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AMSOS

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Nov 21, 2010
357
30
I've just started using Low Power Mode on iOS 12.3.1 on my iPhone 8 and immediately noticed that there is little difference in the smoothness of basic tasks and the general operation of the phone.

Now, I had used the same mode on iOS 12 on my iPhone 7 and I remember things used to become a little "jerky" on that platform. Eventually I decided to go back to using normal mode.

1- Is this because the CPU is no longer being throttled as much as it was with the iPhone 7?

2- Or, there is some kind of fine-tuning they've done so that the phone still runs smooth despite the CPU being throttled the same as before?

3- Is it a problem if I always keep the phone on Low Power Mode?

Thanks
 

tt061282

macrumors 6502
Mar 18, 2018
367
409
Nevada
I used low power mode when it first came to iOS but stopped. To be honest I never noticed a difference at all.
As far as the 7 vs 8 the performance was negligible to begin with between A10 and A11. The A10 is still a monster of a mobile SOC
 

44267547

Cancelled
Jul 12, 2016
37,642
42,494
I actually never disable low power mode, it’s always enabled. Rather it provides _that_ much more battery life, is to be determined, but I do think it helps in terms of longevity with the battery, and the difference of performance to me is negligible.
 

AMSOS

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Nov 21, 2010
357
30
I actually never disable low power mode, it’s always enabled. Rather it provides _that_ much more battery life, is to be determined, but I do think it helps in terms of longevity with the battery, and the difference of performance to me is negligible.
Yeah, I noticed that there was hardly any drop in performance unlike when I used it on iOS 12 on iPhone 7. I was also then thinking of the battery lifespan. But I wonder if it makes an appreciable difference, probably giving 2 to 3 hours extra of normal use.
On the other hand, if the performance is unaffected, then why not just keep it on all the time?!
In fact, the only thing I'll miss is push email on my work server. Other than that I don't mind going back on the special effects, fast frame rates etc.
But, for now, I've decided it may just make more sense to be on normal mode.
 

now i see it

macrumors G4
Jan 2, 2002
11,242
24,261
If you run a Geekbench CPU test with Low Power Mode on, the scores will be a lot lower than with it off.
There was a guy who did a detailed test of using low power mode for a week vs normal mode and overall he got about 2 hours more battery life per day using Low Power Mode. This was a while ago, not on the latest crop of iPhones
 
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