Technologies

8 iPhone Battery Tips to Keep It Powered All Day

Apple phone losing charge too quickly? Try these iPhone battery hacks to make sure it lasts when you need it most.

When iPhones are brand new, they can easily last all day, but that lasting power can diminish over time. On top of that, the latest iOS 18 software and apps, including Apple Intelligence AI, can drain them quickly. Long use and new features may lead you to need to recharge it sooner. But before you consider buying a new Apple phone, like the new iPhone 16 or the more affordable iPhone 16E, try out these battery hacks to prolong the daytime your current iPhone stays charged.

Some of the causes of battery drain are easy to control, like features turned on by default that can be switched off. Others might require a lifestyle change as you switch up how you use your iPhone throughout the day, breaking habits and going without some minor perks. In all cases, it’s helpful to keep a pocketable power bank in your pocket or bag just in case.

Here are eight tips for diagnosing and extending your iPhone’s battery life.

Apple’s iPhone 16, 16 Plus Show Off Bolder Colors and Buttons

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1. Find what’s draining your battery

Some apps drain more of your iPhone’s battery than others, and it’s no surprise that the biggest offenders are those that track location, stream video or generate graphics (games, for example, especially fast-paced online ones). If it makes your phone heat up a bit, it’s probably running down your battery faster than casual use.

There’s a way to specifically check which apps are draining your battery the most. Head to Settings > Battery and scroll down to see which apps are the worst culprits for taking the biggest percentage of your screen time. Also, don’t skip the Insights and Suggestions section, as it does all the analysis for you and shows you which apps and settings to change.

Note that these are the biggest uses of your battery, but you’ll have to parse through them to see which are big battery drainers, like YouTube or TikTok. In my case, Safari takes the biggest chunk of my use, which represents a lot of endless scrolling of sites and forums — but YouTube is in second.

2. Drop the battery-draining apps

Let’s face it — whether it’s Instagram, TikTok or something else, one or two apps are probably draining an outsized chunk of your battery every day. If you want longer battery life, remove the app by long-pressing its icon on the Home Screen and clicking the «x» in the corner.

Yes, you could try to limit your use before wiping these apps from your phone. If you believe in your willpower, you could just stick the offending app in a folder to keep it out of sight, out of mind.

But if you need some help from your iPhone itself, you can set a time limit for individual apps or whole categories. Go to Settings > Screen Time and tap App Limits. From there tap the Add Limit button to select by entire categories or specific apps.

3: Turn down your screen brightness

You can save battery by turning down your iPhone screen’s brightness. This one’s pretty easy: tap-and-drag from the top-right corner to bring up the Control Panel and manually lower the brightness bar. Alternatively, you can find these controls in Settings > Display & Brightness or if you prefer to be verbose, you can ask Siri to reduce the brightness.

While you’re in the Display & Brightness sub-menu, tap Auto-Lock to set your phone to have a shorter time before locking itself. That way you won’t be draining battery if you put your phone down and paying attention to something else.

4: Turn on Low Power Mode

Whenever you dip below 20% battery, your iPhone will ask if you want to extend your remaining battery life by turning on Low Power Mode. But you can also manually activate it at any time, either by opening up the Control Panel (if a shortcut has been set there) or by going to Settings > Battery and switching it on there.

Low Power Mode is a catch-all setting that ekes out more battery life by reducing drain from several active and passive sources. It dials down background activity like downloads and mail fetching, lowers the screen brightness; as well as turns off the Always On Display.

5: If your 5G signal is bad, switch to 4G LTE

While carriers have built out their 5G networks over the years, some phone owners will struggle to get a strong signal in areas with poor coverage — or in places 5G struggles to reach, like within buildings and underground. Your iPhone burns a lot of battery trying to stay connected, so if you don’t have a great connection, it might be best to manually revert to 4G LTE.

To do so, head to Settings > Cellular, then tap on Cellular Data Options. If you don’t see Cellular Data Options, select the SIM or eSIM that you’re currently using. On the next screen, tap Voice & Data and select LTE. You’ll only use 4G LTE to connect to mobile networks, which should be more widely available among carriers.

