My phone never has enough battery power for me.
No one likes stopping their scrolling to plug a phone in to charge, and I’m no exception.
So, some time ago, I decided to turn on power-saving mode on my smartphone and keep it on.
This is a decision that many would disagree with. But I’ve been happy with it over the years, and it’s entirely solved my battery anxiety.
I finally found 6 Android settings toggles that actually save my battery life
Small tweaks, big battery gains
Keeping a power-saving mode on is a controversial choice
This may come as a shock, but choosing to have more battery life is actually something of a controversial choice within the tech industry.
That’s because, while power-saving mode boosts your battery life, it does so by reducing performance in specific areas of your device.
I’m not deaf to these arguments, and I fully understand why people would try to avoid it where they can. It’s not even close to being pain-free, and I can see why that would put people off.
For instance, background processes are hampered by power-sipping measures. Stuff that normally goes on happily in the background may struggle to work properly while power-saving is on.
Google Maps can show this in real time. If you’re sharing your location with someone, they’ll see your location update less often.
Plus, when you’re using it, Maps will highlight that power-saving mode is impacting how accurately it can pinpoint your location.
Notifications are also affected. That means your phone checks for new notifications less often.
In practice, this usually means you’re not getting up-to-the-moment updates, and you might not even notice it’s happening.
This could be bad if you miss a particularly urgent message, but generally, I don’t find it to be a big problem.
But the way it works with apps can be a little annoying.
Streaming apps might not work brilliantly, especially in picture-in-picture modes, and music or podcast apps may sometimes struggle to run in the background.
At least, that’s the theory.
In my time using power-saving mode, I’ve never run into those particular problems. Pretty much everything has run exactly the way I’ve wanted it to.
Quiz
Smartphone battery myths
Trivia challenge
Think you know how to charge your phone? Bust the myths and prove your
battery IQ.
ChargingMythsBattery LifeHardwareTips
A common myth says you should always drain your smartphone battery to 0% before
charging it. Where did this belief originally come from?
Correct! Older nickel-cadmium (NiCd) batteries suffered from a ‘memory
effect,’ meaning they performed better when fully discharged before recharging. Modern smartphones use
lithium-ion batteries, which have no such requirement and actually degrade faster when fully drained
regularly.
Not quite. This myth traces back to nickel-cadmium batteries used in
older electronics, which genuinely benefited from full discharge cycles due to the ‘memory effect.’
Lithium-ion batteries in modern phones work very differently and are actually harmed by frequent full
discharges.
What is the ideal battery charge range recommended by most experts to maximize the
lifespan of a lithium-ion smartphone battery?
Correct! Keeping your battery between 20% and 80% reduces chemical
stress on lithium-ion cells, significantly extending their overall lifespan. Many manufacturers,
including Apple and Samsung, now include features that automatically limit charging to around 80% for
this very reason.
Not quite. Battery experts generally recommend keeping lithium-ion
batteries between 20% and 80% charge. Regularly charging to 100% or draining to 0% accelerates chemical
degradation inside the battery cells, reducing their total capacity over time.
True or false: Leaving your smartphone plugged in overnight will ‘overcharge’ the
battery and cause it to explode or degrade rapidly.
Correct! Modern smartphones have built-in charge controllers that stop
pulling current from the charger once the battery hits 100%, preventing true overcharging. However,
keeping your phone plugged in at 100% for extended periods can still cause minor long-term degradation
due to heat and trickle charging.
Not quite. Modern smartphones automatically stop drawing power once they
reach 100%, so true overcharging isn’t possible with current hardware. That said, staying plugged in at
full charge for hours can still generate heat, which is a genuine enemy of battery longevity over time.
Which factor is considered the single greatest enemy of lithium-ion battery health
over time?
Correct! Heat is the primary accelerant of lithium-ion battery
degradation. High temperatures speed up the chemical reactions inside the battery that permanently
reduce its capacity. This is why leaving your phone in a hot car or under a pillow while charging is
particularly harmful.
Not quite. Heat is the biggest threat to lithium-ion battery health.
Elevated temperatures accelerate the chemical breakdown inside battery cells, causing irreversible
capacity loss. That’s why Apple, Google, and Samsung all recommend avoiding exposure to high ambient
temperatures during charging and storage.
