A fresh iPhone may easily last all day as parts degrade over time. Newer software also affects battery life since the latest iOS 18 apps and software, such Apple Intelligence AI, may quickly drain batteries. The battery may be depleted by playing games, watching TV shows and movies, and capturing photos and videos. Before you think about buying a new Apple phone, such the more affordable iPhone 16E or the new iPhone 16, try these battery hacks to prolong the life of your long-lasting iPhone before you need to recharge it.
It’s easy to control certain energy waste causes, such default-on features that can be disabled. As people use their iPhone in various ways throughout the day, disrupting patterns and giving up a few little comforts, others may need to change their way of life. As a precaution, always have a tiny power bank in your pocket or handbag.
You can analyze your iPhone and extend its battery life with these eight tips. For the latest details on the iPhone, see what Apple unveiled at WWDC 2025.
1. Determine what is causing your battery to deplete.
Apps that monitor location, stream video, or create graphics are the worst offenders when it comes to using up your iPhone’s battery. This is particularly true with fast-paced online games. It’s likely draining your phone’s battery more quickly than normal usage if it causes your phone to warm up a little.
You can particularly see which applications are using up the most battery life. To find out which applications are using the most portion of your screen time, go to Settings > Battery and scroll down. Additionally, don’t ignore the insights and suggestions area, which does all the analysis and identifies the programs and settings that need to be changed.
Keep in mind that these are the applications that consume your energy the most, but you will need to go through them to determine which ones, like YouTube or TikTok, are major battery drainers. YouTube comes in second, but Safari accounts for the majority of my use, which consists of a lot of endless site and forum browsing.
2. Uninstall the applications that consume your battery.
Let’s face it: one or two applications are most likely using up a significant portion of your battery each day, whether it’s Instagram, TikTok, or something else. Long-pressing the app’s icon on the Home Screen and selecting the “x” in the corner can delete it if you desire a longer battery life.
Yes, before deleting these applications off your phone, you may consider limiting how much you use them. To put the irritating program out of sight and out of mind, you may simply place it in a folder if you have the strength to do so.
However, you may set a time restriction for certain applications or whole categories if your iPhone needs some assistance. Tap App Limits after selecting Settings > Screen Time. Tap the Add Limit button after that to choose by whole categories or particular applications.
3. Dim the brightness on your screen.
Reducing the brightness of your iPhone’s screen may help you preserve battery life. This one is rather simple: to manually reduce the brightness bar, touch and drag from the upper-right corner to bring up the Control Panel. If you would rather be verbose, you may ask Siri to turn down the brightness. Alternatively, you can access these options under Settings > Display & Brightness.
Tap Auto-Lock in the Display & Brightness submenu to configure your phone to lock itself after a shorter period of time. In this manner, if you set your phone down and focus on anything else, you won’t be using up battery life.
4. Select Low Power Mode.
Your iPhone will ask whether you want to switch to Low Power Mode to prolong the battery life if your battery drops below 20%. However, you can also manually turn it on whenever you want by going to Settings > Battery and turning it on there or by visiting the Control Panel (if a shortcut has been configured there).
A catch-all option called Low Power Mode prolongs battery life by minimizing drain from a variety of active and passive sources. It reduces the brightness of the screen, disables Always On Display, and slows down background processes like mail fetching and downloads.
5: Use 4G LTE if your 5G connection is weak.
Despite the fact that carriers have expanded their 5G networks over time, certain phone users may find it difficult to get a strong signal in regions with inadequate coverage or in locations that are difficult for 5G to reach, such as underground and within buildings. It may be preferable to manually switch back to 4G LTE if your connection is poor since your iPhone uses a lot of battery power to remain connected.
Go to Settings > Cellular and choose Cellular Data Options to do this. Choose the SIM or eSIM that you are using at the moment if Cellular Data Options are not shown. Choose LTE by tapping Voice & Data on the next screen. Only 4G LTE will be used to connect to mobile networks, which ought to be more accessible across providers.
Additionally, you should know that downloading data uses up battery life, so manually limiting that might help you get more battery life. Go to Settings > Cellular and choose Cellular Data Options to do this. Press on the SIM or eSIM that you are using at the moment if Cellular Data Options is not shown. To halt background processes and automatic updates, choose Data Mode on the next screen, followed by Low Data Mode.
6: Turn location services off selectively
Turning off location tracking while not in use is a smart idea since it consumes power. In reality, triangulating your position requires a number of sensors, so the power savings is not negligible. Your iPhone utilizes GPS, Bluetooth, and crowdsourced Wi-Fi to determine your precise location.
swipe Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services to see which applications monitor your location. Then, swipe through to adjust each one separately. However, you may also use the option at the top of the page to completely disable Location Services.
Just so you know, Apple’s Find My function depends on Location Services, so you’ll need to enable it if you wish to locate another item connected to your account. Additionally, if you ever misplace the iPhone you’re using, you’ll need it switched on, so be sure to reactivate it afterwards.
7. Disable the Always On Display.
Always On Display, which was first included in the 2023 iPhone 14 Pro series and is limited to the most recent Pro and Pro Max models, does exactly what it says it will: It keeps a dimmer version of your lock screen visible. Without completely unlocking your phone, you may now view the clock, on-screen widgets, and number of alerts. But since the low-light version of your display is always on, it also drains your battery.
If you don’t need that rapid information at a glance, disable it by going to Settings > Display & Brightness > Always On Display. Although it doesn’t save a lot of power, it’s one of the features on the more recent iPhone Pro models that seems to offset whatever battery life gains Apple makes. You can also turn off the wallpaper and notifications under the Always On Display settings for a simpler version that only displays the time and date on a black backdrop.
8: Put in a fresh battery
Your iPhone’s battery will deteriorate with years of usage, eventually losing its capacity to carry as much charge as it did when it was new. Fortunately, Apple has made it simple to check the health of your battery. Simply go to Settings > Battery > Battery Health to get a quick diagnostic, an estimate of the battery’s maximum capacity when completely charged, and the number of complete recharge cycles it has experienced.
When your battery’s capacity falls below 80%, Apple usually advises replacing it. Remember that if you don’t replace your battery, it might not just shorten its maximum battery life; the quality could deteriorate to the point where the battery itself swells and warps enough to harm the iPhone’s internal components and sensors, albeit this is uncommon.
The most recent iPhone 15 models may be replaced in-store for $99, while the earliest iPhone SE and iPhone 5 devices that Apple currently supports can be replaced for at least $69 instead. If you want to bravely acquire a new battery and try the switch yourself, iFixit provides a tutorial. However, bear in mind that going outside of Apple’s repair ecosystem may break any AppleCare agreements. Third-party phone repair businesses may offer their own pricing for changing batteries.