?

A large chunk of the CO2 emissions released in creating a new smartphone comes from mining the rare materials inside them. According to one report, “buying a new phone takes as much energy as recharging and operating a smartphone for an entire decade.”

But Apple, the world’s largest tech company, has been trying to clean up its act on this and other environmental fronts.
It claims to use 100 per cent recycled rare earth elements in all iPhone 14 magnets, which represents almost all of the total rare earth elements in the device.
In 2019 Apple, along with Google, Dell, Microsoft, and Tesla, was named as a defendant in a lawsuit filed on behalf of families from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), whose children were injured and killed while mining cobalt.


The companies deny the use of child labor, arguing they do not own cobalt mines, nor can identify the exact source of the materials they use. And a US district court judge dismissed the legal case against them in 2021.
But fresh questions were raised by NGO Global Witness last year, with an investigation suggesting that Apple, Nokia and Samsung are relying on a supply chain due diligence scheme that is used to launder conflict minerals from the DRC.
Apple maintains it is “committed to setting the highest standards of responsible sourcing of materials used in our products,” in its latest environmental progress report.
In 2020 it announced plans to become entirely carbon neutral by 2030, encompassing everything from its manufacturing supply chain to product life cycle.

Sustainable alternatives to an iPhone
Given the ubiquity of smartphones and their assorted Apps in our lives, it’s hard to know what the alternatives are to constant upgrading.
One phone comes head and shoulders above the others by almost all important measures, however.
Fairphone, launched by a Dutch social enterprise 10 years ago, is leading the way on supply chain transparency, with the company mapping out which manufacturers, smelters and refineries have shaped its aptly named devices.


The Fairphone tops the ethical rankings of the UK’s leading alternative consumer organization, the Ethical Consumer, which also praises the company for including a screwdriver tool, enabling consumers to replace any broken parts. A far cry from Apple’s sealed-off technology.


Buying second-hand is of course preferable too, and recycling your phone when you really are finished with it is an important step in the process.
Going back to basics with a ‘feature phone‘ could be an option as well, especially if you’re getting all your smart needs from a laptop or computer, and so can avoid doubling up on the energy usage.

5 Tips to Boost Your Android Phone’s Battery Life

Today’s Android phones pack big, bright screens and high-end features that suck plenty of power. Here’s how to squeeze the most juice out of your battery.
There are a number of factors that contribute to poor battery lifeon your Android phone. Thinner bodies, brighter screens, faster processors, more background software, and speedier internet connections all take their toll on phone batteries, but manufacturers are also incorporating more powerful batteries to compensate.


Most new flagship phones offer all-day battery. The Google Pixel 7 Pro’s 5,000mAh battery provided just under 11 hours of juice in our tests, while the Samsung Galaxy S22Ultra ran for a bit over 12 hours. Still, there are ways to get more out of any phone.
Menu settings will differ based on which phone you’re using and what operating system version you have; in this story, we used a Samsung Galaxy S20FE running Android 11. But all Android devices should have similar features. With this caveat in mind, here are some ways to improve the battery life on your Android phone.
1. Turn On Power Saving ModeThink you’re going to be stuck in a situation where you need your phone battery to last longer than it normally does? Switch your phone into power saving mode, which automatically cuts back on functions that may eat battery life. On our Samsung device, we opened Settings > Battery and device care, then tapped the Battery entry.


Below the battery usage chart, we enabled Power saving mode to immediately limit networking, syncing, and location services, and turn down the screen’s refresh rate. By tapping Power saving mode, we could further customize the feature by turning off the Always on Display, limiting CPU speed to 70%, or decreasing brightness by 10% in order to save even more battery life. There is also a Power Saving option in the Quick Settings menu.


For maximum power-saving, the Limit apps and Home screen option enables only selected apps and limits all background activity when power saving mode is turned on. For older versions of Android, you may be offered multiple power saving mode presets, each with a different balance between performance and battery life.
If you’re on a Google Pixel, you can set similar battery limits under Settings > Battery > Battery Saver. There are also options to schedule when Battery Saver turns on and enable Extreme Battery Saver to get even more battery life.


