8 tips for maximizing your smartphone's battery life - Samsung Business Insights (2024)

Today’s super-powerful, ultra-slim smartphones like theSamsung Galaxy S23 Ultraand ready-to-multitask foldables like theSamsung Galaxy Z Fold4allow you to move ever so lightly through your day — until you’re tripped up by a drained battery and forced to pull out a portable power bank or, worse, sit next to a wall plug for an hour.

If your phone is struggling to keep up with your work schedule, here are a few ways to keep the device powered on all day, and then some.

1. Reduce your screen brightness

This can help extend your battery life significantly, especially for devices with larger and sharper screens (that is, with more pixels). The only time you probably need your phone at 100% brightness is outdoors during midday when the sun is at its brightest. At any other time, you can reduce your phone brightness to 75% or less. You can adjust this in Android by going to Settings > Display or by swiping down from the Notifications bar. Most recent phones also have an Adaptive brightness setting, letting the device adjust automatically. Be sure to turn that on.

Some devices, likeSamsung’s Galaxy S23andGalaxy Z Fold4, also feature high screen refresh rates of up to 120Hz, which provides smoother viewing but also drains battery life faster. You can also activate the adaptive refresh rate setting so the device will adjust depending on what kind of content you are viewing, further preserving your battery life.

2. Change your screen theme and wallpaper to dark

This also translates to noticeable power savings. On Android, go to your phone’s Launcher app by holding down an empty part of your home screen and click on Settings. From there, you can choose different colored wallpapers and toggle between light and dark themes for other screens. The latest Samsung smartphones, including the newGalaxy S23 seriesas well as the Galaxy Z Fold4 andGalaxy Z Flip4foldables, also feature a Dark mode that is specifically designed to reduce battery life and be easy on the eyes later in the day.

3. Shorten the time before your screen goes to sleep

You can save power by keeping your screen off when you don’t need it. This also helps prevent pocket dials and other accidental screen touches. This feature is available from Settings > Display. Screen timeout can be set to anywhere from 10 minutes down to 15 seconds.

4. Adjust the settings on power-draining apps

Many apps are busy beavers, waking up your phone to download content and sending you notifications while you’re on the go, always tethered to your LTE carrier. There are several solutions.

On Samsung phones, you can identify the power-hogging apps by going to Settings > Battery and device care > Battery > Background usage limits and then choosing which apps should be turned off. (On other Android phones, use Force Stop from Settings > Battery.)

For Google Maps, Spotify and other streaming apps, make sure to pre-download maps, playlists and podcasts over Wi-Fi before you go out. You can also turn off notifications from other apps and limit their background activity. Collectively, these changes conserve significant battery life.

5. Turn on power-saving mode

Drastic times — like when your battery falls below 15% — call for drastic measures. The power-saving mode on Galaxy devices is a smart feature that automatically decreases screen brightness, reduces screen resolution, limits processor speed and stops background network usage. You can adjust each of these settings and see an estimate of the additional battery life you’ll gain with each change. Power-saving mode is found within the Battery and device care settings menu.

On the latest Samsung phones, there is also an Emergency mode, found under Settings > Safety and emergency. This lets you sustain your battery for several days, though you’ll only have access to core apps and features. It also sends a message with your location to a chosen contact so they can see where you and your phone are.

6. Turn off location services

Your smartphone’s GPS receiver is one of its biggest power hogs due to the number of apps pinging it, not to mention the chip itself. You can turn off GPS entirely, though that sacrifices many vital services. Alternatively, you can find out which apps are pinging Location and turn off the unnecessary ones individually. In Android, you can do this from Settings > Location. You can accomplish the same by going into Google Maps and pre-downloading maps while you’re on Wi-Fi.

7. Turn off data roaming

Like GPS, the 4G and hyper-fast 5G modems can drain power, especially if you have poor cell signal. If you’re traveling in a remote or mountainous region and your battery life is more important than connectivity, you can temporarily turn off data roaming. In Android, you can do this through Settings > Connections > Mobile networks. A quicker solution is to turn on Airplane mode, though this blocks all service, including Wi-Fi.

8. Make use of intelligent performance management

Get proactive and save time: Enable the intelligent performance management system, which you can access through Settings > Battery and device care. TheS23 lineup, Z Fold4, and Z Flip4’s AI engines are smart enough to learn your habits and optimize battery usage accordingly. You can also manually set routines, including when to turn Wi-Fi on or off and when to dim the screen.

Many folks also recommend turning off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth as a power-saving tactic — Wi-Fi and Bluetooth each use a fraction of the power of GPS and cellular connectivity — but some people don’t like the trade-offs. On the other hand, you can save some power (and sanity) by turning off notifications whenever a public Wi-Fi network is available and turning off Wi-Fi while your phone is asleep.

The simplest solution: Upgrade

If you find these battery-saving tips exhausting to implement, it may be time to sidestep the problem by upgrading to a smartphone with all-day-and-more battery life, such as the latest Galaxy S23 series. With 25W ultra-fast charging and one of our best batteries ever, the range ispurpose-built for business userswho need a phone that lasts as long as their work day does, and powers back up as quickly as they do.

Also, consider the innovative Galaxy Z Fold4 and Galaxy Z Flip4. Designed expressly for mobile power users, the Z Fold4 and Z Flip4 have long-lasting batteries that let you maintainmaximum productivitywhile you’re on the go. Turn on Adaptive power-saving mode, follow the tips above, and you’ll have enough battery reserve to last through a full day and more — without a recharge. With Galaxy Z Fold4’s 25W super-fast charging and Z Flip4’s 15W fast charging, you can get an all-day battery and hours of power from just a single charge to get more work done.

Add all of the S23 series, Z Fold4 and Z Flip4’s other features — including seamless Microsoft integration, HyperFast processing power and speed, andwireless DeXcapabilities — and you’ll see they are the future upgrade you need today.

Sign up for a Samsung Business Account to get exclusive offers, including volume pricing discounts, onGalaxy S23today. To find the smartphone best tailored to your business needs, take thisquick, free assessment.