Performance is always a desirable feature in any computing device, but a smartphone that can’t last a full day on a single charge loses a lot of its appeal. Android manufacturers in particular, are guilty of pushing the performance limit at the cost of battery life. Under ideal conditions, most Android phones are designed make it a full day even with relatively heavy usage, but that doesn’t always relate to the real world. We have a few battery saving tips that will hopefully give you the freedom to leave your charger at home.
The usual tricks include things like turning off background data and ditching Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and GPS. Rather than reduce your phone’s usefulness, we’ll be focusing on the tricks that leave functionality largely unimpaired.
Training the Battery – Lithium-Ion cells may not have a charge memory in the same sense as old NiCd batteries, but they do have charging circuitry that is used to keep track of maximum capacities. The simple act of training a new battery can make a considerable difference. To do this, allow the device to run down the battery to the point that it starts warning you to connect the charger (around 5%-10%). Then, allow it to charge, undisturbed, until full. This can be repeated once more for good measure, and it’s a good idea to run through the cycle every month or two.
Don’t Use Automated Task Killers – When Android was still in its infancy, automated task killers helped deal with the battery drain of multitasking. Since Gingerbread, though, Android’s resource management has been significantly improved, to the point that automated task killers cause a negative impact on battery life. This is because the task killers are repeatedly killing apps that are just immediately starting back up again. Manual task killers are still fine for taking care of rogue apps and clearing up system recourses when you need to eke out a bit more performance, but steer clear of the automated ones.
Using Dark Backgrounds (for OLED displays) – A lot of Android devices have OLED (or AMOLED) displays. Compared to the more traditional LCD displays, OLEDs use about twice as much power when displaying a white screen; however, when showing a black screen, the power draw is practically zero. Using dark themes and backgrounds can cut down on the screen’s power consumption considerably. LCD display power use is relatively constant regardless of what the screen is showing (primarily dependent on the brightness of the backlight).
Increase the Screen Timeout – While it may be a bit counterintuitive, increasing the time it takes before your screen turns itself off can actually help your battery life. Most people are pretty good at manually turning off their phone’s screen before sliding it into their pocket, so having a short delay will only cause the screen to turn off while you’re still in the middle of something. If you find yourself constantly turning your screen back on, consider upping the screen timeout a bit (found in Settings>Display).
Turn off Android 4G – Yeah, we said we wouldn’t sacrifice functionality for battery life, but 4G data can be a real killer. Under most circumstances, such as basic web browsing, checking e-mail, and even streaming music, 4G speeds are just overkill. Instead, grab a 4G toggle widget from Google Play and throw it on your home screen so that it’s easy to turn on 4G when you need it, for things like gaming and video streaming.
Keep an Eye on Your Battery Stats – Ever since Gingerbread, Android has had an amazingly useful battery stats menu. You can find it under Settings>Battery. It gives you a graph of your battery’s charge throughout the day plus a list of apps sorted by their power drain. If you’re ever experiencing unusually poor battery life, this is the place to look to find the culprit.
Using Automated Apps to Manage Your Settings – There are plenty of features you can disable to help save battery life, but the majority of them are features you’ll probably want at some point throughout the day. Using an automation app, these settings can be enabled only as you need them, and then disabled when you’re done. Tasker is definitely one of the best apps for this (more information on it is available in the Application section below).
Uninstall Unused Apps – Not all apps will continue to run in the background, but as you accumulate more and more apps, it’s likely that you’re picking up a few background processes along the way. Even if you don’t use the apps anymore, their background activity can negatively impact battery life.
Comments are closed on this article
Cy-Kill
November 30, 2012 at 1:30pm
I'm still waiting for the OTA update to 4.2 for my Galaxy Nexus S.
kixofmyg0t
November 30, 2012 at 2:42pm
Ummm you're gonna be waiting forever then because it's not getting 4.2 officially.
Don't worry my Xoom is the same way.
Mikey109105
November 30, 2012 at 12:33pm
Seeing as my current phone (HTC Inspire 4G) wont bother to allow an official 4.2 update (I'm stuck on Gingerbread I thing or whatever droid OS is 2.x), I don't see how this even pertains to me. YES, I could root my phone, and YES I could install 4.2 after rooting, but I'd rather not risk it because I'm not exactly any good at rooting devices. Then again, my upgrade comes up in April, so, I'll be upgrading to either the HTC One (I got ATT so lol) or some other droid phone, possibly the Galaxy, or whatever version isn't fucking illegal in the US thanks to fucktard Apple.
Paul Escallier
November 30, 2012 at 6:24pm
If you're in a hurry to upgrade, the Nexus 4 is perfectly compatible with AT&T's HSPA+ network, and it is sold unlocked and contract-free. Plus, despite being a considerably high-end device, it actually doesn't cost much more than most contract subsidized phones. The biggest issue you'll run into right now will be finding the Nexus 4 in stock.
jimmthang
November 30, 2012 at 6:22pm
Hey Mikey,
Even if you don't have a jelly bean-enabled phone, a lot of the general android tips in this article should be helpful! :)
- Maximum PC Online Managing Editor Jimmy Thang
nunu10000
November 30, 2012 at 11:28am
How is Cerberus not in the Top 21 Apps?
IMO it's the best app for getting a stolen phone back (as well as finding it under the sofa cushions after you misplaced it)
jimmthang
November 30, 2012 at 1:29pm
We suggested a similar app called SeekDroid. :)
Thanks for your feedback!
- Jimmy Thang
Snate
November 30, 2012 at 11:27am
You mentioned the addition of Photo Sphere but failed to mention that they finally added HDR mode to the camera app.
I was actually surprised and annoyed that Android 4.0 didn't have it since it was available for iPhones for quite some time before it came out.
sickley
November 30, 2012 at 9:55am
So how come you guys didn't mention any of the new security features?
Scanning for sideloaded apps, malware through text protection, implementation of SELinux, and VPN Lockdown!
They also are doing some enhancements on Google Now, making useful as a personal assistant :)
zepontiff
November 30, 2012 at 9:24am
I'm finding the stock gesture typing to be lacking compared to swype.
diedrichg
November 29, 2012 at 6:16pm
I don't get it; why is gesture typing "new"? I've had it on my HTC Vivid since Gingerbread 2.3 (now ICS 4.0.3). Sure it's not enabled by default but it's there...
sickley
November 30, 2012 at 9:47am
That's because by default HTC phones don't use the stock android keyboard!
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