The battery in the Samsung Galaxy S4 may pack 500 more milliamps per hour than the old S3 battery, but that doesn't necessarily mean more battery life.
High-powered devices need lots of juice, and the S4 is definitely more powerful than its predecessor. The new battery can handle a third more in standby days, and over twice as much in talk time hours. But, when you live on your phone all day long, that means nothing. You're battery is still going to have a hard time keeping up with you.
However, like any mobile device, there are things you can do to prevent battery drain. Use the tips below to obtain the best battery life possible and squeeze every minute out of your Samsung Galaxy S4.
Adjust Brightness
Use the brightness slider to adjust levels, or set it to auto.
For the best battery life, keep the levels at half or below, and increase only when you need it, like in direct sunlight.
Power Saving Mode
The GS4 comes with a great Power Saving feature. To access it, go to Settings -> My Device and press on "Power Saving Mode", or simply long-press the "Power Saving" toggle on your notification bar.
As you can see, there are three aspects to Power Saving:CPU, Screen, and Haptic feedback.
If you click on "Learn about Power saving mode," you also see some of the most basic tips for saving power. Some mentioned are:
- Set a small interval for screen timeouts and turn the screen off when it's not needed.
- Keep Bluetooth and GPS off when they aren't needed.
- Avoid Live Wallpapers and/or use dark wallpapers.
- Turn off Auto sync.
Use Wi-Fi as Much as Possible
Wi-Fi will always consume much less battery than a cell signal, so whenever you have the option, it should be your preferred connection. You can always be aware if there is Wi-Fi around by enabling "Network notification".
Turn Off "Smart" Features
Many of the features that set this phone apart and really make it unique can strain the battery. All the following can be found in Settings -> My Device.
Smart screen
This may be one of the coolest features on the device because it's based on tracking your eye movements. Seems like something pulled right out of a sci-fi movie. The problem is, the eye tracking is accomplished by using the front-facing camera (FFC). This means that with these features enabled, your FFC is always active, and always draining your battery.
Voice control
Voice controls are convenient...you can wake the device, take pictures, and launch S Voice. At the same time, the device is constantly listening for your voice, and that's draining your battery.
These simple yet effective tips will help you get the most out of your new device. Have any more tips? Share them with us at the forums or comment below.
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6 Comments
What about NFC and S Beam? More cool James Bond tools, but do they use power when idle?
These really aren't power hogs. NFC only drains battery when it's actually it use (sending/receiving) files, same with S Beam.
These are all great ideas, but in reality it doesn't save much battery. What I found that works, are extended batteries. I have the S4 and it will last me about 2 days before I have to charge it again, and I leave all of those features enabled.
Steve Milliam PSi wish to try the extended batteries. Which battery did u uses
You could also disable Samsung Push Service.. It will give crazy battery life. http://www.larkins.org/technology/disable-samsung-push-service-to-increase-battery-on-samsung-galaxy-devices.html
i wanna use my s4 for hotspot for like 4-6hours let say. does it harm my battery. like ill just open my data connection and hotspot, more like using my s4 as a router.
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