How to check which apps are draining your iPhone battery

Apple says your iPhone battery is designed to last a full day. While this is generally true, the way you use your phone can cause it to drain much faster. Some apps can drain the battery quickly without you even realizing it. The good news is that iOS provides tools that allow you to check your iPhone’s battery usage. Some of the reasons you lose battery are out of your control, but knowing which apps drain it can help your iPhone last until the end of the day. Changing a few settings can also help.

It all starts in the Settings app on your iPhone. Open it and look for it Battery menu — it’s the one with the green icon. It should be easy to find since it’s one of the first options on the list, close to Wi-Fi and Cellular. Here you’ll find a detailed chart showing exactly how you use your iPhone. Tapping View all battery usage shows an even more detailed list of what exactly is draining your battery. Even if you don’t have one of the newer phones, you can still access this information. It is available since iOS 8.

The list is quite easy to understand. The apps at the top are the ones that have drained your iPhone’s battery the most. In most cases, these are the apps you use the most throughout the day. Did you spend your afternoon watching TikToks? Chances are you will see this app at the top of the list.

There is another key element to look at. While On screen refers to when you actively used this application, there is also Background time. This is when an app is not directly on the screen but is still using your phone’s resources.

Think about apps like Weather or Google Maps. When you allow apps to track your activity, they can check your location in the background even when you’re not interacting with them. The same goes for Apple Music or Spotify when streaming music with the iPhone screen off.

So how can you extend your iPhone battery life? Well, it might not be as simple as stopping using these apps. Of course, reducing the time you spend on TikTok or Instagram certainly helps. Games, for example, also tend to drain the battery faster because they require more processing and graphics power. But changing a few settings on your iPhone can also have a big impact on battery life.

For example, you can disable Background app refresh within General section of the Settings application. This feature allows apps to refresh their content even when you’re not using them, which makes things load faster but can drain resources. You can either disable it for specific apps or disable background updates completely.

Managing how apps access your location also helps your battery last longer. Indeed, constant use of GPS also consumes a lot of resources. This time, search Location Services In Settings, below Privacy and security. Turn off location access for apps that don’t really need it. If you don’t want to go that far, change the setting to When using the app: This will prevent the app from using GPS in the background.

Just avoid turning off location services completely, as this will also affect important services like Find My. You don’t want to be unable to locate your iPhone if you lose it.

One more thing: also check the battery status of your iPhone. It doesn’t matter what apps or settings you use if the battery is in bad condition. In this case, replacing the battery might be your best option.