9 ms·

What If You Used iOS 9's Low Power Mode All the Time?

70 points by maxmouchet 11y ago

ratfacemcgee 11y ago
then that would be the base level, and they would need to introduce a "lower power mode".
kitwalker12 11y ago
I found it pretty funny that it wouldn't have occurred to me either to use Siri for turning the low power mode on.
ariwilson 11y ago
Didn't Android already have this* exact feature? I use it when I'm traveling and it keeps my battery going for much longer. * http://www.cnet.com/how-to/how-to-enable-battery-saver-on-android-5-0-lollipop/ http://www.cnet.com/how-to/how-to-enable-battery-saver-on-an...
- LoneWolf 11y ago
  My first thought too. But then this is true innovation apple always giving us new great stuff that was not copied from android at all. And let the downvotes come, no I do not like apple.
  - dang 11y ago
    "Please don't bait other users by inviting them to downvote you or declare that you'll probably get downvoted." https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- enoch_r 11y ago
  You might read this article as saying "here is a new innovation by Apple that you should be amazed by," but I think a much more natural reading is "here is a hack to get a better experience from your (Apple) product if you don't mind trading battery life for CPU/brightness." The author does mention this Android feature in passing, claiming that "it’s not like the extreme low power modes found on Android phones that basically turn everything off and turn your $600+ phone into a dumb phone." Disclaimer: I use an Android phone. I don't use low power mode, so I don't know if his "dumb phone" claim is correct.
  - LoneWolf 11y ago
    From my experience no it does not turn them into dumb phones, just disables most background sync, you can still turn on mobile data and wifi and use them, but they will turn off as soon as the phone "sleeps", lowers brightness etc etc.
- brazzledazzle 11y ago
  My phone has a low power mode (Sony Z3) which works the way he's describing the iPhone feature. It also has a super low power mode that turns it into a dumb phone so perhaps that's where he got the misguided notion that Android turns into a dumb phone in low power mode.
sekasi 11y ago
I don't at all mean to sound condescending, but I'm genuinely curious how much of an issue battery life is for people nowadays? Using a 6S, I'll comfortably get through a long long day without the need to plug it in. But that's not my point. The point is I'm constantly around an opportunity to charge my phone. Everywhere. The only times I can see this being a real issue anymore is when you're travelling long distances without lounge access.. maybe? But even then, a battery pack solves all those woes. I just personally feel like we're at a point now where batteries are a non-issue. Does anyone else have major issues with newer smartphone batteries? I just don't feel like it's a thing anymore.
- BallinBige 11y ago
  it's definitely an issue if you have background refreshing enabled on a lot of apps. or any of those motion tracking / gps apps
  - lucaspiller 11y ago
    I'm not sure why but Google Maps kills my battery so fast (iPhone 5s). I had to return a rental car and drove 30 minutes with directions, the battery went from 86% to 38%. I then had to figure my way back to the Airbnb I was renting via public transport, when I got home the battery was 8%. To answer OPs question, no I don't find battery is usually an issue but when I need it then it is.
    - meatysnapper 11y ago
      I know at least 5 people off the top of my head who gave up with Google maps because of battery life. Apple Maps is not great, but it doesn't totally kill my phone.
      - lucaspiller 11y ago
        Thanks I'll try it next time I drive. Unfortunately in my city Google Maps is the only app that provides public transport directions.
memco 11y ago
I upgraded my 4s on the premise that it got better battery life just by being on ios9, but it got much much worse. My battery was on the decline before the switch, but I could generally get through a day with just enough juice left at night. Now, I have to have it in LP mode all the time or it will die within a few hours.
- acdha 11y ago
  This happened to my 4S as the battery aged, but that was during the iOS 8 era. One thing which made a huge difference was disabling background refresh. If you're not willing to go that far, use the battery menu to disable all but the most important apps. Otherwise, they tend to go things like keep the radio running, which is even worse with the 4S's 3G radio and correspondingly longer times to connect, and especially bad in areas of low signal (e.g. the building I work in).
- matthew-wegner 11y ago
  FYI, the battery replacement on the 4s is really, really easy (back plate just slides off, versus removing the screen via suction on the later models). It'll cost you $15-25, depending on where you buy. Guide: https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/iPhone+4S+Battery+Replacement/7111 https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/iPhone+4S+Battery+Replacement/7...
newman314 11y ago
What would be nice is if switching to airplane mode enables low power mode. At least as an option.
- Amorymeltzer 11y ago
  I'm happy they are kept separate, they (often) serve totally different functions. I was genuinely surprised not to see it in the control center though, seems like that would be helpful. It shouldn't be needed most of the time, so it'd be a waste of space, but really it just emphasizes the need to have user control over the control center. I'd love to swap out some of the icons there for things I use more often.
  - newman314 11y ago
    To be clear, I didn't mean that they had to be tied together. If they are available as options on the same page, that would be nice tho.
guelo 11y ago
The Android dig at the end is wrong. I don't know what he means by "basically turn everything off and turn your $600+ phone into a dumb phone" but an Android phone is still very usable in low battery mode. Basically it dims the screen, slows the CPU and limits background data syncing. Probably the same thing the iphone does.
- bsimpson 11y ago
  My Nexus 5 is so slow and clunky in Battery Saver mode that I seriously wonder if it actually helps. Taking a minute to do something in Battery Saver mode isn't necessarily more efficient than spending 5 seconds in normal mode.
  - jff 11y ago
    I've found the exact opposite... by turning on Battery Saver mode, it disabled all the extraneous animations and transitions and actually made my old Nexus 4 feel responsive again!
    - NolF 11y ago
      Under the developer options section, you can disable animations.
      - lugg 11y ago
        Where is that? (google did not help..)
        pmh 11y ago
        I followed http://www.cnet.com/how-to/speed-up-your-android-by-adjusting-animation-settings/ http://www.cnet.com/how-to/speed-up-your-android-by-adjustin... on a Moto X (reached via Googling "android disable animations").
        11y ago
seabrookmx 11y ago
TL;DR - Low Power Mode works! How informative.. > It turns some things off, yes, but nothing that really changes how you use your phone. Sure, your screen is a little dimmer, the CPU is cranked down a bit, and your apps don’t update as regularly in the background You mean exactly like Android? > The phone was connected to an Apple Watch It all makes sense now. Next up, a review about how the Apple Watch is a revolutionary new product! I know there's lots of Apple fanboys in these parts, and that's totally cool. But at least put some content in the articles.
atrust 11y ago
I use Low Power Mode all the time since the iOS 9 update. It does work well.
keyle 11y ago
Low power mode is my new permanent mode. I haven't done the science but it's roughly ~doubling my battery life. I just wish it could be enabled from the swipe bottom panel or a gesture, or the triple home button click.
- listic 11y ago
  > new permanent mode Do you actually turn it on manually every time? What does the low power mode actually do?
  - keyle 11y ago
    Yes I turn it on after every recharge. It turns the battery indicator to yellow. On a serious note, it does double my battery life and I'm not the kind of person to ever run bluetooth to start with. It just kills every app process background, turns off the non-sense, reduces consumption of the 4G / Wifi too I think. It gives me a smart phone I actually wanted in the first place. To me, this is the one reason to upgrade to iOS9 (also my ipad mini seems alive again after iOS8 ran it to the ground).
grandalf 11y ago
Dear Apple: Please let us permanently enable low power mode.
muddi900 11y ago
>Screen is a bit dimmer iPhones screens are always too bright anyway. 90% of iPhone use was with the brightness setting on 0. I jailbroke specifically because SBsettings allowed me to do it conveniently. That saved a lot of battery time, about 20%. I moved on to Android by the time Apple came up with Control Center. I loved being able to read comfortably in the dark.