2. Adjust Screen BrightnessSmartphone screens are big, bright battery hogs. You probably don’t need your device turned up to the brightest setting. Go into your Display settings and turn down the brightness on the screen. You can also open the pull-down screen and control the brightness from there.
While you’re at it, consider disabling auto brightness. This feature adjusts based on your perceived needs but can also raise the brightness of your display higher than it needs to be. Turn off the switch next to Adaptive brightness and your eyes (and battery) will thank you.


3. Manage Your Lock ScreenAlways on Display may be a brand new feature for iPhone users, but it’s been available on Android devices for quite some time. This allows basic information, such as the time and date, to be visible on the screen when the display is otherwise turned off . The feature is meant to use as little energy as possible, but you can set limits to squeeze out every drop of power.If you own a Samsung Galaxy device, head to Settings > Lock screen and disable the switch next to Always on Display. You can also tap Always on Display to set it to only display when the screen is tapped or just at certain times if you don ‘t want to lose the feature completely. Most Pixel phones allow you to make changes under Display > Lock screen > Always show time and info.


4. Set When Your Screen Times Outscreen timeout settingsThe longer your phone’s screen stays on, the more battery life you use up. You can counter this by setting the screen to turn off sooner than it might normally. If you tend to abandon your unlocked phone on the table, this is the feature to change. On both Galaxy and Pixel phones, you can open Settings > Display > Screen timeout, and then select among a number of options, from 15 seconds to 10 minutes.


5. Turn Off Location and Wireless Servicesairplane modeEven when it’s sitting idle, there are all sorts of signals being sent from your phone that can ultimately drain your phone’s battery (even if it happens only a little bit at a time). If you want the maximum amount of power you can get, there are a few backend services you can turn off if you don’t want to go full Power Saving mode.


Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and mobile data use up battery life with each new ping you receive. An easy way to conserve somebattery is to open the pull-down shade on your phone and tap the Airplane mode button. This will instantly disconnect your phone from all these services and save some juice.


Location services may let you navigate with Google Maps, but all those GPS pings that happen in the background can wear down a battery quick. You can turn off location services completely from Settings > Location to stop Google from tracking you. However, this will stop a number of apps from working properly. Instead, you can select App permissions to revoke access to only specific apps that may be particularly bad about pinging your phone.

Smartphone Battery Overheating? 5 Tips For Device Longevity, Keeping It Cool

One of the main reasons for smartphone heating is the high temperature and excessive use of the device. If you operate your phone continuously, it can lead the battery working overtime, resulting in overheating.
Smartphone overheating is one of the drawbacks of this technological age which often takes place due to our lack of awareness. We fail to take care of our devices while we engross ourselves in outdoor activities in summer.

One of the main reasons for smartphone heating is the high temperature and excessive use of the device. If you operate your phone continuously throughout the day, then it can lead your phone battery to work overtime which may result in overheating of the phone. Another potential cause can be overcharging. Along with these activities, there can be various other reasons for the heating of your phone.


The overheating aspect of the smartphone is something which shouldn’t be taken lightly. Some of the consequences of smartphone heating are battery drain, forced shutdown and sometimes even meltdown. In some cases, the phone is unable to restart when it is forced to shut down after excessive heating.

Here are some tips that you can follow to avoid your phone from overheating:

1) Protect from direct sunlight: We all love going on adventures and to capture those we always carry our smartphones with us. In these situations, it’s important for you to protect your phone from excessively hot environments. One of the easiest ways to avoid overheating smartphones is to keep them out of direct sunlight. The phone catches the heat from the sun, retains it and it keeps getting hotter with the times it is left under the sun.


2) Avoid heavy performance tasks: Your phone also starts to overheat when you install high-performance apps on your phone. It consumes a lot of battery and with time it exerts a lot of pressure on the device’s performance. Due to this, your smartphone starts to get warm which can be felt while you play high graphics games on your device. In such cases, it’s better to avoid installing high-performance games or apps on your phone if it results in overheating.


