iPhone 4S: 5 Reasons for the Battery Drain
Apple’s newest handset, the iPhone 4S, is selling at a blazingly fast pace, but the battery life is a source of disappointment for many.
The iPhone 4S debuted exactly a month ago, and already users have seen the emergence of thousands of complaining users dissatisfied with the battery life, among other things.
Apple responded quickly to the problem, stating that it would provide a solution “in a few weeks,” to AllThingsD. Unfortunately, that solution, the iOS 5.0.1 update, failed to fix what many are calling “Battery Gate” for the iPhone 4S.
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“We continue to investigate a few remaining issues,” said Apple regarding the Battery Gate issues.
Owners of the iPhone 4S are taking problems into their own hands, and after thousands of complaints on Apple’s support forum, they have colluded to devise the most effective strategies to better the battery life on their new smartphones.
The first battery killer is a simple one: the display. Because of the enormous amount of energy the iPhone 4S’s Retina display, the battery can often drain quickly. Turning down the brightness to somewhere around a third of its potential has worked for many users to make the phone last longer. In addition, making sure the phone locks after a minute or so ensures that the bright display is not needlessly shining.
The next, and perhaps most troublesome aspect of the iPhone 4S is the notifications. Many users do not realize that while notifications can certainly be useful, they are not necessary for every application. The default setting has a notification up to three times for every update. Shut this off, and watch the battery life improve.
Another bug in the iOS 5 software draining battery life is the radio, unbelievably. Location services are used for a variety of apps, including Facebook, Twitter, GPS services, and even Internet. Switch off this option in Settings to give the iPhone a much-needed break, and better battery life.
iCloud is a great application for backing up data, and it gives easy access to other Apple devices. However, if it is running all the time, it will constantly backup, causing the iPhone 4S to power down quickly, and in some cases heat up as well. Shutting it off saves battery easily, and turning it on once or twice a day is far more efficient.
The last, and perhaps most obvious battery drain is the iPhone 4S personal assistant, Siri. It is a fun feature, and very useful, but if it is not being used at the time, do users should turn it off. Siri continuously communicates with Apple’s Wolfram-Alpha servers to make decisions and get answers, even when not being used. Giving it a rest has improved battery life for many consumers significantly.
That being said, some of the iPhone 4S’s best features are most likely the ones causing the problem. Its predecessor, the iPhone 4, has close to the same hardware, minus the new processor, with fewer problems.
Choose apps wisely to conserve the iPhone’s battery life.