70 points by maxmouchet 11y ago

ratfacemcgee 11y ago

then that would be the base level, and they would need to introduce a "lower power mode".

kitwalker12 11y ago

I found it pretty funny that it wouldn't have occurred to me either to use Siri for turning the low power mode on.

ariwilson 11y ago

Didn't Android already have this* exact feature? I use it when I'm traveling and it keeps my battery going for much longer. * http://www.cnet.com/how-to/how-to-enable-battery-saver-on-android-5-0-lollipop/ http://www.cnet.com/how-to/how-to-enable-battery-saver-on-an...

LoneWolf 11y ago
My first thought too. But then this is true innovation apple always giving us new great stuff that was not copied from android at all. And let the downvotes come, no I do not like apple.
- dang 11y ago
  "Please don't bait other users by inviting them to downvote you or declare that you'll probably get downvoted." https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
enoch_r 11y ago
You might read this article as saying "here is a new innovation by Apple that you should be amazed by," but I think a much more natural reading is "here is a hack to get a better experience from your (Apple) product if you don't mind trading battery life for CPU/brightness." The author does mention this Android feature in passing, claiming that "it’s not like the extreme low power modes found on Android phones that basically turn everything off and turn your $600+ phone into a dumb phone." Disclaimer: I use an Android phone. I don't use low power mode, so I don't know if his "dumb phone" claim is correct.
- LoneWolf 11y ago
  From my experience no it does not turn them into dumb phones, just disables most background sync, you can still turn on mobile data and wifi and use them, but they will turn off as soon as the phone "sleeps", lowers brightness etc etc.
brazzledazzle 11y ago
My phone has a low power mode (Sony Z3) which works the way he's describing the iPhone feature. It also has a super low power mode that turns it into a dumb phone so perhaps that's where he got the misguided notion that Android turns into a dumb phone in low power mode.

sekasi 11y ago

I don't at all mean to sound condescending, but I'm genuinely curious how much of an issue battery life is for people nowadays? Using a 6S, I'll comfortably get through a long long day without the need to plug it in. But that's not my point. The point is I'm constantly around an opportunity to charge my phone. Everywhere. The only times I can see this being a real issue anymore is when you're travelling long distances without lounge access.. maybe? But even then, a battery pack solves all those woes. I just personally feel like we're at a point now where batteries are a non-issue. Does anyone else have major issues with newer smartphone batteries? I just don't feel like it's a thing anymore.

