We've all felt that familiar, sinking feeling: you're out for the day, enjoying your time, when you glance at your phone and see that the battery icon has turned an alarming shade of red. A phone with a dying battery can feel like a closing door, cutting you off from your connections, your maps, and your peace of mind. One of our readers experienced this firsthand when her phone died right at the end of a call, a low battery can happen at the worst possible moment.

While it can feel like your phone's battery has a mind of its own, the truth is you have more control than you think. Today, we'll demystify how your phone's battery works, build some intuition about what uses the most power, and walk through a few simple settings that can help your phone last the whole day.

Battery Health Hacks — “Make Your Phone Last the Whole Day”

A Quick Look at How Your Phone's Battery Works

Your smartphone runs on a Lithium-Ion battery. Think of it like a small, rechargeable bucket of energy. Every time you use an app, make a call, or check the weather, you pour a little bit of energy out of the bucket. Different apps and services can pour out a lot more energy. Plugging it in refills the bucket. Over years of use, that "bucket" naturally starts to hold a little less energy than it did when it was brand new and this is known as battery aging. Our goal is to use the energy in the bucket as efficiently as possible each day and to keep the bucket itself healthy for as long as we can.

Building Your "Battery Intuition": What Uses the Most Power?

What drains the battery isn't always obvious. Here are the biggest energy hogs on your phone:

• The Screen: Your phone's bright, colorful screen is its single biggest power consumer. The brighter the screen, the faster the battery drains. This is because your screen is made up of millions of tiny lights (pixels), and making them all shine brighter requires a significant amount of electrical energy from the battery.

• Searching for a Signal: If you're in an area with poor cell service (one or two bars), your phone works extra hard, constantly searching for a better connection. This can drain your battery surprisingly quickly. To do this, your phone has to boost its internal radio antenna to maximum power, essentially "shouting" to find a distant cell tower, which is a major power drain.

• Apps Working in the Background: Some apps are busy even when you're not actively using them—checking for new emails, updating the weather, or refreshing your location. Each of these background checks requires your phone's processor and internet radio to wake up and draw power, using up small sips of energy throughout the day even when your phone is in your pocket.

• GPS Navigation and Video: Using a map app for driving directions or watching videos are two of the most power-intensive things you can do on your phone. This is because these tasks force your phone to use several of its most power-hungry components all at once: the screen is constantly on, the processor is working hard to display the moving images, and the GPS or internet radio is in continuous use.

Simple Settings to Boost Your Battery Life

Now that you know what uses the most power, here are a few simple tricks to manage it.

• Low-Power Mode (Your Best Friend for a Long Day):
  This is a one-tap solution that automatically reduces some of the background activity on your phone to make the battery last significantly longer. You can turn it on anytime you know you have a long day ahead, or when your battery drops to 20%. To access it, simply swipe down from the top corner of your screen to open the control panel and look for the battery icon. You can also open up Settings, then “Battery” and you will see a toggle for “Low Power Mode”. If you use Siri, you can ask her to turn it on as well.

• Limit "Background App Refresh":
  This setting allows apps to update themselves in the background. You can fine-tune this to save power. In your phone's Settings, look for "General" and then "Background App Refresh." You can turn it off for apps that you don't need constantly updating.

• The 80-Percent Rule (for Long-Term Health):
  For the long-term health of your battery, many experts suggest trying to keep its charge level between roughly 20% and 80%. Constantly charging it all the way to 100% or letting it drain completely to 0% can put a little extra strain on the battery over time. Your phone's software is already smart about this! Both iPhones and Androids have an "Optimized Charging" feature that learns your daily routine. It might charge your phone to 80% quickly, then pause and charge the final 20% just before you usually wake up, which is healthier for the battery in the long run.

Quick Tech Tip

One of the fastest ways to conserve battery life is to simply lower your screen's brightness. Swipe down from the top of your phone's screen to open the control panel. Look for the sun icon (☀️) and slide it down to a level that is still comfortable to read but isn't at maximum brightness.

Tech Term Demystified: 'Lithium-Ion Battery'

This is the type of rechargeable battery used in almost all modern portable electronics, from our smartphones and laptops to electric cars. Lithium-Ion (or Li-ion) batteries are popular because they can pack a lot of energy into a small, lightweight package and can be recharged hundreds of times. However, like all batteries, they do degrade very slowly with each "charge cycle" (a full drain and recharge), which is why a three-year-old phone battery doesn't last as long as a brand-new one.

Good News Byte

Researchers are constantly working on the next generation of battery technology! You might hear about "solid-state" batteries, which promise to be safer, charge much faster, and hold significantly more energy than the batteries we use today. While they are still a few years away from being common in our phones, the future of battery life is looking very bright (and very long-lasting!).

Did You Know?

The very first portable, handheld mobile phone was the Motorola DynaTAC 8000X, released in 1983. It weighed nearly two pounds, was over a foot long including its antenna, and cost the equivalent of more than $11,000 today! After charging for 10 hours, its battery provided just 30 minutes of talk time. We've certainly come a long way!

Your Turn to Take Control!

This week, try using Low-Power Mode. The next time your battery drops to 30% or so, turn it on from your control panel. You might be pleasantly surprised by how much extra time it gives you, providing a great sense of security when you're out and about.

Wishing you a week full of power!

Steve