Two steps forward, one step back. Nowadays, we live with ever more powerful smartphones, with increasingly extensive capabilities. However, the trade-off for this power seems to be that a new phone can barely send one text before conking out and needing to be attached to the national grid for a few days. Increases in capacity meant a bigger drain on battery life, and built-in obsolescence only exacerbates the problem. Thus, the rise of the ultra-powerful smartphone also saw the rise of the portable charger, as people were desperate to keep their electric candles in the wind alive. However, nobody wants to resign themselves to carrying life-support for their phone around everywhere. Luckily, there are some things you can do to keep your phone from giving up.
Delete what you don’t need
One of the biggest pitfalls of a new phone is that because it CAN do so much, people assume that it SHOULD do so much – and get sucked into downloading apps for any conceivable purpose. However, an excess of apps will eat through your phone’s storage, giving it increasingly little to run processes with, and slowing it down drastically. Ask yourself – do you really need three different food delivery apps? Do you really need another face-changer? Or the app that tells you where the nearest public flush toilet is? Well, maybe that last one. Nonetheless, take another look at the apps on your phone, and free up some space by deleting anything you don’t absolutely need.
Protect or replace the battery
Aside from space, the most important factor of your phone’s performance is going to be the state of your battery. Obviously there’s no way to stop a battery from eventually degrading, but you can certainly help slow that process down. For instance, you shouldn’t charge your battery until you really need to. Frequent charging wears the battery down quicker – so charging it because it dares drop below 70% is only going to hurt you in the long run. Additionally, when the battery does reach the point of no return, it can always be replaced, to save you getting a new phone.
Keep it in good condition
It’s also just important to keep your phone in good condition. If you’re putting it through the wars it’s just not going to hold up for very long. Buy a good case and a screen protector for your phone as soon as possible – because you will, WILL, drop it, and you want it to be safe when you do. You also need to protect your phone from the elements. Everyone knows that getting it wet is a bad idea, but it’s vital to keep an eye on the temperature, too. If a phone gets too hot, or too cold, it’ll start to mess with the components – and could cause damage serious enough to ruin your phone’s performance entirely.
Be reasonable
Last, but certainly not least – make sure you aren’t asking more of your phone than it can handle. There are some ludicrously intensive apps out there, and using them with a phone that’s not up to spec can just ruin your device in the long run. Even if you have a state-of-the-art phone, it’s only going to be able to handle so much – and it’s entirely possible to overload it. Be careful, and pay attention when you start to use an app. If it suddenly slows your phone down or makes it play up, that’s a sign to use it sparingly – or ditch it entirely.
