iOS 9 tips: Manually enable Low Power Mode to maximize your iPhone's battery life
Apple's new operating system update does a great deal to automatically improve efficiency and extend battery life. But if a user knows that they have a long day ahead of them, they can go even further, manually enable iOS 9's new "Low Power Mode" at any point to maximize their iPhone's uptime.
Upon upgrading to iOS 9, users will gain immediate battery life improvements, Apple says, thanks to a number of system-wide changes. According to the company, there have been tweaks to the platform, its apps, and key technologies.
But the company has also included a brand-new Low Power Mode to extend battery life even further. Users are automatically prompted to turn on Low Battery Mode once their iPhone reaches 20 percent, and again at 10 percent.
But this new feature can also be manually enabled at any time, including when the battery is topped off at 100 percent charge.
To enable Low Power Mode, open the Settings app in iOS 9, then choose the new Battery parent menu. From here a toggle switch for Low Power Mode can be turned on.
Once enabled, Low Power Mode changes the battery indicator in the top right corner to yellow, reminding users that their device is running in a more efficient state. Low Power Mode enables the Battery Percentage display in the upper right corner by default, and this cannot be turned off.
Apple's new Low Power Mode reduces power consumption by turning off certain features, including mail fetch, background app refresh, and automatic downloads. In addition, some visual effects are reduced or disabled to squeeze more out of the device's battery. Low Power Mode is also said to affect networking capabilities to boost uptime.
Benchmark tests of iOS 9 have found that Low Power Mode also drops the processing power on an iPhone's chip by about 40 percent. The result is a slower --?but longer-lasting --?iPhone experience.
With iOS 9, Apple promises up to one hour of extra battery life using a combination of power saving tactics and new technologies. For example, iOS 9 will use ambient light and proximity sensors to check when an iPhone is facedown on a table, preventing the screen from turning on.
Upon upgrading to iOS 9, users will gain immediate battery life improvements, Apple says, thanks to a number of system-wide changes. According to the company, there have been tweaks to the platform, its apps, and key technologies.
But the company has also included a brand-new Low Power Mode to extend battery life even further. Users are automatically prompted to turn on Low Battery Mode once their iPhone reaches 20 percent, and again at 10 percent.
But this new feature can also be manually enabled at any time, including when the battery is topped off at 100 percent charge.
To enable Low Power Mode, open the Settings app in iOS 9, then choose the new Battery parent menu. From here a toggle switch for Low Power Mode can be turned on.
Once enabled, Low Power Mode changes the battery indicator in the top right corner to yellow, reminding users that their device is running in a more efficient state. Low Power Mode enables the Battery Percentage display in the upper right corner by default, and this cannot be turned off.
Apple's new Low Power Mode reduces power consumption by turning off certain features, including mail fetch, background app refresh, and automatic downloads. In addition, some visual effects are reduced or disabled to squeeze more out of the device's battery. Low Power Mode is also said to affect networking capabilities to boost uptime.
Benchmark tests of iOS 9 have found that Low Power Mode also drops the processing power on an iPhone's chip by about 40 percent. The result is a slower --?but longer-lasting --?iPhone experience.
With iOS 9, Apple promises up to one hour of extra battery life using a combination of power saving tactics and new technologies. For example, iOS 9 will use ambient light and proximity sensors to check when an iPhone is facedown on a table, preventing the screen from turning on.
Comments
If you're running the 9 beta and want to see something funny, ask Siri to enable Low Power Mode.
I get OK, I turned on Low Power Mode.
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Exactly. She thinks she can, but she can't. Same for disabling.
Could someone clarify this for me? Does that mean iOS 9, just by itself in normal mode gets up to an hour of extra battery life per charge, or does this mean you get up to an hour of battery life if you enable Low Power Mode? If the former, has anyone tested how much additional time (on an average for normal use) you could get over iOS 8 when using iOS 9 in Low Power Mode.
