Turn on Low Power Mode to cut battery drain by 15 to 25 percent
Low Power Mode reduces processor speed, limits background activity, and dims the screen slightly. On most iPhones, it cuts battery consumption noticeably without making the phone unusable for everyday tasks like texting, email, and web browsing. You can turn it on manually whenever you want, or set it to turn on automatically when your battery hits 20 percent.
To enable it manually, open Settings, tap Battery, then toggle Low Power Mode on. If you want it to set up automatically, stay in that same menu and turn on "Low Power Mode" under the Battery section. The feature works on iPhone XS and newer models, and on iPhone 6s through iPhone X with iOS 11.3 or later.
Low Power Mode does disable some features: background app refresh slows down, mail stops fetching automatically, and some visual effects turn off. For most people, the trade-off is worth it, especially on days when you know you will not have access to a charger.
Key Takeaways
- Low Power Mode reduces battery drain by 15 to 25 percent and can be turned on manually or set to set up at 20 percent battery.
- Dimming your screen brightness or enabling Auto-Brightness cuts battery use significantly because the display is the largest power consumer on your phone.
- Turning off location services, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi when you are not using them prevents background processes from draining power all day.
- Disabling background app refresh for apps you do not need to update constantly can extend battery life by several hours.
- Keeping your iPhone cool and avoiding full discharge cycles helps the battery itself last longer over months and years.
Reduce screen brightness or use Auto-Brightness to save the most battery
The display uses more power than any other component on your iPhone. Lowering brightness even slightly extends battery life noticeably. You can adjust it manually by swiping down from the top-right corner (iPhone X and newer) or up from the bottom (iPhone 8 and earlier) to open Control Center, then drag the brightness slider left.
A better long-term solution is Auto-Brightness, which adjusts the screen to match your surroundings automatically. Go to Settings, tap Display & Brightness, and toggle on Auto-Brightness. Your phone uses its ambient light sensor to dim the screen in darker rooms and brighten it in sunlight, which means you are not paying for brightness you do not need.
If you find Auto-Brightness too aggressive, you can also lower the overall maximum brightness in the same Display & Brightness menu. Many people find 40 to 60 percent brightness sufficient for indoor use and still readable in most conditions.
Turn off location services for apps that do not need it
Apps that track your location constantly drain the battery because they keep your phone's GPS radio active. Not every app needs location access all the time. Go to Settings, tap Privacy, then Location Services. You will see a list of every app with location permission.
For each app, you have four choices: Never, While Using, Always, or Precise Location. Set apps to "Never" if they do not need your location at all. Use "While Using" for maps and navigation apps that only need location when you are actively using them. Reserve "Always" only for apps like Find My iPhone or a fitness tracker that genuinely needs background location access.
Turning off location for social media apps, shopping apps, and weather apps that you do not rely on for real-time updates can save several hours of battery life over a full day.
Disable background app refresh for apps you check manually
Background App Refresh lets apps update their content even when you are not using them. This is useful for email, messaging, and news apps, but wasteful for apps you open only occasionally. Go to Settings, tap General, then Background App Refresh. You will see a toggle for the feature overall and a list of individual apps below it.
Turn off the feature entirely, or toggle it off for specific apps. For example, you might keep it on for Mail and Messages but turn it off for games, shopping apps, and social media you check manually. The more apps you disable, the longer your battery lasts between charges.
If you turn off Background App Refresh entirely, apps will only update when you open them, which means you might see older information until the app refreshes. This is a reasonable trade-off if battery life matters more to you than when ready updates.
Turn off Bluetooth and Wi-Fi when you are not using them
Bluetooth and Wi-Fi radios search for connections even when you are not actively using them. If you are not connected to a Bluetooth device or a Wi-Fi network, these radios waste power. Open Control Center and tap the Bluetooth icon to turn it off, or tap the Wi-Fi icon to disconnect.