3) Close unused apps: A large number of unused apps running in the background leads to your phone working harder hence resulting in overheating. To close the unused apps in Android, you can tap on the bottom left side of the menu to see the apps which are running in the background. If you have no need for such apps then you can close them by swiping up on that app window. Similarly, on iPhone, you can swipe up from the bottom of your screen to look at the unused apps and close them if not needed.

4) Switch to battery saving mode: It’s recommended that you enable the Battery Saving Mode in your device from time to time. This will keep your battery optimality in check and will give a refreshing boost to your device. You can also switch on DND ( Do Not Disturb) option occasionally to give rest to your phone.


5) Remove the protective covering / case: You can also remove the phone cover sometimes as it will help the phone to cool down. The phones are built to vanish heat from the device but the cases often trap the heat which further heats up the phone . To release some heat, it is recommended to remove the protective case once in a while.

How to Charge Your iPhone without a Charging Block

This teaches you how to charge your iPhone without using the charging block which plugs into a wall socket. The easiest way to charge your iPhone without the block is by using the charger cable with a USB port on your computer. If necessary, you can use various portable chargers to charge your iPhone via its cable. Keep in mind that you must have an iPhone charger cable in order to charge your iPhone.ethod

1Using a USB PortMake sure you have your iPhone’s charger cable. The iPhone’s charger cable, when separated from the charging brick, has a USB connector at one end. You can use this cable in conjunction with a USB port in order to charge your iPhone.iPhone 8, 8 Plus, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 pro and pro max models can also use wireless chargers, which have wide, flat dishes on which you can place your iPhone back-down to charge it.You cannot charge your iPhone without a charger cable.


2.Find a USB port. 
The majority of USB ports—the rectangular ports found on computers—can be used to power USB items such as your iPhone’s charger.USB ports which aren’t connected to a computer (eg, those found on the back of TVs or in hubs in places like coffee shops or airports) are always powered unless they’re broken.If you have an iPhone 8 or newer, you’ll need to find a USB-C port. These are rarer than the USB 3.0 ports found on most computers, behind TVs, and so on. If you can’t find a USB- C port, try using a portable charger.


3Plug your iPhone’s cable into the USB port. The USB side of the iPhone’s charger should only fit one way into the USB port, so don’t force the connection.If you’re using a USB-C port, you can plug in the charger’s USB side in any direction.


4.Attach the cable to your iPhone. 
Plug the free end of the iPhone’s charger into the Lightning charging port at the bottom of your iPhone’s housing.If you’re using an iPhone 8, 8 Plus, or X, you can also use a wireless charging port or mat by placing your iPhone back-down on the charging surface. If you don’t have one, you can typically find these chargers in public spaces such as airports or cafes.[1]If you’re charging an iPhone 4S or older, you’ll need to make sure the rectangular icon on the base of the charging connector is on the same side as the iPhone’s screen.
5.Wait for the charging icon to appear.

Within a couple of seconds of plugging in your iPhone, you should see a colored battery icon appear on the screen, and the phone should lightly vibrate.You will also see a lightning bolt icon appear to the right of the battery indicator in the top-right corner of the screen.


6.Try a different USB port. Not all USB ports support charging.
If your iPhone isn’t charging within a few seconds of connecting to the USB port, disconnect the charger and try a different USB port.

A definitive guide to everything that affects smartphone battery life

Here are all of the things that can contribute to bad battery life.
You’ve no doubt seen or read many articles online about saving battery life. It’s a popular topic because nobody likes tethering a phone to the wall multiple times a day. However, most battery-saving articles give you ideas about what to try in order to improve your battery life. This time around, we’re instead going to identify all of the various things that cause battery drain in smartphones.


The list is actually surprisingly long and that’s probably a good indicator of why so many people struggle with battery life. It is difficult to keep track of every little thing your phone does. However, we hope that giving you this knowledge will help you troubleshoot battery issues and adjust your usage to maximize your battery life. Here is our definitive guide to everything that affects smartphone battery life.


Battery sizeOnePlus 10 Pro top view showing battery statsWe’ll start with the most obvious influence on battery life — the size of the battery itself. Not all smartphones have the same battery size and it’s this size that helps determine how long your phone will go before hitting zero. Smartphone batteries are generally measured in milliamp-hours (mAh). This is mostly simple math. The more mAh a phone has, the longer it should be able to theoretically last. It doesn’t always work that way, but it’s a good place to start.


