The first cellphones were powered by a car battery. That’s right, the car battery was hooked directly into the phone to keep it charged and ready to make calls.
Needless to say, the lithium-ion batteries we use today have brought us a long way from that. But still, lithium-ion technology hasn’t changed much since its invention, and our phone batteries don’t last forever.
Knowing how to save battery life on iPhone will help you get the most of your battery and your device in general. It can also save you in a pinch when your phone is about to die, and you have nowhere to the plug in.
Today, we’re looking at everything to do with iPhone batteries, how they work, and how you can make them work better.
How Long Do iPhone Batteries Last?
Lithium-ion batteries are the best technology we currently have for keeping cell phones powered. In comparison with other types of battery technology, lithium-ion is faster, lighter, longer-lasting, and has a higher power density.
With that said, lithium-ion still has a limited lifespan. Over time, they lose their capacity to hold a charge, and eventually, they need to be replaced.
The lithium-ion batteries used in iPhone can receive a full charge 300 to 400 times before their performance begins to decline. That’s equivalent to about two years of use.
How iPhone Batteries Work
Lithium-ion batteries, like all batteries, work through a chemical process. The reason they have a finite lifespan is that there are only so many times a battery can perform that chemical process. From the first time they perform that process onward, they begin to “chemically age”.
As a battery chemically ages, the amount of charge it can hold lessens. That’s why, the older your phone gets, the shorter the time period between charges.
As mentioned, your iPhone battery gets about 300 or 400 full charges before its performance declines. At that point, the battery reaches 80% of its original capacity. Which means that, a full charge only gives you 80% of what a full charge gave you when your phone was new.
When that happens, it begins to affect the performance of your phone in general. This is because the software and hardware of your phone draws on the power of the battery to perform their various functions.
When the battery is only at 80% of its original capacity, you’ll start to notice bugs, such as longer loading times or applications shutting down. And, at some point, your phone won’t be able to operate the latest iOS updates. You can expect that when your phone hits the five year mark.
How to Save Battery Life on iPhone in the Long-term
The way you care for iPhone batteries has a major impact on how long theycan function at 100% capacity. Although your battery has a finite lifespan related to its chemical age, there are things you can do to make sure you get the most of that lifespan.
If you’re interested in how to save battery life on iPhone in the long-term, you should avoid:
- extremely hot and extremely cold temperatures, while in use or in storage
- lightning chargers, which take more power from your battery than a standard charger
- leaving your phone on vibrate, which drains the battery more than silent or loud mode
- high and low states of charge at 0% and 100% for long periods of time
- notifications for non-essential apps, which drain battery with constant alerts
You should also check out what apps are draining your phone more than others. Go into Settings > Battery to find out if you have any unnecessary apps that are reducing your battery’s charge.
Finally, one of the most important ways you can improve your battery’s lifespan is to ensure you install iOS updates as they become available. These updates are intended to solve glitches and bugs that could be draining your battery.
How to Save Battery on iPhone in the Short-term
We’ve all been there: you don’t have a charger or a plug handy, your “Low Battery” notification has come on at 20%, but you’re in the midst of an important conversation, or you need a map, or you’re waiting on a phone call. So, what do you do?
If you need to know how to save battery life on iPhone in the short term, there are quite a few quick fixes. Below, we’ve listed the ones that will save you the most battery in the shortest time.
1. Turn off Settings That Aren’t Needed
There are some features on your phone that constantly look for a connection, even if they’re not being used. These are things like Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. If you’re not using them, turn them off to save battery life. Simply swipe up from the bottom of your screen and tap the symbols for each to turn them off.
Location Services are another huge drain on your battery because they’re constantly looks for GPS signal and those pings wear you battery. You can turn this off by going to Settings > Privacy > Location Services.
There’s also something called Background Refresh App, which can be found in Settings > General > Background Refresh App. Turning this off ensures that apps won’t continue to check for updates and new content, even when they’ve been closed from your home screen.
2. Better Yet, Switch to Airplane Mode
Airplane mode is a quick way to turn off any and all wireless communications on your iPhone. That includes data services, Bluetooth, and Location Services as well as disabling calls and texts.
Your battery basically won’t move while you’re in Airplane Mode, as long as you don’t connect to Wi-Fi or start playing Solitaire for minutes on end. To turn on Airplane mode, swipe up from the bottom of your screen. Find the airplane icon and tap it on.
3. Or, Use Low Power Mode
If you still need access to your data, phone calls, and texts, then Airplane mode might not be the right choice. Instead, you can turn on Low Power Mode by navigating to Settings > Battery > Low Power Mode.
Low Power Mode means that background activities like mail fetching or automatic downloads are stopped. Your phone only performs what it has to perform, and you’ll still have access to everything you need.
4. Dim the Screen
How bright you have your screen has an impact on your battery. Of course, the dimmer the screen, the less battery power you’re using. There are two ways to go about dimming your screen.
You can save battery life in the long term by turning on Auto-Brightness, which automatically adjusts the brightness of your screen according to the lighting around you. Do this by navigating to Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size > Auto-Brightness.
If you’re in a pinch and need to dim your screen to save as much battery as possible, you can also do this manually. Either swipe up from the bottom of the screen and adjust the slider bar from there or navigate to Settings > Display & Brightness and adjust.
Is It Time for a New Battery?
You may now know all the ways how to save battery life on iPhone, but you’re still going to have to replace that battery eventually. Remember that, while you can care for your battery in the long term and extend its charge in the short-term, lithium-ion batteries don’t last forever.
If your phone is between 2 and 5 years old, not holding a charge, and your applications are starting to glitch, it’s time for a new battery. We carry iPhone batteries for all models and generations of iPhone and we can install it for you, too. Check out our selection here.
