What is the battery life?

“Battery life” is the amount of time a device runs for before it needs to be recharged. “Battery lifespan” is the amount of time a battery lasts until it needs to be replaced. One factor affecting battery life and lifespan is the mix of things you do with your device. No matter how you use it, there are ways to help. A battery’s lifespan is related to its “chemical age”, which is more than just the passage of time. It includes different factors, such as the number of charge cycles and how it was cared for. Follow these tips to maximise battery performance and help extend battery lifespan. For example, keep iPhone half-charged when it’s stored for the long term. Also avoid charging or leaving iPhone in hot environments, including direct sun exposure, for extended periods of time.

 

Let’s have a look what is the iPhone battery made of and how the charging happens.

It charges fast for convenience and slow for longevity

Your Apple lithium-ion battery uses fast charging to quickly reach 80 per cent of its capacity, then switches to slower trickle charging. The amount of time it takes to reach that first 80 per cent will vary depending on your settings and which device you’re charging. Software may limit charging above 80 per cent when the recommended battery temperatures are exceeded. This combined process not only lets you get out and about sooner, it also extends the lifespan of your battery.

Many users have the wrong idea of using the iPhone until it is less than 20% then charge it will prolong the battery life. Apple have stately clear that “Charge your Apple lithium-ion battery whenever you want. There’s no need to let it discharge 100 per cent before recharging.” Apple engineers have optimized the charging process so that you can charge your phone to your daily using instead of worrying about battery life.

 

More tips

1. Check app-by-app battery usage

Your iPhone keeps a list of the most egregious abusers of its battery. Head to Settings > Battery and you’ll see a list of the apps that have used the most power in the last 24 hours and the last seven days. (In the image below, it says the last two days because I’ve only been using iOS 11 that long.)
Tap the little clock icon along the right edge to see how long each app has run on screen or in the background during your selected time frame. With this knowledge, you can limit using power-hungry apps when you’re running low on juice. And knowing, they say, is half the battle.

2. Lower screen brightness

Powering the display is the single biggest drain on your battery. Use the slider in Control Center to reduce your screen’s brightness.

You can also enable Auto-Brightness, which adjusts the screen level based on ambient light — but I’d only do this if you use your iPhone more at night than during the day or at least more inside than outside during the day. Or live in Seattle or somewhere where it’s seldom sunny (*waves at UK readers*).

This is because in brightly lit environments, auto-brightness keeps your screen at or near max brightness and drains your battery faster. The auto-brightness setting moved in iOS 11. It’s no longer found under Display & Brightness page in Settings but buried in the Accessibility settings. Here’s the path: Settings > General > Accessibility > Display Accommodations.

3. Turn your Flashlight down low

Like the display, the flashlight can be a big battery drain. With iOS 11, there are four brightness levels for the flashlight. If you’re a frequent flashlight user, try out the lowest setting; it’s still plenty bright and can save you some battery. Swipe up for the Control Center and 3D Touch or long-press on the flashlight button and set your brightness preference, which iOS will remember for subsequent flashlight uses.

4. Use Low Power Mode

Low Power Mode isn’t new, but it is super useful. It reduces or disables the following features: email fetch, “Hey Siri,” background app refresh, automatic downloads and some visual effects, plus it sets Auto-Lock to 30 seconds. When your battery hits 20 percent, iOS will offer to turn it on for you, but you can toggle it on by going to Settings > Battery, asking Siri to “turn on Low Power Mode” or adding a button for it to the new Control Center.

5. Don’t push, fetch less

Urgent messages probably arrive by text these days, which means you need emails neither pushed constantly to your phone nor fetched frequently. Check your mail settings to make sure push is turned off and fetch set to Manually, or, if you must, Hourly. You can adjust Push and Fetch settings by following this path: Settings > Accounts & Passwords > Fetch New Data and change it to Manually. This means the Mail app won’t go hunting for new emails unless you launch it and check yourself.

6. Nay Siri

There’s some debate over how much power listening for “Hey Siri” uses. Many people disable it out of privacy concerns because with the setting on, your iPhone is constantly listening for you to utter the magic words for the assistant to spring into action. It must use some, as Lower Power Mode turns it off.

To turn it off, go to Settings > Siri & Search and toggle off Listen for “Hey Siri.”

7. Limit background app refresh and auto downloads

Some apps, if you allow them, refresh their content when you aren’t using them, so that when you return to them you’re served fresh content, saving you from needing to pull down to refresh. Background refresh is certainly convenient, but it’s also a drain on battery life. Head to Settings > General > Background App Refresh and you can turn Background App Refresh off entirely or select which apps you’d like to refresh in the background.

Like refreshing in the background, an app updating itself in the background also uses battery resources. You can disable this feature and update your apps manually via the App Store app. To do so, go to Settings > iTunes & App Store and tap the toggle switch to turn off Updates in the Automatic Downloads section.

8. Disable some visual effects

The visual effects that Low Power Mode reduces or disables, I believe, are the motion and transparency animation effects that lend a sense of depth as you tilt your phone or open and close apps. First, go to Settings > General > Accessibility > Reduce Motion and tap the toggle switch to turn on Reduce Motion. Next, head back to the Accessibility screen, tap the line above Reduce Motion titled Increase Contrast and tap the toggle switch to turn on Reduce Transparency.

9. Tighten up Auto-Lock

If the display is a huge power draw — and it is — then it’s a good idea to shorten the time it stays on when sitting idle. Auto-Lock shuts down your iPhone after it has been inactive for a period of time. You can set it as short as 30 seconds. To set a time period for Auto-Lock, head to Settings > Display & Brightness > Auto-Lock.

10. See what’s tracking your location

Apps constantly requesting your location naturally consumes battery. Thankfully, iOS 11 gives you more control over how and when apps access your location. No longer can a developer offer only “Always” or “Never” for the tracking options for location services. Now, you’ll be able to choose “While Using the App,” whether the developer likes it or not. Head to Settings > Privacy > Location Services to adjust the settings for all of your apps that use location services.

11. Restrict notifications

Too many notifications are both annoying and a drain on your battery because they can wake up an idle iPhone and turn on the display. Go to Settings > Notifications and choose which apps can push notifications your way. You can also shut off notifications on the lock screen. For Show Previews at the top, select When Unlocked.

 

For more battery usage tips or battery replacement feel free to contact repair buddy Melbourne.