Many smartphones have a power saver mode. As the name suggests, this mode limits power consumption to help you avoid running out of energy at an inconvenient time. Some phone features, like complex visual effects, may not work when power saver mode is active, but you can still make calls, send texts, use apps, and take care of many other tasks.
Let’s explore what power saver mode is, how it works, the benefits of power save mode, and how to use it with popular phone brands.
What Is Power Saver Mode?
Power saver mode works as a built-in app or program. It’s often one of the options in the built-in Settings app in your phone. With many devices, you can activate it manually, or it may be set to save energy automatically.
What Are the Benefits of Power Saver Mode?
Increases Your Phone’s Battery Life
Power saver mode is a great way for you to save your phone’s battery. Every time you charge your phone, the materials inside the battery degrade slightly. Over time, this can decrease your battery’s capacity.
Power saver mode helps extend your battery’s life by increasing the amount of time you can wait between charges.
Helps Conserve Materials Used in Phone Batteries
Using this energy saver can also help the environment by increasing your device’s energy efficiency and reducing the need for replacement phones or batteries.
Phone batteries often contain elements such as:
- Lithium
- Cobalt
- Manganese
But when power saver modes extend battery life, it also lowers the demand for those elements inside of replacement batteries and new phones.
Makes Life Easier When You’re Not Near a Charger
Conserving energy can also be a big help when you can’t charge your phone. Whether you’re going on a long hike or attending an event like a concert, you may not be able to get to a charger.
Power saver apps can also let you know when your battery power is low and remind you to charge your phone before the charge runs out.
How to Use Power Saver Mode With Popular Phone Brands
The capabilities of power saver mode and how to use it can vary between phone brands. Here’s some more information about how this feature works:
Apple Devices Use Low Power Mode
The Apple iPhone has a Low Power Mode which:
- Reduces display brightness
- Lowers the display’s refresh rate on models with a ProMotion display, changing it from 120 to 60 hertz
- Eliminates some visual effects
- Stops automatic downloads
- Shuts down some background apps
The battery icon on your iPhone’s display is yellow when Low Power Mode is on, and it shows the percentage of battery power that your phone has left. When your battery holds 80% power or more, Low Power Mode shuts off automatically. You can turn Low Power Mode on or off manually in the Battery section of the Settings app.
To access it:
- Swipe up to open the app menu
- Scroll down to “Settings”
- Open “Settings” and scroll to “Battery”
Android Phones Use a Battery Saver Mode
The Android operating system works with many phones, and its Battery Saver mode can come with different features depending on the model and the manufacturer.
Google Pixel: For example, the Google Pixel lets you set Battery Saver to come on automatically when your battery reaches the charge level you choose. You can also set this feature to shut off when you recharge the battery to 90% capacity.
Battery Saver can also learn your routine and come on whenever it predicts that your battery might run out before its next charge.
Extreme Battery Saver on Pixel 3 and later models conserves charge by:
- Pausing most apps
- Turning off notifications
- Blocking GPS location scanning
It can even prevent your phone from working as a Wi-Fi hotspot or connecting to other devices in your home, like a smart thermostat.
Samsung: While most Samsung phones use the Android operating system, the company uses a modified version with different capabilities. Other Samsung phones use a Windows operating system instead.
The Samsung Galaxy phone has a similar section in Settings called Battery and Device Care. Once there, you can choose MID or MAX power saver modes.
The MID mode can help your battery last for up to nine hours and 18 minutes. It lets you:
- Decide whether you want to let background apps use Wi-Fi or mobile data
- Turn off the clock display that sleeping phones usually show
- Limit your phone processor’s speed to 60% of normal capabilities
- Decrease screen brightness and resolution
The MAX mode can help extend your battery life for up to 25 hours and 12 minutes. It adjusts all of these settings automatically for maximum power savings.
Prevent Low Battery Anxiety With Power Saver Modes
Power saver mode is usually active by default, so you can save energy without adjusting any of your settings. Or, you can also customize it or shut it off manually when your phone may need all of its energy and processing capacity.
Power saver mode is an easy and convenient way for you to save money and live more sustainably by extending your battery’s life.
