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Is Galaxy S8 Battery Draining too fast? Use these tips

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Released in 2017, Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus are two premium Android smartphones with robust features like Bixby voice and Samsung’s powerful camera. The camera and the voice assistant are two of the most battery draining apps on any phone.

If you are going to use these features then you should implement some battery saving strategies in order to extend the battery life of your Galaxy phone. Below are some batteries saving tips that will come handy if you find that your Galaxy S8’s battery is draining too quickly.

Uninstall or disable any battery draining apps

The Galaxy S8 offers plenty of battery customization options. If your battery is draining too fast, you should try to analyse the reasons for this as it is likely you will be able to make some changes that will extend your the battery life on your Samsung Galaxy.

If you suspect one or more apps are draining the battery excessively, the best solution to the problem would be to disable or uninstall the offending app or apps.

Android features built-in system level tools that allow you to detect battery draining apps so that you don’t have to sit for hours to calculate the power consumed by every app on your Galaxy S8.

Below are the steps to follow in order to find which apps are the greatest offenders in using up your battery:

  1. Go to Settings app
  2. Tap Device maintenance
  3. Tap Battery
  4. Under App power monitor, you will see the app that is consuming most battery

The apps are listed in descending order of power usage so the worst culprits will be at the top of the list. After you have found the worst battery draining apps, you can make an informed decision regarding which apps you should uninstall or disable.

If you don’t want some apps to run continuously in the background, you can put these apps to sleep. After you have done this, these apps will only get activated when you manually start them (by touching the app icon). Here are the steps to follow in order to implement this:

  1. In the App power monitor screen, select the apps you want to put to sleep
  2. Tap Save Power and you can put unwanted battery hungry apps to sleep

Adjust the Power saving mode

The Galaxy S8 phones come with an inbuilt power-saving tool that is a very useful feature. However, to get optimal benefit from it, you need to tweak the Power saving mode according to your needs. Here are the steps to customize Power Saving mode.

  1. Go to Settings menu
  2. Under Device Maintenance, tap Battery option
  3. Under Power Savings mode, you will find two battery saving modes: Mid Mode and Max mode

The Mid mode reduces the brightness of the screen and lowers the screen resolution to 2220×1080. It also turns off background network usage. The Max mode lowers the screen resolution even further to 1480×720. It also limits the CPU performance to 70%, thereby improving your phone’s ability to conserve battery power.

Get notifications of system health

Do you know the App power monitor can also be tuned to monitor your smartphone’s health? Here are the steps to follow in order to activate this:

  1. Go to Advanced settings
  2. Tap Notification settings
  3. Make sure the App power monitor is looking at unstable, battery draining, and unused apps

Once you have set this, the App power monitor will alert you when there is an issue.

Lower screen resolution

The Galaxy S8 is fitted with AMOLED screen with a max resolution of 2960×1440. However, this does not mean you should keep the device resolution at the maximum at all times.

Keeping the screen resolution at a higher level drains the battery faster. You can increase the battery life of your phone by a few hours by opting for a lower screen resolution. You can keep the display resolution at 2220×1080 which is more than enough in most circumstances. And whenever needed, you can set a higher resolution but don’t forget to revert to a lower resolution later.

Don’t get carried away by Automatic brightness settings

The Auto-Brightness settings sound good but it can eat into your phone’s battery life. The Auto-brightness feature in Android smartphones including Galaxy S8 phones is not great when it comes to determining the right screen brightness for every situation. Switching off the feature will help saving the battery, as your phone display will not be frequently swinging from darkest to brightest or in-between.

Switch off the Always-On display setting

The Always-On display setting might be useful, but it is demanding on the phone’s battery. According to smartphone experts who have reviewed Galaxy S8 phones, the smartphone with Always-On display feature activated consumes around 0.23 watts on average and 0.13 watts during standby. Even though the Always-On display feature looks power efficient, switching it off can save some battery power. If you want the feature enabled, you can consider scheduling it, such as keeping the display on only when the Galaxy S8 is plugged in.

Activate the “Keep the screen turned off” feature

The Galaxy S8 is fitted with an AMOLED screen that can be quite energy draining. Since the display is sensitive, you might see the display switched on by accidental touch. For example, the display might turn on when you accidentally touch the screen when it is in your pocket.

You would certainly want to avoid turning on the display accidentally. This is where the “Keep the screen turned off” feature comes in handy. With this feature activated, you don’t have to worry about the display turning on accidentally, like when the phone is under a cushion or  in your pocket.

Switch off all Voice Assistants

The Google Assistant and Bixby might be helpful, but you don’t need them all the time. You can switch off the voice assistant when you have no use for it.

