Whether you're on-the-go or surfing the web at home, the battery life of our smartphones is crucial for us to stay connected. Here are some tips for Android users to keep that battery going and going.
Display Brightness
This first one is probably pretty widely-known. The brighter your phone is, the more juice that’s being wasted. Even having auto-brightness set can have a negative effect on your battery (and possibly your eyes), so decide what level of brightness is best for you depending on the lighting.
App Notifications
Notifications are handy (and dandy) but not all of them are entirely necessary. Information from apps that you rarely use, or apps that send you the most notifications (like those pesky Instagram Likes) might be best turned off, especially when battery is running low.
Vibrate Mode
Keeping your phone on silent when in meetings, class, or movie theaters makes vibrate the best solution so that you never miss a moment, but these constant vibrations take a toll on your battery fairly quickly. I'm sure those messages can wait.
Power-Saving Mode
While putting your device into a built-in power-saving mode 24/7 would definitely take away from the incredible features that you love about your phone, turning it on when battery is getting low could give you those few extra moments until you can get to a charger.
Auto-Lock Time
This one may be surprising. Auto-lock is a great feature for those of us who may forget to turn our phone’s screen off completely when not in use, but setting this feature to the shortest time possible will be a life saver.
Bluetooth/Wi-Fi
Not currently near Wi-Fi? Not using a Bluetooth device? Simply turn these radio features off in Settings and give your battery a break.
Temperature
California residents understand the annoyance of a hot phone, but keeping your phone in a cool place can actually save you some much-needed battery life. Once your device crosses into the 90 degree territory, the battery takes a hit.
Secondary Battery
A second battery can sometimes be a bit costly, but it’s a great decision for those of us that are constantly on the go. There are also a ton of battery cases out there to choose from for that quick refill.
Close Background Apps
This may be a no-brainer as well, but this may be the most important one. If you're not using it, why let it eat away at your battery life? Apps that are not currently in use can be easily switched off, or try rebooting your device periodically to give your battery a fresh start.
Delete Battery-Killing Apps
If saving battery power is one of your top priorities, maybe saying goodbye to those apps that are sucking your battery dry is the right decision. Whether it’s a powerful app, or an app that's built improperly, go into your phone’s settings to see which of your apps need to get the chop. Ok, maybe not Facebook.