Better Battery Boosts: Tips for saving power on your mobile devices

Android devices have had low power modes and techniques for saving battery life. Apple lagged behind in this area until the release of iOS 9 this month. So now both platforms let you tweak your settings to automatically switch to a less-draining situation with low power and identification of the apps sucking the most juice.

But beyond the internal settings, you can be proactive in saving your battery without losing much functionality with your devices. Here are a few tips for any platform:

1. Turn off wifi and bluetooth
   If you’re on the go, your wifi is constantly searching for signals. You probably have no intention of connecting to the grocery store’s wifi when you’re stopping in for milk, but your device is spending energy making sure you have that opportunity.When I’m traveling, I turn off my wifi not only to avoid the battery drain but also to speed up my connection since my device will connect to known networks without my permission. That means if I’ve connected here at the San Diego airport (where I’m writing this post), my phone will connect and wait for me to accept the terms, avoiding using data so that my connection slows horribly. (An important side note: A setting in your new phone may sneak data use in without your knowledge, so click here to change it).
2. Don’t auto-update apps
   Do you need the latest update to Angry Birds (especially since that game is SO 2014)? Probably not. But your device is probably automatically updating your apps behind the scenes, sucking up your energy.
3. Turn off auto-brightness
   Your phone can adjust itself to the brightness in your environment, but it’ll cost you some juice.
4. Use do not disturb/sleep modes
   Ever get a text clink in the middle of the night? Of course you do. But if your phone’s sitting on the kitchen table, chances are you’re not going to hear it. You can set your device to sleep while you’re sleeping and save battery life.
5. Turn off location features
   When your device is tracking your location, it’s working hard. You may not need for Google to know where you are at all times, so turn the master switch off when you’re concerned about your battery and manage the apps that have access to your location.
6. Watch your push technology
   Not only are you more easily distracted when your phone is constantly dinging and pinging and notifying you of new baby pictures from your friends on Facebook, you’re also using more battery. I have very few notifications, and my email doesn’t check for new messages until I open the app.
7. Cut down on the special effects
   Isn’t it cool when your background looks like it’s animated, or when you can wave a hand to make things happen? Sure, if you’re willing to give up some of your battery for a whiz bang experience.
8. Autolock in less time
   Confession: I hate it when my phone locks up in 2 minutes. Give me some time to think, wouldya? But if I set the autolock to snap on in shorter intervals, my battery lasts longer.
9. Use airplane mode
   Airplane mode is not just for airplanes. The setting stops your automatic battery drainers, such as wifi, bluetooth, app refresh and more. If you turn your device to airplane mode while it’s charging, it juices up much faster (but you can’t be playing Angry Birds or fooling with other areas of your phone because it negates the slight advantage).

So what battery-saving tips do you know? Share, pretty please!