Enjoy your iPhone or Android for longer with these handy tips.

You ask any Brit what their New Year’s resolutions were and we guarantee that using their mobile less was in there.

The simple fact is, we just can’t put them down! They contain pretty much every aspect of our lives – social, work, entertainment and more.

With all this fun going on, it’s crucial that you make the most out of your battery life. There’s nothing worse than your phone dying and you being sat there like a wet lettuce while everyone around you texts and scrolls away.

Mobile phone batteries have come on leaps and bounds over the years, but it’s still nice to have a helping hand sometimes.

We’ve searched high and low and found all the best tips and hacks to help you preserve your mobile phone’s battery life.

Some extra Apple juice please.

Turn off Background App Refresh.

Background App Refresh may not mean anything to you, but it means an awful lot to how well your battery performs.

It’s an iOS feature that determines which apps can go about their business in the background.

For those apps you use often, like your social media or email perhaps, this is a great feature. It ensures that when you head into the apps, everything is in tip top condition just waiting for you.

As standard procedure, this handy feature is turned on for all of your apps – but the truth is that this actually uses up your battery.

Background App Refresh settings on an iPhone display.
Only use Background App Refresh for your most used apps. 

Our advice? Turn Background App Refresh off on all of those apps that you don’t use every day.

1) Head to Settings.

2) Select Background App Refresh.

3) Toggle off the apps you don’t want to use Background App Refresh on.

Turn off 5G for a moment.

We know what you’re thinking – 4G is so last year. But the truth is, you don’t always need your 5G on.

Unless you’re streaming all 10 seasons of Friends or playing the latest game – 4G will do you just fine.

1) Head to Settings.

2) Select Mobile.

3) Choose Mobile Data Options.

4) Select Voice and Data.

5) Turn off your 5G.

Use Auto Brightness.

Our iPhones are very good at adapting to the lighting around us and they now work along side our batteries to reduce how much power we use.

This is known as Auto Brightness and is a perfect way of saving your battery for those important moments.

 screenshot of the Auto Brightness toggle on an iPhone.
Auto Brightness will save you a whole lot of battery.

To use this, you’ll need to switch on Auto Brightness in Settings.

1) Head to Settings on your iPhone.

2) Select Accessibility.

3) Choose Display and Text Size.

4) Turn on Auto Brightness.

A little extra power for Android.

Reduce your refresh rate.

Android are renowned for their high screen refresh rates. They deliver displays with silky smooth visuals that make every gamer’s dreams come true.

The screen refresh rate is pretty much what it says on the tin. It’s the amount of times your screen refreshes in a single second – the higher the refresh rate, the smoother the experience.

Often or not, the refresh rate is either 90Hz or 120Hz. The issue is that a higher refresh rate will impact your battery life.

Luckily for you, Android let you lower your refresh rate to preserve your battery life. This is perfect if you’re just enjoying a meaningless scroll through your socials or replying to a couple of work emails.

Someone holding a phone displaying the refresh rate settings on an Android.
Choose the refresh rate that works for you.

Save the higher refresh rate for when you’re desperate to reach level 1987 on Candy Crush…

1) Head to Settings.

2) Choose Display.

3) Select Advanced.

4) Tap Refresh Rate and select an option.

Reduce your screen timeout.

Timeout is a feature you may be all too familiar with. It’s the feature that makes you screen go dark when you haven’t been on your mobile in a way.

Sort of like that thing a dog does with its paw when you haven’t paid enough to it. The thing is, as irritating as this might be, it’s actually a great way to save the battery on your Android.

1) Head to Settings.

2) Select Display and Brightness.

3) Select Auto Lock.

4) Select Auto Screen – choose how long you want it to be before your screen locks.

Explore low power mode.

Your Android will feature some form of low power mode, which is basically a setting that wraps all of the techniques we’ve mentioned into one.

There are a number of things that are likely to be reduced – but they’re all very noticeable things so it won’t matter at all.

Your brightness, refresh rates, background activities and more will be reduced while your battery percentage will soar!

1) Head to Settings.

2) Select Battery.

3) Select Low Power Mode.

Stay powered up for longer.

These handy tips are perfect for helping you stay charged up for longer. Whether you’ve got your mobile in your hand every second of the day or you’ve opted for a mobile with a poorer battery life than most – this guide should help you out.

If you’re sporting an older mobile with a battery from prehistoric times, it may be time for an upgrade.

We’ve got unmissable prices on the very best from Apple and Samsung – all with powerful batteries and long-lasting charge.

Get yours today and enjoy it as soon as tomorrow with free next day delivery.