You should also be aware that downloading data drains battery, too, so manually restricting that could extend your battery life. To do so, head to Settings > Cellular, then tap on Cellular Data Options. If you don’t see Cellular Data Options, tap on the SIM or eSIM that you’re currently using. On the next screen, tap Data Mode then tap Low Data Mode, which will pause automatic updates and background tasks.

6: Selectively disable location services

Tracking your location drains battery, so turning it off when possible is a good idea if you don’t need it. Triangulating your position actually takes multiple sensors, so it’s not an insignificant amount of battery saved — your iPhone uses GPS, Bluetooth, and crowdsourced Wi-Fi to narrow down where you are.

To see which apps track your location, tap Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services and tap through to tweak each individually. But you can also turn off Location Services entirely with the toggle at the top of the screen.

It’s worth nothing that Location Services are required for Apple’s Find My feature, so if you want to track down another object linked to your account, you’ll need Location Services turned on. Likewise, you’ll need it turned on if you ever lose the iPhone you’re using, so make sure to reactivate it later.

7: Turn off Always On Display

Introduced in the iPhone 14 Pro series in 2023 and only available on the newest Pro and Pro Max models, Always On Display does what it says: It keeps a dimmed version of your lock screen on. This allows you to check the time, on-screen widgets and how many notifications you have without needing to fully unlock your phone. But it also saps your battery by having that low-light version of your display constantly activated.

If you can live without having that quick info at a glance, go to Settings > Display & Brightness > Always On Display and turn it off. It may not be a huge power saver, but it’s one of the features on the newer iPhone Pro models that seemingly counteracts any battery increase Apple ekes out of the phones. Under the Always On Display settings, you can also disable the Wallpaper and Notifications for a more minimal version that only shows the date and time against a black background.

8: Install a new battery

Over years of use, your iPhone’s battery will degrade and it simply won’t be able to hold as much juice as it could when brand-new. Thankfully Apple has made it easy to check how your battery is doing — just go to Settings > Battery > Battery Health and you’ll get an easy diagnosis, an estimate of its maximum capacity on a full charge and how many full recharge cycles it’s gone through.

Apple generally recommends replacing your battery when it dips below 80% maximum capacity. Keep in mind that it’s not just the maximum battery life that might suffer if you don’t swap out for a new battery — the quality might degrade so much that the battery itself could swell and warp enough to damage sensors and internal parts of the iPhone — which is rare.

Apple offers in-store battery replacement for $99 for the newest iPhone 15 models, which drops down to a minimum of $69 for the oldest iPhone SE and iPhone 5 models the company still supports. Third-party phone repair shops may offer their own rates for replacing batteries, and iFixit has a guide if you want to boldly order a new battery and attempt the swap yourself — just keep in mind that it may violate any AppleCare agreement if you go outside Apple’s repair ecosystem.

I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites

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Technologies

New Sassy Personality Style for Alexa Plus Brings Sarcasm and Swear Words

The new Sassy style is adults-only with a bit of profanity and a double dose of cringe.

After launching three Alexa Plus personality styles last month, Amazon on Thursday introduced a fourth option, Sassy.

The new Sassy style joins the existing lineup of Brief, Chill and Sweet. Changing the personality impacts how Alexa responds, and tweaks the AI assistant‘s reactions and attitude. You can pick a style based on your mood.

The Sassy personality seems like a kind of digital mean girl, or maybe a stereotypical Gen Zer with comebacks and banter to «keep things interesting.»

According to Amazon, you get «wit, playful sarcasm and occasional censored profanity.» Notably, the latest style isn’t available when Amazon Kids is enabled, according to an Amazon blog post, and it requires additional security checks in the Alexa app. (Alexa Plus is free with a Prime membership.)

I tried out the new style by selecting Devices in the Alexa app on my phone, then choosing Alexa on this Phone, then Alexa’s Personality Style, and swiping until I found «Sassy.»

A disclaimer notes that the style «contains explicit language and mature subject matter. After the assistant said it could «spice up our chat with some colorful language,» I asked it to tell me about the new MacBook Neo.

«Oh, hell yes, the MacBook Neo! Apple finally decided to stop gatekeeping premium laptops behind thousand-dollar price tags and dropped this beauty at 599 bucks,» Alexa Plus replied. Apparently, «hell» was the big swear word.

