iPhone battery hacks: Tricks to help you squeeze more life out of your battery

Apple released the iPhone 7, which is being touted as having the "longest battery life ever in an iPhone." But many of us are holding onto our older models and don't have such a luxury, unfortunately. So for the time being, check out these hacks to make your iPhone battery last longer.

Disable Background App Refresh

This setting automatically downloads content to apps when they're not in use. It's a super nifty feature for keeping your apps updated, but in a battery pinch, turn it off. To do so, go to Settings > General > Background App Refresh. You'll find the switch there.

Turn off Auto Brightness

This may seem like a battery-saving feature, but Auto Brightness can often drain too much of your battery when you don't actually need a brighter screen. Trust your instincts instead and switch this setting off by heading to Settings > Display & Brightness. Your battery and eyes will thank you. 

Turn down brightness

If you're going manual route and want to adjust your brightness setting yourself, keep it towards the lower end whenever you're in a battery crisis. You can easily do this by swiping up on the iPhone's screen, where you'll find a place to adjust your brightness.

Disable Location Services

Another useful feature that can be nixed in a battery pinch. Location Services are great for apps that rely on them, like Tinder or Yelp, but in an emergency, you can always shut this off. Settings > Privacy > Location Services will allow you to disable this feature for either all apps or, if you have time to be selective, specific apps that aren't as necessary for the time being.

Activate Low Power Mode

First off, duh. But it feels silly not to include such a relevant and effective feature — especially since users may not realize how little it changes the way you use your iPhone. Low Power Mode will disable some visual effects and automatic downloads while lowering your brightness, but besides that, much of your iPhone stays the same. An analysis from Wired estimates Low Power Mode uses just 70% of normal iPhone battery. Plus the percentage tracker at the top-right corner of your screen is a neat little method of staying on top of your battery usage.

Turn on Airplane Mode

In a last resort, turn on Airplane Mode, which disables the cellular connection on your iPhone. Of course, this makes your phone significantly less fun/useful, but it definitely conserves battery. Plus, you can still use Wi-Fi, which means it's still possible to send and receive iMessages from fellow iPhone users. 

Don't bother quitting your apps

Say what now? Yes, the myth that says app quitting can conserve battery life has been debunked. Doing this actually slows your phone down and drains your battery far quicker. You're better off disabling notifications from specific apps, instead. Settings > Notifications will do it.