As mobile phone users, all we want is enough battery life to last the day. Frustratingly, the older the device, the less power it seems to have. In fact, the amount of battery life our mobiles have on any given day depends on two key factors: how we use them on that particular day, and how we used them in the past.

Mobile phones use lithium-ion batteries for energy storage. In this type of battery, lithium metal and lithium ions move in and out of individual electrodes, causing them to physically expand and contract. Unfortunately, these processes are not completely reversible and the batteries lose their charge capacity and voltage as the number of charge and discharge cycles grows.

Here are some useful strategies for extending your phone’s battery capacity:

  1. Keep your battery charged. Don’t let your battery power dwindle down to nothing. …
  2. Update your mobile apps. …
  3. Use dark wallpaper. …
  4. Dim that screen. …
  5. Disable location services. …
  6. Disable iPhone Raise to Wake feature. …
  7. Disable vibrate and haptic feedback. …
  8. Disable Background App Refresh.