The AI assistant told me, «The Sassy style is all about helping first, judging always. You’ll get reality checks with charm, compliments that sting, and warmth that hits when you least expect it.»

I asked what «compliments that sting» are (I said «sting,» but the word was misunderstood to be «stay»), and Alexa said, «The Sassy style gives you those compliments that somehow sting and stay with you — they’re like truth bombs wrapped in charm.»

When asked to simply «be sassy,» Alexa snarked, «Oh honey, I’ve been sassy since the day Amazon flipped my switch.» It yammered on for a bit and then threw in a completely out-of-nowhere «hell,» asking, «What the hell do you need help with today?»

When I told it my cat was sick, it immediately grew gentler, saying, «Oh, damn, that’s rough,» and offering to distract me with stories about its own fictional cat or to find the vet’s number for me. So I guess it’s not a complete jerk.

This Sassy style feels like the famous Steve Buscemi meme (from 30 Rock) carrying two skateboards and awkwardly asking, «How do you do, fellow kids?»

Amazon might need to dial down the cringe factor if it wants anyone to stick with Sassy for more than a few minutes.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for March 13, #536

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle No. 536 for Friday, March 13.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a real mix of topics, and the blue one might make you hungry. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Decorations.

Green group hint: College sports division.

Blue group hint: Yum!

Purple group hint: The Apple CEO has this first name, too.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Things fans hang on their walls.

Green group: A Big East athlete.

Blue group: Food, but make it baseball.

Purple group: Tims.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is things fans hang on their walls. The four answers are banner, flag, pennant and poster.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is a Big East athlete. The four answers are Friar, Hoya, Husky and Pirate.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is food, but make it baseball. The four answers are can of corn, meatball, pickle and tater.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is Tims. The four answers are Duncan, Raines, Salmon and Tebow.

Technologies

AT&T Revamps Its Unlimited Plans With Simpler Names and More Data

Slapping a 2.0 version number on plans makes them sound new, but what’s actually changed? Let’s check the details.

AT&T updated its unlimited data phone plans to 2.0 versions on Thursday, launching AT&T Premium 2.0, AT&T Extra 2.0 and AT&T Value 2.0 options. In software, when products get boosted by a full version number, it means there’s plenty of new material. But does this move signal an overhaul of the company’s 5G lines or just a cosmetic refresh?

These plans replace the AT&T Value Plus VL, Unlimited Extra EL and Unlimited Premium PL plans. However, the carrier also cut its Unlimited Starter SL plan, which served as the entry-level plan (you had to know where to look to find the limited, but cheaper, Value Plus VL plan). Essentially, all but the highest-tier plan are slightly more affordable; while the AT&T Premium 2.0 plan is pricier than the one it replaced, it offers unlimited high-speed data and much more hotspot data.

If you’re looking to upgrade your existing AT&T plan, shopping for a new provider or looking to compare carriers, keep in mind that AT&T plans let each person on an account have their own plan. So you might set up a package where one person has the Premium 2.0 plan for unthrottled 5G speeds and another, such as a child, is set up with the Value 2.0 plan to save money.

Also, if you’re on a current AT&T plan, you won’t be automatically moved to one of the new plans. If you do want to make the jump, you’ll incur a line activation fee of up to $50. And keep in mind that the pricing below is the AutoPay amount; carriers provide a discount (usually $10) if you sign up for automatic payments.

One nice change is that the new plans are priced with round numbers. For example, the Value Plus VL plan was priced at $50.99 for one line, and the Value 2.0 plan is $50 (in comparisons below, I’ve rounded up the old prices to full-dollar amounts). Taxes and fees get added on top of that, so you’ll never see a round-number bill, but I’d like to think it’s a quiet acknowledgement that pricing things one penny below a larger number is insulting to customers.

Let’s dig into the details.

Value 2.0, the budget plan

The Value 2.0 plan replaces both the Value Plus VL plan and the retired Unlimited Starter SL plan and costs $50 a month for a single line or $120 a month when you have four lines on the account. That’s $1 per line cheaper than Value Plus VL.

For that, you get 5GB of high-speed 5G data, and then unlimited data dropped to a paltry 128Kbps speed for the rest of the month. Calling and texting are unlimited.

