Mobile phones have come a long way. From a bulky wireless phone box, it has turned into a computer that fits into your palm. It is impressive what a today's phone can do. However, the increasing number of features requires powerful hardware. It is obvious that such powerful hardware saps more juice. Unfortunately, in the smartphone evolution, the battery technology hasn't made any significant progress.
Sure you much have heard of Motorola's Turbo Charger, Samsung Adaptive Fast Charging, and HTC Rapid Charger. Most of these are built on top of Qualcomm's Quick Charge technology. The Qualcomm's innovation has a couple of competitors though -- OPPO'S VOOC Flash charging and MediaTek's Pump Express (quite a suggestive name). These technologies have significantly reduced the battery charging time, provided that you own a compatible phone. However, no matter how fast these chargers are, once you leave the house, you are at a mercy of the phone's battery, which hardly evolved over the past few years. Hydrogen fuel cell batteries that can power smartphones for weeks are still nowhere near ready. So unless you enjoy lugging around ugly powerbanks with you all the time, here are a few tips to make sure phone's battery last long:
1. Keep a check on connectivity options
Thanks to portable speakers, Bluetooth is still relevant. The problem with this connectivity option is the rate at which it depletes the battery. We don't have anything against wireless speakers or Bluetooth technology. However, as soon as you are done playing the songs, turn off the Bluetooth radio on your phone. Same goes for GPS (Global Positioning System). Undoubtedly, location services are necessary for popular apps such as Uber and Swiggy, but when not required make sure to flip the switch on it.
2. Screen brightness
We love the pixel-packed screens. However, it requires more processing power to churn out those pixels. Similarly, it is great to have bright screens that retain legibility even under direct sunlight. On the other hand, these super bright screens cause a serious battery drain. Therefore, whenever possible, dial-down your phone's brightness. Setting screen timeout to under 30 seconds also help save the precious battery life.
3. Limit background processes
I assume that nobody uses animated wallpapers these days. If you do, keep it in mind that it drains battery like anything. Moving on, restricting background data access to the apps you barely use can also prolong your phone's battery life. Similarly, go easy on email sync except for your office ID. Don't allow non-messaging apps crowd your notification bar. Unless, you enjoy reading Jabong's same discount notification every hour.
4. Avoid battery saver apps
Out of all things your friends recommend, one thing you should avoid is the battery saving apps. There's a simple logic behind it. Every app requires millions of calculations run by silicone, which draws power from the battery. A battery saving app is no exception to this. Therefore, by installing a so called battery saving app, you are actually putting more strain on the phone's resources.
Chandrakant Isi has been covering all-things-tech for over 10 years. He is a sci-fi aficionado, wannabe space explorer, and Content Lead at MySmartPrice.com. He hates writing about himself in third person.
