Have you noticed that your iPad doesn’t seem to hold a charge as it used to? Over time, the batteries used in tablets simply start to wear out. Essentially they age, and not always gracefully. Even if you have a brand new iPad, many of the features built into Apple’s mobile operating system, iOS 8, can really be taxing on your battery causing it to lose its charge much faster than you might expect. If your battery isn’t lasting you as long as you had hoped, you may think that there simply isn’t anything you can do about it.
However, there are options available to you built right into iOS 8 that can help you customize your iPad experience and save you precious battery life while you’re at it. Many of these settings are quite easy to access meaning in just a couple of minutes you could start saving your battery life so you get more time out of your iPad between charges.
Battery Life Ratings
The iPad Air 2 is rated to last up to 10 hours of continuous use, more than virtually all other competing 10-inch tablet models. Remember the key words in that statement, “up to.” Basically that means your mileage may vary based on exactly what you are doing on your iPad while you use it. Some apps and features use more battery power than others, so you may not ever see that highest number between charges while you are using it. Of course, as your battery ages, its ability to live up to its specs are reduced, as well. So you must be careful not to overload your battery as you use it otherwise you could not only decrease the time between charges but also put more wear and tear on your battery while you do it.
So Why Worry About It
Maybe your battery draining away doesn’t bother you or maybe you think that’s just how it is, but you couldn’t be more wrong. There are several reasons why you should be concerned about how fast power is sucked from your battery. First and foremost, is the health of your battery. Without it, your iPad won’t be much more than a fancy looking paperweight. The more continuous strain on your battery, the faster it will wear out. The other main reason you need to consider, is being able to use it when you aren’t close to a charger. This usually only applies to people who have an iPad with a cellular data plan, as they are more likely to take it with them wherever they go. If your battery is being drained away at a staggering pace, you could find yourself with a dead iPad and nowhere to charge it. As you can see, preserving your battery is more important than you may think. Let’s take a look at a few ways you can save your battery.
How to Save Battery Life
There are several different ways you can save the precious battery life of your iPad ranging from general care of your iPad all the way to iOS 8 settings that you can customize so your software requires less battery to function.
1. Avoid Extreme Temperatures
If there is one thing that an iPad doesn’t like, it is extreme temperatures, and this includes both hot and cold. Apple’s iPad prefers to live in a nice room temperature environment for maximum efficiency. If you carry your iPad with you, don’t leave it in a hot car for long periods of time, especially if it is turned on. These extreme temperatures can cause your iPad to overhead potentially causing damage to many of its internal components including the battery.
2. Pay Attention How Your Charge Your iPad
This may sound crazy, but how and when you charge your iPad can impact how well your battery holds up over time. While you may think that it is ok to allow your device to run down to nothing before a charge, most experts today recommend against it. Instead, you should begin your recharge when it gets in the neighborhood of 30%. Also, once it hits 100%, you shouldn’t just leave it in the charger for very long. Instead, go ahead and take it out and try to avoid charging your device at night or when you will be gone for long periods of time.
3. Turn Down Screen Brightness
This may seem pretty obvious to some, but you would be surprised how many people use their iPad’s with the screen brightness all the way up. Just turning it down a little bit will help save you precious time on your battery as a dimmer screen uses much less battery power. You can access your screen brightness through the control center or go to Settings < Wallpapers & Brightness. Once you are there turn off Auto Brightness and then decrease the setting manually by sliding the slider to the left.
4. Find Battery Draining Apps
Before you begin your battery saving mission, first you must find what is using most of your battery power in the first place. With the release of iOS 8, you finally got the ability to check up on your apps to find out which ones are using the most battery power. To find out, go to Settings > General > Usage > Battery Usage. Once you figure out which ones are eating up too much power, you can decide if you actually need them or not. If you do need them, just be sure you close them completely when you aren’t using them to save power.
5. Turn Off Background App Refresh
Another interesting feature that has caused problems for people with both their data plans and their battery power. The Background App Refresh feature basically allows apps that are running in the background to check with their servers to pull the latest information down even while you aren’t using them. In effect, this allows you to get up to date information as soon as you open them without having to wait for it all to download right then. This sounds great, but what it means is those apps are waking up and using power and processor resources to pull data from their servers. This will cause your battery to drain more quickly and use much more data in the process as well.
6. Turn Off Automatic Updates
One really cool feature that was introduced in iOS 7 and continues into iOS 8 is the ability for the operating system to automatically update your apps without you having to stop and do it from time to time. While I love this feature, it can definitely be a battery hog as iOS regularly checks for updates and then runs them no matter what you are doing. To disable this feature, go to Settings > iTunes & App Store > Automatic Downloads. Once there toggle the switch for Uploads into the off position so that it is gray. Once you do that, you will have to update your apps yourself, but you can at least choose when you want to do it.
7. Turn Off Notification Widgets
For years people wanted Apple to include widgets much like Android, and iOS 8 finally received Apple’s take on them. While they are different from what you might expect, you can still use them to get instant access to the information you want without having to open individual apps. The only difference is they are located in the Notification Center. The problem with them, much like on Android, is these widgets will often poll servers for the information pretty frequently. This means that they are pulling even more power just to provide you with a few tidbits of information. In order to reduce this drain, decide which ones you want to use and which ones you want and disable them by tapping on the “Edit” menu at the bottom of the Today screen in the Notification Center.
8. Shut Off the Parallax Feature
Some people absolutely love this feature, while others find that it makes them dizzy. The parallax feature on iOS 8 makes it seem like the wallpaper is moving behind apps or when you rotate your iPad. While it is a cool effect, it is one of the worst battery draining offenders on iOS 8. To disable the feature and go back to a standard wallpaper view, go to Settings > General > Accessibility and the switch “Reduce Motion” to “On.”
9. Turn Off Location Tracking
I know, the ability for your apps to know where you are and give you tips and helpful pointers based on your location is pretty handy. It can be fun, too. But when these apps do this, it means that they are constantly pulling power to reach out to the satellites to figure out exactly where you are. Over time this can really start to drain your battery. To adjust your location services settings, go to Settings > Privacy > Location Services. From here, you can turn off all location services or simply disable some of the apps location services one by one. Remember, the more you disable, the better off your battery will be.
10. Don’t Fetch New Data Automatically
I understand how important it is to get up to the minute information especially when it comes to your emails. However, having your iPad constantly ping the servers for new data will destroy your battery life. Instead, why not make it a habit to periodically check your email manually. This will not only save your battery but help you reduce your distractions at the same time. To turn off the feature, go to Settings > Mail, Contacts and Calendars > Fetch New Data. You can even customize the fetch for your different accounts, if need be. The more you turn off the better you will be, but you can also reduce the time on some while keeping it on for others so you don’t miss those important emails while still saving your battery some of its precious power.
Conclusion
Apple’s next version of its highly popular mobile operating system, iOS 9, may be just a month away, but until then we are stuck with iOS 8. If you have noticed your battery life beginning to drain away while using your iPad, it is probably because you have not taken the time to customize how iOS handles pushing and pulling data from the Internet. If you want to make sure you can get as much juice out of the battery on your iPad, all you have to do is take a few minutes to tweak your system following the points above as your guide. In only a few minutes of your time at most, you will easily reduce the drain on your iPad’s battery so you can get even more life out of your favorite Apple tablet before you must plug it in to recharge.