If you have any other valuable battery-saving tips for your Samsung Galaxy device, please share below!

OnePlus 5 Smartphone Review

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OnePlus phones became popular internationally within a short period after their launch. According to industry experts, the phone has an excellent build quality and features, which has lead to many comparing it to the likes of the iPhone.

Released in June 2017, the OnePlus 5 is the latest flagship phone, eagerly awaited by smartphone fans.

Below we take a detailed look at the features and technology in the OnePlus 5

Design and Build quality of the phone

The dimensions of the OnePlus 5 are 154.2 x 74.1 x 7.25 mm. With a thickness of 7.3mm, the One Plus 5 is one of the slimmest phones available, second only to the iPhone 7 that has thickness of 7.1mm.

Despite the thin frame, the company has managed to squeeze in a 3.5mm jack for a wired headset which is nothing but a design miracle. The Power button sits on the right side while you have the volume button and silent mode toggle on the left edge. The speaker driver sits at the bottom of the phone, beside the USB-C and 3.5mm jack.

The phone has Horizon Line design concept to give it a more rounded design look and feel. OnePlus 5 has an nice metallic look with antenna lines cleverly concealed. The phone’s body is made of aluminum alloy that is sturdy enough but not heavy, and it weighs around 153 gms.

OnePlus 5 Display and Resolution

The OnePlus 5 features an Optic AMOLED display measuring 5.5 inches with 24-bit color depth. The resolution of the screen is 1080 x 1920 pixels while the pixel density stands at 4.1 pixels-per-inch. The display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5 which raises the protection bar. The display can survive a drop of 1.6 meters even on hard surfaces 80% of the time.

OnePlus 5 Processor, Memory, and Performance

The One Plus 5 is fitted with the latest Qualcomm SoC- the Snapdragon 835 that houses an octa-core processor (4X2.45GHz Kryo and 4X1.9GHz Kryo) and Adreno 540 graphic chip.

The phone has two configurations. The lower end model is equipped with 6GB RAM and 64GB internal storage while the higher end model is equipped with 8GB RAM and 128Gb of internal storage.

The phone has enough processing power to run demanding games like Real Racing 3, Pokémon Go and the likes. However, it does not support flash memory cards.

The phone features Dual lane technology that increases read and write speeds when accessing data stored on the device. The dual lane technology allows the storage controller to access two memory locations at a time, which is a distinct advantage over traditional storage controller, which waits for the first read/write operation to finish before initiating the second one.

OnePlus 5 Camera

The OnePlus 5 phone features dual cameras at the back of the device; a 16 MP camera with 1.7 aperture and electronic image stabilization and a 20 MP camera with 2.6 aperture and phase detection technology. The front camera is also a 16MP resolution with 2.0 aperture and 1.0 µm pixel size.

The OnePlus 5 has several photography features like phase detection auto-focus, geo-tagging, dual LED flash, face detection, touch focus, HDR, Panorama and 1.6x digital zoom.

The rear cameras can record videos in different resolutions such as 720p@30/120fps, 1080p@30/60fps, and 2160p@30fps. The front camera can record 1080p videos.

The dual camera technology leads to clearer photos and you can also blur the background for better photos. The intelligent camera software can automatically detect light conditions and optimize the camera system for clarity and accuracy. The new Pro mode gives you more control over photography elements in the phone. You can fine-tune settings like shutter speed and ISO.

OnePlus 5 battery life

The OnePlus 5 features a non-removable Lithium-Polymer battery rated at 3300 mAh. The phone supports dash charging which charges the day’s power in just 30 minutes. The fast charging technology employed by the company protects the phone from heating and also protects the battery with consistent charging speeds.

OnePlus 5 Software

The OnePlus 5 runs Oxygen OS which is based on Android 7.1.1 (Nougat). It features exclusive technology knows as App Priority. This intelligent technology learns your app usage patterns and helps in the quick launching of these apps while keeping other intrusive apps away that might degrade the performance by draining the battery or interfere with your user experience by hogging resources.

The OnePlus 5 also doubles up as an e-reader. It has a special e-reader mode where the display is automatically fine-tuned for reading: the blue light is filtered out and gray scale mapping makes reading onscreen easier.

For gamers, the OnePlus 5 offers a Gaming DND mode where the notifications are muted and soft keys are temporarily disabled to prevent accidental taps.

Conclusion

There is no doubt that the OnePlus 5 packs in all the premium features that you would want in your smartphone. It is likely to give the iPhone a run for its money!

iOS 11 Preview – Smart, Simple but Advanced

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Rule number 1: as with all Operating System updates, we advise you hold off for a couple of weeks at least before updating. This gives time for bugs to be fixed and patched, which is inevitable following a general release.

