Getting as many minutes as you can out of your iPad’s battery

The much-touted 10-hour battery life of the iPad is a wonderful feature, but you can do some things to extend it even further. Use Airplane Mode. Airplane Mode is designed to turn off communication features such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and cellular data, which sap power because they periodically check in with the network. If you’re using your iPad for purposes that don’t require communication, turn on Airplane Mode by tapping Settings and then tapping the Airplane Mode on/off button. Many airlines now allow the use of Bluetooth and/or Wi-Fi during flight, so Airplane Mode may not be as necessary as it once was, but it’s still needed (usually) during takeoffs and landings.

Turn off Background App Refresh. You might want to turn off this setting (tap Settings > General > Background App Refresh) for some of your power-hungry apps if you don’t need them to run in the background. News, for example, routinely checks for updates. If you’re feeling stressed by too much connectivity, try turning off background refresh in some non-critical apps. Keep tabs on remaining battery life. You can estimate the amount of remaining battery life by looking at the Battery icon at the far-right end of the status bar, at the top of your screen. Use standard accessories to charge your iPad most effectively. The most effective way to charge your iPad is to plug it into a wall outlet by using the Lightning-to-USB cable and the USB power adapter that comes with your iPad. The fastest way to charge the iPad is to turn it off while charging it.