iOS 9 brings a bunch of battery-boosting features, most of which work right out of the box. But there’s one battery-saving feature you’ll have to enable yourself.
Called Low Power Mode, this new feature should prove super-useful when you need to eke out just a bit more time with your device — provided you’re not doing anything intense.
While Low Power Mode will reportedly get you from one to three hours of extra iPhone time, it will also cut your iPhone’s performance by about 40 percent.
Here’s how to enable Low Power Mode in iOS 9, which is currently in public beta but should be ready for prime time next month.
How to enable iOS 9 Low Power Mode
Head into your Settings app with a tap, then swipe down to Battery in the third section down. Tap Battery and you’ll get a host of power-related items, like the ability to toggle whether your iPhone shows the percentage left in the icon at the top of your screen, as well as a list of the most battery-hogging apps on your phone.
At the top you’ll find a toggle for Low Power Mode. Toggle that to ON, and you’ll notice your battery icon will now be yellow instead of the standard green. Your iPhone screen will go dark faster, and mail fetching, background app refreshes, automatic downloads and some visual animations will be reduced or turned off. Low Power Mode also forces you to see the battery percentage at the top of the screen, so there’s that.
This is a great way to keep your iPhone working and useful for those moments you don’t have an outlet or battery charger to top off your tank. Just be aware that your device will be slowed down to help you conserve juice.
Rob LeFebvre is an Anchorage, Alaska-based writer and editor who has contributed to various tech, gaming and iOS sites, including 148Apps, Creative Screenwriting, Shelf-Awareness, VentureBeat, and Paste Magazine. Feel free to find Rob on Twitter @roblef, and send him a cookie once in a while; he’ll really appreciate it.
6 responses to “Save your battery with iOS 9’s Low Power Mode”
You will automatically get asked if you want to enable low power mode when you hit 20% battery. By enabling it, I got a little over 3.5 hours before I hit 5% using my phone regularly (social media, Apple Music, Cult of Mac) Pretty happy with that feature!
I’ve running ios9 since first beta 1. Both iPhone 6 and ipad 3 but i cant find this on iPad. Does anyone know if this si an iPhone only feature?
The iOS Beta (4 or 5 – can’t remember) is crushing my battery. Battery % is dropping like a lead zeppelin. hope they fix this and soon.
I’m with you on that. Even with the power saving mode, my phone is burning through its battery at an alarming rate with the newest iOS9 beta.
I am going to have to revert to an older beta. The battery is draining so quickly (1-2hrs) that it is making the phone almost unusable without being near an outlet/charger.
I just love this feature. Been using it all the time for about 5 days now. At least when at vacation – it’s a superb option.