Scroll, tap, like, text- and repeat. Smartphones are consuming us and how! When it comes to talks of batteries not lasting long enough, the problem might not be in the battery itself, but the apps that run on your smartphone. Which ones in particular? Read on.
Facebook is one of the worst apps your battery life. Facebook constantly requests for information from your device, however it doesn’t automatically update itself like it used to. This comes as a relief because it resulted in the consumption of a lot of battery even when the app wasn’t in use. First things first, make sure you have the most recent version of the app installed on your mobile. If binge reading on your News feed has become an everyday ritual for you, then make sure you close the app when it isn’t in use to prevent it from running in the background. Go to the settings of your device in search of the section that allows apps to automatically update in the background. Deleting the app on your phone and switching to the web version is something a lot of people are opting for.
An app that is constantly running is bound to drain your battery. Whatsapp is constantly running waiting for you to send someone and that infamous ‘Sup’. The more number of people you seem to engage using that classic one liner, the more number of chat windows you open. Open window, type, message, send, go back, repeat. This drains your battery without you realising because of those oh-so-enticing conversations you seem to be chatting up. If you want to stop the app from sucking your battery, you could stop the app from running in the background. You could also switch to the WhatsApp’s PC version to save your data as well as battery. Plus, they say stories are best said in person because a story has something which machines can transfer, but only humans understand. WhatsApp’s rival Telegram seems to be gaining popularity by the numbers.
- Snapchat
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When whiling away your time becomes a hobby which feels empty without Snap stories, your battery suffers. Sure, it’s fun to follow your favourite celebs and their “interesting” lives, see how they would look with cat filters, dog filters and the like. Guess what’s happening in the background, though, your memory is slowly running out, much like your actual memory when you flood it with information such as this, and so is your battery. Slow draining of your battery is a thing of the past now, as Snapchat consumes quite a bit by the minute. You wonder why it takes such a long time to load? Because it’s secretly draining out all the charge in your battery. Despite the fact that this is a photo app where all the photos are deleted asap, it’s one of the worst offenders when it comes to battery drainage.
- Netflix
Ah, your favourite shows in the palm of your hand. Technology at its finest. It would appear like the idiot box seems to have been replaced by a screen which could just be more of a bane than a boost, especially since we’re talking about Netflix. Binge watch your favourite shows, one episode after the other, season after season. And when you’re done with that, move on to the next best show, repeat. What’s happening to that little screen of yours though? It’s battery cries out for more charge, time and time again. No, the battery isn’t running the course of its life, you’re slowly killing it with the excessive use of this app. Your phone display consumes most of the charge so switch to dimming the brightness of your screen down to ensure you don’t drain your battery completely.
- Amazon Shopping
Shopping just got easier, with the revolution of shopping apps. Buying someone a gift was never this simple, what when all you have to do is select the product, pay for it with your card, fill in the shipping address, decide if you want to gift wrap it or not and that’s it. You just bought your special someone a gift, which will be delivered in time with some extra cash. What you didn’t know about the Amazon Shopping app though, it isn’t incredibly well optimized for Android. Another little vice running in the background is this app. It might give you the latest updates and the major sales for the day, along with the discounts you could avail of, all at a cost. Your battery.
- Candy Crush
What may have the most talked about app, with the most downloads, the predecessor to the likes of Pokemon Go maybe, will have to be candy crush. The addicting app has a way of getting your undivided attention with something as simple as matching candy. If it’s jelly beans, candy canes or jaw breakers, it’s only once all your lives run out do you take your eyes off the screen. So, yes, there’s a possibility you could develop the tech neck syndrome in the near future, and maybe you might just need a new pair of glasses. But that’s all the damage that’s been done, right? Well, to you at least. If your battery gave out way too quickly after your little episodes with candy, we’ll tell you why. It’s because while it’s in the background, the game has to connect to the servers every now and then to establish how much time is left and how many lives you have remaining. How to prevent this from happening? You could close the app when it isn’t in use, or you could satisfy your candy addiction some other way.
To kill or not to kill, that is the question. If you want your battery to run for a longer period of time, you should probably consider how each of these apps contribute to its downfall. A little precaution on your part can mean that your battery outlives its shelf life. So choose wisely, live well!