On the high end, phones like the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra and the Moto G Power have massive 5,000mAh cells while some other phones, like the regular Galaxy S22’s 3,590mAh battery, have smaller cells. Generally speaking, phones with larger batteries tend to have better battery life than ones with smaller batteries.
Of course, there are many other factors to take into account. More powerful processors and larger, high refresh-rate screens will drain your battery faster. More on those factors below. However, if the phones have identical specs, the one with the bigger battery will simply last longer.


DisplaySamsung Galaxy S22 Ultra vs Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max front on carpetThere are four different ways a display can affect battery life. The first is the size, as larger screens have more surface area and require more power to light up. Phones with larger displays also usually have larger batteries so there is a bit of a give -and-take there.
The second way a phone’s display affects battery life is the resolution. Admittedly, the differences aren’t huge, but it is objectively measurable. Displays with 1440p resolution have 77% more pixels than a 1080p display and it requires extra processing power (and therefore , more battery) to render those extra pixels. OEMs sometimes include a 1080p mode on a 1440p display to help cut back on the processing power and save battery.


Displays use more battery than any other phone component.Brightness is another significant power draw. This is also a matter of simple math. The brighter something is, the more power it requires. It’s not as noticeable if you go from 50% to 40% brightness. You’ll almost certainly see a difference when going between 80% to 20%, though.


Finally, the display’s refresh rate matters a lot. The refresh rate represents the number of times a screen refreshes every second and is measured in hertz (Hz). Newer phones have 90Hz and 120Hz displays which refresh 50%-100% more frequently than regular 60Hz displays.

That requires a whole bunch of extra processing power and puts further strain on your phone’s battery. Modern phones have adaptive refresh rates to help combat the battery drain, dropping down to as low as 1Hz when viewing static content.
Displays eat up more battery than any other individual component of a device because it is the main way we interact with a phone. This is why most battery-saving tricks revolve around display tweaks. However, lowering your brightness a few percentage points does virtually nothing and the resolution only matters if you have lots of screen-on time. Finally, using dark themes on AMOLED displays doesn’t work as well as most think it does.


ConnectionsSamsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G speed testConnections have a massive impact on battery life. The most common connections are your cell phone signal, data, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and location services. Connections drain the battery in a few different ways and the first one is fairly obvious.
If you enable these connections and don’t use them, they draw unnecessary power over the course of the day. Hardware and software optimizations have minimized this drain and it’s barely an inconvenience these days. It still drains the battery, but not nearly as much as it used to.


Additionally, a weak signal can greatly increase battery drain. It’s also a very difficult problem to fix. Your device regularly checks for signal strength. When the reception is bad, the phone checks more frequently, and this constant checking drains the battery. Usually, this only happens in certain types of buildings and in bad reception areas, but if you live (or work) in one of those places, it can be a constant and nearly unsolvable problem.


Every time your phone connects to something, it costs you battery life.Finally, actually using these connections drains your battery. If you go online and spend five minutes downloading a file, that’s five whole minutes your phone is actively using its networking hardware. The same is true of voice calls as your phone engages its radio for the entire length of the call.


A lot of people recommend using airplane mode to switch off all connections when not using your phone. To be honest, it doesn’t save that much battery and it ends up being invasive and annoying. We recommend staying connected to Wi-Fi while at home (or work). Additionally, the Google Play Store, Google Photos, Amazon Photos, and others all have settings that will postpone backups or updates until you’re connected to a charger. You should definitely check and see what can be put off until your phone is safely charging.

For regular users, the first thing that matters for the chipset is its generation. Every year chips get smaller, faster, and more energy-efficient. The Snapdragon 855 was faster and more energy-efficient than the Snapdragon 845, and the latest Qualcomm chipset , the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, continues the tradition. The same goes for HUAWEI’s Kirin SoCs, Samsung’s Exynos chips, and MediaTek’s silicon. This is a rather complex topic, but the super basic explanation is that newer chipsets can do the same work as older chipsets except faster, with less energy consumption, and with less heat. All of those things affectbattery life.