BallinBige 11y ago
it's definitely an issue if you have background refreshing enabled on a lot of apps. or any of those motion tracking / gps apps
- lucaspiller 11y ago
  I'm not sure why but Google Maps kills my battery so fast (iPhone 5s). I had to return a rental car and drove 30 minutes with directions, the battery went from 86% to 38%. I then had to figure my way back to the Airbnb I was renting via public transport, when I got home the battery was 8%. To answer OPs question, no I don't find battery is usually an issue but when I need it then it is.
  - meatysnapper 11y ago
    I know at least 5 people off the top of my head who gave up with Google maps because of battery life. Apple Maps is not great, but it doesn't totally kill my phone.
    - lucaspiller 11y ago
      Thanks I'll try it next time I drive. Unfortunately in my city Google Maps is the only app that provides public transport directions.

memco 11y ago

I upgraded my 4s on the premise that it got better battery life just by being on ios9, but it got much much worse. My battery was on the decline before the switch, but I could generally get through a day with just enough juice left at night. Now, I have to have it in LP mode all the time or it will die within a few hours.

acdha 11y ago
This happened to my 4S as the battery aged, but that was during the iOS 8 era. One thing which made a huge difference was disabling background refresh. If you're not willing to go that far, use the battery menu to disable all but the most important apps. Otherwise, they tend to go things like keep the radio running, which is even worse with the 4S's 3G radio and correspondingly longer times to connect, and especially bad in areas of low signal (e.g. the building I work in).
matthew-wegner 11y ago
FYI, the battery replacement on the 4s is really, really easy (back plate just slides off, versus removing the screen via suction on the later models). It'll cost you $15-25, depending on where you buy. Guide: https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/iPhone+4S+Battery+Replacement/7111 https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/iPhone+4S+Battery+Replacement/7...

newman314 11y ago

What would be nice is if switching to airplane mode enables low power mode. At least as an option.

Amorymeltzer 11y ago
I'm happy they are kept separate, they (often) serve totally different functions. I was genuinely surprised not to see it in the control center though, seems like that would be helpful. It shouldn't be needed most of the time, so it'd be a waste of space, but really it just emphasizes the need to have user control over the control center. I'd love to swap out some of the icons there for things I use more often.
- newman314 11y ago
  To be clear, I didn't mean that they had to be tied together. If they are available as options on the same page, that would be nice tho.

guelo 11y ago

The Android dig at the end is wrong. I don't know what he means by "basically turn everything off and turn your $600+ phone into a dumb phone" but an Android phone is still very usable in low battery mode. Basically it dims the screen, slows the CPU and limits background data syncing. Probably the same thing the iphone does.

bsimpson 11y ago
My Nexus 5 is so slow and clunky in Battery Saver mode that I seriously wonder if it actually helps. Taking a minute to do something in Battery Saver mode isn't necessarily more efficient than spending 5 seconds in normal mode.
- jff 11y ago
  I've found the exact opposite... by turning on Battery Saver mode, it disabled all the extraneous animations and transitions and actually made my old Nexus 4 feel responsive again!
  - NolF 11y ago
    Under the developer options section, you can disable animations.
    - lugg 11y ago
      Where is that? (google did not help..)
      - pmh 11y ago
        I followed http://www.cnet.com/how-to/speed-up-your-android-by-adjusting-animation-settings/ http://www.cnet.com/how-to/speed-up-your-android-by-adjustin... on a Moto X (reached via Googling "android disable animations").
        11y ago

seabrookmx 11y ago

TL;DR - Low Power Mode works! How informative.. > It turns some things off, yes, but nothing that really changes how you use your phone. Sure, your screen is a little dimmer, the CPU is cranked down a bit, and your apps don’t update as regularly in the background You mean exactly like Android? > The phone was connected to an Apple Watch It all makes sense now. Next up, a review about how the Apple Watch is a revolutionary new product! I know there's lots of Apple fanboys in these parts, and that's totally cool. But at least put some content in the articles.

atrust 11y ago

I use Low Power Mode all the time since the iOS 9 update. It does work well.

keyle 11y ago

Low power mode is my new permanent mode. I haven't done the science but it's roughly ~doubling my battery life. I just wish it could be enabled from the swipe bottom panel or a gesture, or the triple home button click.

listic 11y ago
> new permanent mode Do you actually turn it on manually every time? What does the low power mode actually do?
- keyle 11y ago
  Yes I turn it on after every recharge. It turns the battery indicator to yellow. On a serious note, it does double my battery life and I'm not the kind of person to ever run bluetooth to start with. It just kills every app process background, turns off the non-sense, reduces consumption of the 4G / Wifi too I think. It gives me a smart phone I actually wanted in the first place. To me, this is the one reason to upgrade to iOS9 (also my ipad mini seems alive again after iOS8 ran it to the ground).

grandalf 11y ago

Dear Apple: Please let us permanently enable low power mode.

muddi900 11y ago

>Screen is a bit dimmer iPhones screens are always too bright anyway. 90% of iPhone use was with the brightness setting on 0. I jailbroke specifically because SBsettings allowed me to do it conveniently. That saved a lot of battery time, about 20%. I moved on to Android by the time Apple came up with Control Center. I loved being able to read comfortably in the dark.