Before you spend money on a new phone battery, take a look at some of the apps that you use most — therein may lie the problem behind your persistent battery drainage.
Some apps are battery guzzlers compared with others. You may find that even using them for 30 minutes results in a significant decrease in battery, sending you searching high and low for a charger. Jason Wise, Chief Editor at EARTHWEB, and Tech Expert Yash Giri at Technographx, outline some of the worst iPhone apps that are draining your battery so fast — as well as some solutions that don’t involve deleting the apps in questions.
“Facebook is notorious for consuming significant amounts of battery power primarily due to its constant background activity, including push notifications, location services, and excessive data transfers,” Wise says. “Limiting background app refresh, turning off push notifications, and disabling location services when not in use can help mitigate battery drain while still being able to use the app. Additionally, minimizing the number of active Facebook tabs and closing the app completely when not in use can also help conserve battery life.”
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Snapchat
Snapchat relies heavily on various features like location-based filters, caching of data, and continuous use of the camera, which all contribute to increased battery consumption, according to Wise. All of these contribute to significant battery loss.
“Enabling the ‘Travel Mode’ feature in the Snapchat settings can reduce the automatic preloading of snaps and Stories,” Wise says. “Additionally, limiting the use of filters, closing the app when not in use, and disabling unnecessary features like location services and background refresh can help preserve battery life while still using the app.”
Navigation Apps
Navigation apps, such as Google Maps or Waze, rely heavily on GPS, data connectivity, and background activity to provide real-time location tracking and directions, Giri reminds us. “These services consume substantial battery power, particularly during extended periods of usage,” Giri says.
Gaming Apps
“Graphically intensive games can drain battery power quickly due to their demand for processing resources and continuous screen activity,” Giri says. “These apps require sustained usage of the CPU and GPU, leading to accelerated battery consumption.”
Solutions for using these apps without deleting them:
There are a few solutions to save battery without having to delete these apps, according to Giri.
Optimize Settings
Adjust Background App Refresh: “Limit or disable background app refresh for social media apps,” Giri says. “This will prevent them from constantly fetching new content in the background.”
Restrict Location Access: Set location access to "While Using" or "Never" for social media and navigation apps, except when actively needed, Giri points out.
Reduce Notifications: Customize notification settings to receive fewer or essential notifications from these apps, minimizing background activity, Giri says.
Manage Usage Patterns:
Set Usage Limits: Use built-in screen time or app-specific usage limits to regulate the time spent on battery-draining apps, promoting responsible usage, Giri says.
Alternate Navigation Apps: “Switch to offline navigation apps or download maps for offline use to reduce reliance on constant data and GPS usage,” Giri says.
Battery Saving Features:
Low Power Mode: “Activate the Low Power Mode feature on your iPhone to conserve battery life,” Giri says. “This feature temporarily reduces background app activity and optimizes power usage.”
Enable Battery Saver Mode in Games: Many gaming apps offer battery-saving options within their settings, according to Giri, who adds that Enabling these modes can reduce the graphic intensity and overall power consumption.
Gain back battery power by deleing some of the apps that are most taxing or optimizing your settings so that your phone uses up fewer resources.
