Boost your iPhone/iPad battery
Give your battery a health check, then make it last longer between charges
However carefully you look after your iPhone or iPad, its battery has a limited shelf life. If you’re convinced your mobile isn’t running as fast as it used to, it’s not just a case of planned obsolescence; it may also indicate your battery is past its best.
FIX BATTERY PROBLEMS
As batteries age, they begin to lose their capacity to hold a charge for as long as they used to. And as this diminishes, the likelihood of your phone suddenly shutting down unexpectedly increases too. As a result, iOS contains performance management technologies that are designed to cap the maximum performance of your phone’s CPU or GPU to prevent it overloading an ageing battery. The knock–on effect is that overall performance decreases.
If you’ve noticed your phone starting to slow down, check your battery health — if a replacement is recommended, then a new battery will not only go longer between charges, but you should also regain lost performance too. Open Settings and navigate to Battery, then tap Battery Health. You’ll immediately be notified if there’s a problem — or tap the “Learn more” link to get a detailed overview of how your battery works and what Settings can tell you about it. While you’re here, make sure Optimized Battery Charging is on to protect the battery from degradation caused by remaining at
a high charge level for long periods of time.
If your battery requires replacing, Apple can fit a new one out of warranty for $49 or $69, plus delivery, depending on the model. If you have a local Apple store or premium reseller, you may be able to get the repair done while you wait. Other local phone repair shops may also offer battery replacements, often cheaper than Apple, but these are likely to be third–party batteries.
The Battery tool under Settings also provides statistics about battery usage, reveals which apps are using the most power, and lets you switch to Low Power Mode (see below). If you want more info about battery usage, the App Store is full of battery apps — our favorite is Battery Life (free, batterylifeapp.com), which provides estimates of how long your battery will last depending on specific usage scenarios.
When it comes to extending battery life between charges, Low Power Mode is a bit of a blunt instrument. There are plenty of other ways you can eke additional minutes — or even hours— from your phone battery. Start by reducing your screen brightness — navigate to Settings > Display & Brightness, flick the Automatic switch to off, then reduce the brightness slider. You’ll find the screen becomes harder to read, so switch to Dark Mode and you’ll discover it’s more readable, even at lower brightness levels. While you’re here, turn off “Raise to Wake” to prevent the screen coming on every time you lift up your iPhone.
You can also disable vibration alerts. Go to Settings > Sounds & Haptics to flick both vibrate options to off, then scroll down and disable keyboard clicks and the Lock Sound too. For more Settings– based battery tips, check out the steps opposite.