Most day-to-day iPhone battery savings come from two places: reducing display power use and stopping apps from refreshing or waking the screen unnecessarily. A few focused settings can make a charge last longer without turning the phone into something unpleasant to use.
These steps apply to recent iOS versions. Low Power Mode has been available for many years.
Does This Affect You?
Use this if your iPhone drains faster than expected and you want practical changes that can extend battery life today.
Turn On Low Power Mode
- Open Settings.
- Tap Battery.
- Turn on Low Power Mode.
- Or add Low Power Mode to Control Center for faster access.
Low Power Mode reduces background refresh, automatic downloads, some effects, and other activity. It turns off automatically after the iPhone charges to about 80 percent unless you enable it again.
Reduce Common Battery Drains
- Lower brightness from Control Center, or enable Auto-Brightness in display/accessibility settings.
- Set Auto-Lock to 30 seconds or 1 minute under Settings > Display & Brightness.
- Open Settings > General > Background App Refresh and disable it for apps that do not need live updates.
- Review Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services and change apps from Always to While Using when appropriate.
- Turn off unnecessary notification banners and Lock Screen alerts under Settings > Notifications.
Check What Is Using Power
Battery Usage List
Open Settings > Battery and compare app usage over the last 24 hours or 10 days. Screen-on time often explains more drain than one mysterious background app.
Widgets and Live Activities
Widgets and Live Activities refresh to stay current. Remove ones you rarely check and end Live Activities you no longer need.
Battery Health
Open Settings > Battery > Battery Health & Charging. If maximum capacity is far below 80 percent or service is recommended, settings can only help so much; battery replacement may be the real fix.
Sources
- Apple Support: Get better battery life for iPhone
- Apple Support: Use Low Power Mode on iPhone
- Apple Support: Manage notifications on iPhone