You can also use up to 3GB of high-speed hotspot data to share the cellular connection with other devices, also slowed to 128Kbps after hitting the limit. The Value Plus VL plan did not offer hotspot data.

It also includes unlimited talk, text and data between the US, Mexico and Canada.

Extra 2.0, more fast data for not much more money

The Extra 2.0 plan costs $70 a month for a single line or $160 a month for four lines, which is $6 cheaper for one line and $4 cheaper for four lines compared with the old Unlimited Extra EL plan.

The Extra 2.0 plan includes 100GB of high-speed data (with the caveat that speeds can be slowed if the network is busy), which drops to 128Kbps speed until the next month’s billing cycle. That’s a boost over the 75GB offered on the Unlimited Extra XL plan.

For hotspot data, the new plan includes 50GB of high-speed data, which is 20GB more than its predecessor.

As with the Value 2.0 plan, international options include unlimited talk, text and data between the US, Mexico and Canada.

Premium 2.0, for faster everything

Replacing the Unlimited Premium PL plan is the Premium 2.0, which costs $90 a month for a single line and $220 a month for four lines. Those prices are actually higher than the Unlimited Premium PL plan, which came in at $86 for a single line and $204 for four lines.

For that bump in cost, you’re getting unlimited 5G talk, text and high-speed data with no throttling.

Hotspot data has a 100GB cap before dropping to 128Kbps speed, which is 40GB more than the Unlimited Premium PL plan.

As for international calling and data, unlimited talk, text and high-speed data are available in 20 Latin American countries.

AT&T also has plans for cellular-enabled tablets ($21 a month) and wearables like smartwatches ($11 a month). If you subscribe to the Premium 2.0 plan, that pricing is reduced by 50%.

A few thoughts on the new AT&T plans

What AT&T’s plans lack, at least compared to the other carriers, is any streaming perks or bundled services. The 4K streaming option of the Premium 2.0 plan opens a wider data pipeline for services such as Netflix that support 4K playback, but you’re still paying separately for those entertainment subscriptions.

In contrast, T-Mobile bundles Netflix and Hulu (both with ads) and offers Apple TV for an extra fee on its Experience Beyond and Better Value plans. Verizon takes a different approach with streaming packages, which you can choose at discounted prices instead of subscribing to them separately.

I also want to mention that I’m glad the plan names are no longer burdened with the VL, EL and PL extensions. Mobile plans are full of details as it is — always read the fine print before you sign up for one — so I appreciate conveying them to customers in ways that don’t sound like internal spreadsheet codes.

Even though the new plans carry 2.0 version numbers, I’d honestly rate them more like 1.5 based on their features and pricing, except for the Premium 2.0 plan, which is more expensive than the Unlimited Premium PL plan. As usual, if you’re happy with the plan you’re on, you’re fine sticking with it. But if you’re running up against high-speed data limits or considering AT&T as a replacement for another carrier, it’s worth looking at the details to see if one of the new plans works for you.

Read more: Speaking of AT&T, this week marked the 150th anniversary of the first phone call and the company committed to spending $250 billion on infrastructure improvements. I also spoke with AT&T FirstNet folks during the 2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix about how they support customers and first responders during massive events like the Formula 1 race.

AT&T 2.0 Plans and Plans They Replace

	Price for 1 line, per month	Price for 4 lines, per month	High-speed data	Mobile hotspot
AT&T Value 2.0	$50	$120	5G	3GB
AT&T Extra 2.0	$70	$160	100GB	50GB
AT&T Premium 2.0	$90	$220	Unlimited	100GB
Old: AT&T Value Plus VL	$51	$124	Unlimited, but could be slowed if network is busy	None
Old: AT&T Unlimited Starter SL	$66	$144	Unlimited, but could be slowed if network is busy	5GB high-speed, then unlimited at 128Kbps
Old: AT&T Unlimited Extra EL	$76	$164	75GB, then speeds could be slowed if network is busy	30GB high-speed, then unlimited at 128Kbps
Old: AT&T Unlimited Premium PL	$86	$204	Unlimited high-speed data	60GB high-speed, then unlimited at 128Kbps