Android Adaptive Battery: Everything you need to know

As phones have become more capable of performing various tasks, allocating battery power has become crucial to maximizing its lifespan, especially if your smartphone is draining fast. Today, our phone’s SoC significantly regulates power consumption between the apps and features we use daily. Even if you don’t have one of the Android phones with the best battery life, you can still extend your device’s lifespan with this feature. Let’s look at how Android’s Adaptive Battery works and how you can ensure it’s turned on.

What is Android Adaptive Battery, and how does it work?

samsung galaxy s22 batterydisplayWhen you are using your phone, it isn’t just the app you have open that is eating up your battery life. Even when you put your phone down and aren’t touching it, many background processes run behind the scenes. For example, many apps actively retrieve information from other apps, such as contacts or location data, not to mention all the external cellular and Wi-Fi connections.


All of these processes and more need varying amounts of energy to function. Without anything to coordinate power consumption, you would notice a big difference between an optimized battery and a device without one. An Adaptive battery is how your Android phone makes it through an entire day of usage or more. Here are a few essential system tools that Adaptive Battery uses.


Limiting background appsThe most common way Adaptive Battery saves minutes to hours of battery life is by restricting how apps run in the background. As mentioned earlier, some apps can consume a lot of power without you knowing it. When Adaptive Battery is turned on and an app is running too heavily, you will get a notification with the option to put it to sleep.


Over time, Adaptive Battery will learn which apps take up the most background usage and limit some of their functions. This doesn’t really affect your phone performance, but it means the battery won’t drain drastically when your phone is idle.
Learning your habitsAnother way Adaptive Batterylives up to its name is by learning the patterns of how you use your phone. After having Adaptive Battery enabled for some time, your phone will keep track of what apps you use the most, how long you use them, and how quickly your battery drains when not optimized.


Eventually, your Android phone will utilize this data to fine-tune how it expends a full battery so that it can last throughout your daily usage. A crucial piece of information in this equation is learning your charging habits. Once the time is regular enough, Android will start stretching your battery life to when it anticipates you will plug in your phone to charge.
Reducing performanceOne of the subtler ways Adaptive Battery improves battery lifeis by slightly reducing performance. Chips take a lot of power, and your battery can last much longer if that power is reduced to match your current needs.
On Samsung Galaxy phones, a complimentary feature to Adaptive Battery in the settings lets you change your device’s processing speed. This tool can save you more battery life than Android’s Adaptive Battery does. The Exynos processor in the flagship S-series devices barely lags in the “optimized” state, either. However, the difference in performance can be more noticeable in other Android devices, but if you are out and about without a charger, that might not be a concern.


How to turn on Android Adaptive BatteryHere’s how to turn on Adaptive Battery on a Google Pixel or Samsung Galaxy phone.
Google PixelNavigate to the settings by swiping down from the top screen and tapping the Settings cog. Then tap Battery. Select Adaptive Preferences, and lastly, hit the toggle on Adaptive Battery.

Pixel Settings Battery
Pixel battery usage
Pixel adaptive batterySamsung GalaxyNavigate to the settings by swiping down on the screen and tapping the Settings cog. Select Battery and device care. You can optimize your battery usage here. Tap the Battery readout near the top, then scroll down to select More battery settings. There, you ‘ll find the Adaptive battery toggle.

samsung adaptive battery toggleAs mentioned, you can adjust the Processing speed under the Adaptive battery option. There are three different speeds: Optimized, High, and Maximum. Select the option that best suits your usage.
samsung processing speedHow to manage battery usage for individual appsAdaptive Battery will treat all apps the same, but you can manually give certain apps exceptions or stricter limitations. Navigate to your Settings and select Apps. From there, select the app you want to manage, scroll down to choose Battery, and select the desired battery usage for that app.

samsung app use detailsOverall, Adaptive Battery is a great feature to extend the life of your Android device. If you find your battery isn’t lasting long enough, try turning it on or limiting the usage of energy-hungry apps. Remember that Adaptive Batteryneeds time to learn your usage habits and may not work immediately, but you should notice results soon enough.