You do not have to turn these off constantly — the battery savings are modest compared to screen brightness or location services. But if you know you will be away from your devices or home network for hours, disabling them can extend your battery by 30 minutes to an hour.
One exception: if you use Bluetooth headphones or a watch regularly, leaving Bluetooth on is usually worth the battery cost because reconnecting every time you use them is inconvenient. The same applies to Wi-Fi if you are at home or in an office where you connect frequently.
Keep your iPhone cool and avoid letting it fully discharge
Battery chemistry degrades faster when your phone is hot. Avoid leaving your iPhone in direct sunlight, in a car on a warm day, or in a case while charging if the phone gets warm. If your phone feels hot to the touch, let it cool down before you use it or charge it.
Letting your battery drain completely to zero percent and then recharging it repeatedly also wears out the battery faster over time. Modern lithium batteries last longer if you keep them between 20 and 80 percent charged. This is why Low Power Mode at 20 percent is a good habit — it prevents you from draining all the way to zero.
If you use your iPhone heavily every day, you might notice the battery capacity dropping after 18 to 24 months. This is normal wear. You can check your battery health by going to Settings, tapping Battery, then Battery Health & Charging. If capacity drops below 80 percent and you want to restore performance, Apple offers battery replacement at a cost that varies by model.
Disable visual effects and animations to reduce processor load
Parallax effects, motion animations, and transparency effects look polished but consume processor power. Go to Settings, tap Accessibility, then Display & Text Size. Toggle on Reduce Motion to disable these effects. Your phone will feel slightly less smooth, but the processor will work less hard and your battery will last longer.
You can also reduce transparency effects by toggling on Increase Contrast in the same menu. This makes text and buttons more readable and reduces the work your display has to do to render layered, semi-transparent elements.
These changes are subtle, but combined with other optimizations they add up. If you are chasing every hour of battery life, disabling motion and transparency is worth doing.
Check which apps are using the most battery and close or uninstall the worst offenders
Go to Settings, tap Battery, then Battery Usage. You will see a list of apps ranked by how much battery they have used in the last 24 hours or the last 10 days. Apps at the top are the biggest drains.
If an app you rarely use is near the top, uninstall it. If an app you use frequently is draining more than expected, check its settings. For example, a social media app might be set to autoplay videos or refresh constantly — changing those settings in the app itself can cut its battery use significantly.
Some apps drain battery because they run in the background even when you are not using them. If you see an app using battery while you were not actively using it, go back to Background App Refresh and turn it off for that app specifically.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does turning off 5G save battery?
Yes. 5G uses more power than 4G LTE because it requires a more powerful radio. If your phone supports 5G, you can turn it off by going to Settings, tapping Cellular, then Cellular Data Options, and toggling off 5G. You will use 4G LTE instead, which is slower but uses less battery. Turn 5G back on when you need faster speeds.
Is it bad to leave my iPhone plugged in overnight?
Modern iPhones have charging optimization built in. Once your battery reaches 100 percent, the phone stops charging and only trickles power to maintain the charge. Leaving it plugged in overnight will not damage the battery. However, keeping your phone cool while charging is still important, so avoid thick cases while charging if your phone gets warm.
Does closing apps in the background actually save battery?
Not significantly. iOS manages background processes automatically, and closing apps manually does not prevent them from using battery when you are not looking. The real battery drain comes from background app refresh, location services, and screen brightness. Disabling those features matters more than closing apps.
What is the difference between Low Power Mode and Battery Saver mode?
Low Power Mode is Apple's official feature on iPhones. There is no separate "Battery Saver" mode on iPhones — that term is used on Android phones. Low Power Mode is the closest equivalent and is the most effective single setting you can enable to extend battery life.
Will optimizing my battery settings damage my iPhone?
No. All the settings described here are designed by Apple and are safe to use. Disabling features like location services or background app refresh does not harm your phone — it only changes what the phone does in the background. You can turn any of these settings back on at any time.