Smart battery tips to keep your iPhone like new

One of the most common problems with iPhone and Android phones is battery life. Everyday use can take its toll on your smartphone, but the following tips will help extend its lifespan.

1. Should I fully charge my phone when I first get it?

This was common practice in the past and applied to nickel-cadmium batteries, whose performance depended on how much they had been charged and discharged. Modern lithium-ion batteries do not need a full charge before use. So there is no need to wait even a minute, as you can use your smartphone straight out of the box.

1. The battery deteriorates over time

This theory is correct. The lithium-ion batteries found in most smartphones, including iPhone models, maintain full performance for a certain number of charges. The manufacturer itself (Apple) explains that you can use 75% of your battery during the day and then charge it fully overnight. If you use 25% the next day, you will have used a total of 100% over the two days, completing one charge cycle.

A battery usually reaches 70% of its original capacity after around 300-500 charge cycles. In practice, this means batteries last no more than two years with daily use.

1. Will charging my phone all night damage the battery?

There is a theory that if you leave your phone charging all night, or for longer than the battery actually needs to reach 100%, it could be damaged because it receives more power than it needs. This myth has now been debunked and is not true. The only exception is in very high temperatures. Heat degrades lithium batteries, significantly reducing their performance.

1. Should I wait until my phone switches off completely before charging it?

It may sound surprising, but it is better to charge your phone when the battery is at 50% rather than when it is completely empty. This is because longer charge cycles are more harmful than shorter ones.

Other smart ways to extend your battery life include:

• Turn down the screen brightness
• Turn off location services and close any apps you are not using (they use more battery if left idle)
• Turn off notifications from apps such as email, Twitter and Facebook (whichever ones you do not need)