Ex-Apple Genius reveals 8 ways to extend iPhone battery

[C DM]

I'm talking about in general C DM. Not this genius' advice which is still common sense.

To a degree, I agree about the in general part. And to a degree there's definitely common sense in various things as to what this particular advice mentions, but not necessarily to everything, in particular to those who are newer to iOS, and even more in particular to those who are more typical iOS users.

 

[DavidBlack]

I expecally like the first tip "1. Disable location and background app refresh for Facebook
The Facebook app for iPhone consumes a huge amount of memory and processing power, even when you're not using it. Turning off background app refresh can actually cause your battery percentage to increase.” I always had a feeling that this app was causing my battery problems. Glad to have a credible source saying that it’s a battery drainer. As for the other tips those are things I already knew but, we are always learning new things so what the heck.

 

[Dented]

Number 3 is spot on. More people should take that on board rather than constantly banging the "close your apps" drum.

 

[MacHead84]

I didn't know about this so I will give it a try.

 

[sunking101]

Number 3 is spot on. More people should take that on board rather than constantly banging the "close your apps" drum.

I have read the article but still don't see the benefits to NOT closing apps. If they stay in RAM, then they are using up the paltry 1GB I have to play with. With several safari tabs open, and all the crashes/page reloads/website load hanging I'm experiencing, more RAM would be beneficial I'm sure.
It all depends what you use your phone for. If it's just minimal use then there is no need to close your one or two open apps. Heavy and prolonged use, with a buggy iOS7.1 and a pathetic 1GB of RAM, means that frequent tinkering is required in my opinion.

 

[charlituna]

I remember the CPU running at an average 5%-10% on my original device. I already went back to the Apple store and have told me it's not a hardware issue but a rogue app(s) I find this hard to believe and I feel it has something to do with iCloud (again, restored with a new iCloud backup) any suggestions?

Wipe the phone, set up as new, download no apps. If it's hardware the issue should appear. If it doesn't then there is your answer. Start putting back apps one or two at a time.

Could also be rogue data so the set up as new will cover that possibility

----------

Yesterday while exchanging my 5S I told the "genius" not to worry about updating it to 7.1 because I was just going to take it home and DFU it anyway. The totally blank stare always makes me question the term "genius".

He was probably wondering why you would DFU a brand new phone. What purpose would that serve.

 

[Dented]

I have read the article but still don't see the benefits to NOT closing apps. If they stay in RAM, then they are using up the paltry 1GB I have to play with. With several safari tabs open, and all the crashes/page reloads/website load hanging I'm experiencing, more RAM would be beneficial I'm sure.

It all depends what you use your phone for. If it's just minimal use then there is no need to close your one or two open apps. Heavy and prolonged use, with a buggy iOS7.1 and a pathetic 1GB of RAM, means that frequent tinkering is required in my opinion.

You don't see the benefits because, with all due respect, you don't really understand what's going on. Free ram is wasted ram; it's there to be used to *increase* performance and by default, left to its own devices, that's exactly what 7.1 and all previous versions of IOS do.

Where it falls apart is where people like you insist that manually emptying ram is somehow helpful; it isn't. If the system needs more ram for the current task it will get it, if it doesn't then all you are doing by closing down apps is increasing the likelihood that it will have to reopen those same apps itself the next time. And that's not even figuring in the wasted screentime and processing of you going through the list and pointlessly flicking away every five minutes.

"Heavy and prolonged use" is the life of most iPhones, certainly mine. It does not require any such tinkering and I do not consider it buggy. Yours apparently is constantly tinkered with and seems "buggy" to you - I wonder which came first?

 

[sunking101]

You don't see the benefits because, with all due respect, you don't really understand what's going on. Free ram is wasted ram; it's there to be used to *increase* performance and by default, left to its own devices, that's exactly what 7.1 and all previous versions of IOS do.

Where it falls apart is where people like you insist that manually emptying ram is somehow helpful; it isn't. If the system needs more ram for the current task it will get it, if it doesn't then all you are doing by closing down apps is increasing the likelihood that it will have to reopen those same apps itself the next time. And that's not even figuring in the wasted screentime and processing of you going through the list and pointlessly flicking away every five minutes.

"Heavy and prolonged use" is the life of most iPhones, certainly mine. It does not require any such tinkering and I do not consider it buggy. Yours apparently is constantly tinkered with and seems "buggy" to you - I wonder which came first?

Mine is buggy with a clean install, no apps, no nothing. I only started 'tinkering' because iOS7 is such a mess....
ALL of my friends, my brother in law and my father have multiple issues with iOS7. I ran an i4 for two years and apart from one buggy update (which was subsequently fixed), I never had any major issues with that phone.
The ONLY reason that I do constant DFU installs and 'tinker' with my i5 is because it is buggy, it frustrates me and people on this forum claim there are no issues. Therefore I am merely striving to attain the performance you guys allegedly get.
Oh and if you don't regularly clean up the open apps, have you tried using the app tray? It's a mess. Searching for apps quickly is impossible and it's quicker to open the app in question via the home screen.

 

[Dented]

Mine is buggy with a clean install, no apps, no nothing. I only started 'tinkering' because iOS7 is such a mess....

Oh and if you don't regularly clean up the open apps, have you tried using the app tray? It's a mess. Searching for apps quickly is impossible and it's quicker to open the app in question via the home screen.

I've only ever used it (or wanted to use it) to switch between the last couple of apps I've been using, in which case it's fine. How is it easier to find an app in an empty app tray with no apps in it?

For most lesser used apps I tend to use spotlight.

 

[sunking101]

I've only ever used it (or wanted to use it) to switch between the last couple of apps I've been using, in which case it's fine. How is it easier to find an app in an empty app tray with no apps in it?

For most lesser used apps I tend to use spotlight.

I close all open apps once, perhaps twice per charge cycle. The app tray quickly becomes a mess to use otherwise, if nothing else.

 

[BR3W]

I close all open apps once, perhaps twice per charge cycle. The app tray quickly becomes a mess to use otherwise, if nothing else.

if you have a mess of apps in the app tray then simply launch the app you want from the homescreen or spotlight. it doesn't launch a second instance if that's what you are concerned about.

if you have a couple apps in the tray, use the tray. if you have too many launch from elsewhere. closing them from the tray (and memory) doesn't have any benefit other than the aesthetic of having a clean tray.

 

[Dented]

I close all open apps once, perhaps twice per charge cycle. The app tray quickly becomes a mess to use otherwise, if nothing else.

I don't really get this but it's probably a personal thing. To me the app tray is never a mess, it's simply an ordered list of apps in the order that I've used them, no more no less. I wouldn't ever scroll too far down the list looking for something because it's always going to be easier finding that though spotlight or the homescreen, unless I just used it in which case it's easy to find at the front.

As far as performance or anything goes, it makes absolutely no difference how many apps are in the list since the vast, vast majority of them will always be closed anyway.

 

[ravipiero]

Based on my experience, network signal matter the most. During weekends, my phone last a day because I'm always on wifi at home. But during workdays it lasts only with 7 hours standby time, even though I use it rarely, due to bad network coverage on my workplace.

 

[dannymercer]

I think we can all agree that one of the major constituents of technology that's so far behind most other strands of the trade is the battery life. Be it phone, tablet, computer or even fridges for vaccinations.

We need a leapfrog moment, software and Li-ion has almost reached the end of its efficiency lifespan now.

I really hope there's something awesome coming. The idea of 2, 3 day even 1 week battery life is such an awesome concept.