When knowing I'll be away from a power source for an extended time (like over 12 hours) I've enabled Low Power Mode as I started my day. This is not like the Power Reserve Mode for Apple Watch which will only show you the time, but has a full use of sensors and networking connections.
PS: I wish it were feasible for the Apple Watch's Power Reserve Mode to also include the M-series chip sensor to function.
Could someone clarify this for me? Does that mean iOS 9, just by itself in normal mode gets up to an hour of extra battery life per charge, or does this mean you get up to an hour of battery life if you enable Low Power Mode? If the former, has anyone tested how much additional time (on an average for normal use) you could get over iOS 8 when using iOS 9 in Low Power Mode.
When knowing I'll be away from a power source for an extended time (like over 12 hours) I've enabled Low Power Mode as I started my day. This is not like the Power Reserve Mode for Apple Watch which will only show you the time, but has a full use of sensors and networking connections.
PS: I wish it were feasible for the Apple Watch's Power Reserve Mode to also include the M-series chip sensor to function.
iOS 9 is supposed to add an hour of runtime by default. LPM adds around two extra hours on top of that. I have what I suspect to be a defective battery in my 6 so I can't speak to the effectiveness of it yet (if Apple doesn't replace it under warranty Friday then I will) but that's what they're stating.
Facebook app is draining my iPad quickly with its background activities running all the time. I had to delete it so it won't drain my iPad so fast. Oddly, I don't see that much of an issue with my iPhone but again, I usually recharge every night while iPad gets recharged about twice a week.
Turn off Background Refresh on it. The 9 beta seemed to enable all that despite my previously disabling it.
I had the same problem with the latest version of Pocket. The day after I updated it I woke up to find my iPhone battery completely drained. And 'Usage' told me it was Pocket.
This power saving feature will be good. It's good to see Apple taking lessons from Samsung sometimes and not just the other way around.
I should be able to say "use low power mode, whenever battery is low" and leave it at that. Not fiddle with it each time I charge the phone.
Each time the battery reaches 20% and you get a low battery message you are asked to turn on low power mode. And then when you charge the phone, it doesn't disable itself, even after reaching more than 20% battery level.
Not very smartly implemented. Not very Apple "just works" feature.
Sounds pretty "beta" to me, eh?
One thing I'd like to see: Make any slider or button from Settings available in the Today/Notifications view by offering users a check box next to the item. This would reduce the pointless need to drill down into menu after menu to turn on or off frequently accessed settings.
You want a check box next to every slider and button in Settings? Are you from Microsoft?
Which part is confusing for you? Making any Settings function available from the top layer would be a time saver. Check boxes would only become visible during an "edit"-style modification chosen by the user. You wouldn't see everything cluttered with checkboxes.
I agree with @spheric ;
I was very surprised low battery mode didn't switch off after the phone was over 20% charge.
I didn't wait to see if it auto turned off at a higher level though.
I think this update was one update too many for my trusty iPad 4. Very sluggish now (and no bloody new one to replace it!).
Those who complain about iPhone's battery and always list the the features they would allegedly "trade" for better battery life...here you go. This toggle is for you.
I'm getting dramatically worse battery life in ios9, phone needs charging 3 times a day now, yeah it's s beta I know
Im getting very poor battery life since i upgraded to IOS9
went to DC Sunday, charged in my car until 9:00 am, then made only 1 short call, took about 100 pictures, watched 15 minute video, used find friends about 20 times to reconnect with other members of trip, switched on low power around 5:00 at 20 %, phone flat by 7:00 pm.
i checked the battery and it just showed percent of applications i was using... nothing weird.
Also after turning on Low Power Mode by 15%, it stayed at 15% for hours. Not that I was constantly using it for hours, but checking in now and then. This is all good stuff! I've now got the impression that low power mode could have the iPhone 6 run for several days, if I'm not using it a lot. Say, for travel or somehting..