Does using a third-party charger automatically damage your smartphone’s battery?
Correct! Third-party chargers that carry proper safety certifications
(such as USB-IF or relevant regional standards) are generally safe to use. The real danger comes from
uncertified, very cheap chargers that may lack adequate protection circuits, potentially delivering
unstable voltage.
Not quite. The brand of the charger matters less than its certification.
A third-party charger that meets established safety standards (like USB-IF certification) is generally
perfectly safe. It’s the ultra-cheap, uncertified chargers with poor quality control that pose a genuine
risk to your device.
Which of the following practices is actually proven to reduce daily battery drain on
most Android smartphones?
Correct! The display is typically the single largest consumer of battery
power on a smartphone. Lowering screen brightness and using adaptive refresh rates (which drop the Hz
when full speed isn’t needed) are among the most effective real-world battery-saving techniques
available.
Not quite. Reducing screen brightness and using adaptive refresh rates
is one of the most impactful ways to save battery, since the display is usually the biggest power draw
on any smartphone. Closing background apps, despite being a popular habit, often wastes more battery by
forcing apps to cold-start rather than resume.
A popular belief holds that you must let a brand-new smartphone battery complete
several full charge cycles before first use. Is this true for modern devices?
Correct! Unlike older battery chemistries, modern lithium-ion cells used
in smartphones are manufactured pre-conditioned and calibrated. There is no scientific basis for a
break-in period with current technology — you can simply charge and use your new phone straight out of
the box.
Not quite. The break-in ritual is a holdover myth from older battery
technologies. Modern lithium-ion smartphone batteries are pre-conditioned during manufacturing and
require no special cycling before first use. You can charge your new phone normally the moment you unbox
it without any negative consequences.
Several flagship smartphones now include a feature that limits charging to around
80% by default. What is the primary purpose of this feature?
Correct! Features like Apple’s Optimized Battery Charging and Samsung’s
Protect Battery mode cap charging at 80% to reduce the electrochemical stress that occurs at high states
of charge. Studies show that keeping lithium-ion cells below full charge dramatically slows long-term
capacity degradation.
Not quite. The 80% charging cap found on modern flagships is
specifically designed to reduce long-term battery degradation. Lithium-ion cells experience
significantly more chemical stress when held at or near 100% charge, so limiting the ceiling helps the
battery retain more of its original capacity after hundreds of charge cycles.
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A dying battery is more noticeable than a throttled processor
Is it probable I haven’t noticed the impact because I’ve been using it so long? Absolutely.
But I really would have noticed my battery dying before the end of the day, and that’s the point here.
I’d rather have a throttled processor than a dead battery. I’d rather have my notifications come in slightly late than not at all.
It helps that I’m not a huge mobile gamer, or I might notice the lack of processing power.
The most demanding game I play is Cell to Singularity, and I don’t see the appeal of playing anything more complex than using phone controls.
You need a controller for serious gaming, and phone controls do not cut it.
My priorities for my phone are the battery life, camera quality, and being able to watch YouTube while I fold laundry or put away the dishes.
Two of those priorities are improved through using the battery-saver mode.
For me, trading some processing power I never use for a bit of extra battery is a no-brainer.
I can accept getting my notifications a little bit slower and Google Maps being a bit more rubbish. And, if I absolutely need to, I can turn it off again.
Battery saver should be a mode you turn off, not one you turn on
We all want a phone with more battery life. It’s likely one of the big reasons people love large phones, and why slim phones failed the way they did.
So, battery saver or power-saving mode should be the default, not something you turn on when your battery hits 20%.
Smartphones have become so powerful that you really don’t need the extra processing power that battery saver locks away.
Some phones need battery saver on all the time. It’s a choice on my Google Pixel 10 Pro, but on my Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5?
If I wanted to last the full day, then using power-saving mode was required.
If you think I’m wrong, you have options.
While a lot of US flagships tend to struggle to hit a single day on a charge, you have phones like the OnePlus 15 which can absolutely blow them out of the water.
But I don’t have a OnePlus 15, I have a Pixel 10 Pro. And while its battery performance is decent, I’ll certainly be keeping battery saver mode on until I roll the dice on my next upgrade.