Rule number 2: always backup before updating – you won’t regret backing up but you most certainly will regret not doing it if things go wrong.

Apple’s iOS is a very rich smartphone ecosystem, packed with varied features and amazing technologies.

This iOS 11 Preview will tell you everything you would want to know about this smart, simple but advanced mobile operating system.

When is iOS11 launching?

iOS 11 launched on September 19 2017 and the update to iOS 11 will be free. However, not all Apple devices will be compatible with this new upgrade.

Below is the list of Apple devices that will be capable of installing iOS 11 after its release:

  • iPhone SE
  • iPhone 5S
  • iPhone 6 and all its variants
  • iPhone 7 and all its variants
  • iPad Pro
  • iPad 5th generation, iPad Air, and iPad Air2
  • iPad Mini 2, 3 and 4
  • iPod Touch 6th Gen

What’s New in iOS 11?

Control Center in iOS 11

If you have been using an iPhone for a long time, you will have noticed several changes in the way iOS lets you access information. The aesthetic changes in iOS 11 are particularly focused on the Control Center. The style of the header for apps has changed. It is much bigger and clearly tells you where you are.

In the new Operating System you will see one large panel of buttons that lets you access the more important functions. One good thing about this new change is the buttons in the Control Center can be customized. However, you have limited options on what you can put in the Control Center.

A pressurized touch expands the Control Center to give you a better view of the options. You can view all notifications you missed by swiping upwards on your lock screen. However, the notifications are not grouped and you might be required to swipe upwards on the lock screen several times to see all pending notifications.

Multitasking in iOS 11

The App Switcher has changed so you will no longer see a horizontal list of “app cards”. Instead, you will see a large grid of app squares neatly arranged on the left of the Control Panel.

The dock can accommodate 13 folder icons or apps and you also have three additional slots that display your recent apps. The dock stays permanently on the screen no matter which app is opened and you can always bring it up by swiping upwards from the bottom of the screen.

The Split view is now easier. You can bring any two apps on the screen side-by-side; first, bring the first app on the screen and then drag the second app and the iOS 11 will create and adjust the Split view mode for you.

The iOS 11 also brings a Slide Over app functionality where you can add one more app on the screen either on one of the apps in the Slide view or let the OS adjust 3 apps on the screen in equal proportions.

Files App in iOS 11

The most significant improvement in iOS 11 is file handling. The new Files App gives you easy access to almost all files in your device except the system files.

The Files App is available for any other app and it is easy to open or move files on the device. The iOS 11 also allows integration with third party files apps like DropBox, Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive and others.

Earlier, if someone had sent you a PDF file in the mail, you had to perform several steps if you wanted to save it for later. You had only two choices: keep it in a box or save it to iCloud.

Now when you want to access a file, iOS 11 will display an Open dialog which lists applications with which to open the file. You can also drag files from your email and drop them in the folder of your choice.

Improved Siri in iOS 11

Siri is more than a virtual assistant. It is an intelligence concept that Apple has been pushing for the last few years, and Siri in iOS 11 sees significantly improvements.

Apple has been successful in incorporating machine learning in Siri, and it will soon remember your choices and guess your preferences. The machine learning will make Siri more responsive to your behaviors and desires. Armed with intelligence and powered by machine learning, Siri can also respond to your less than straightforward requests like a request to play music in a particular mood, such as ‘happy’, ‘sad’ etc.

Besides machine learning, Siri’s voice algorithm has also been improved. Siri sounds better and the voice is more human than in previous iterations.

If you don’t like hearing Siri, you can also give commands to Siri by typing on the screen. Siri can also work with other apps. For example, Siri can suggest stories from News app or if you register for an event in Safari, Siri will add it to the calendar.

Power tools in iOS 11

Apple has introduced several new enhancements to the iOS to make things simpler for users. For example, taking snapshots on social media networks is common and users will often want to crop photos before uploading.

Earlier, iPhone and iPad users would have to perform several steps to open a snapshot in the Photos app to crop and add any text or graphics. In iOS 11 whenever the user takes a snapshot, the system generates a thumbnail. Clicking on the thumbnail will enable Markup that allows you to crop the photo and write on it. Markup is a system level feature that can be used with or without Pencil.

iOS 11 also brings with it a document scanning feature. The user is not required to install a separate app to scan documents. All they need to do is point their device camera towards the paper document and the device will do the remaining work.

The user is not required to determine the best angle to scan the document, nor worry about light conditions. iOS 11 not only scans the document but it also opens the document in Markup so you can crop or write on it. Below are some new changes in the way of working:

  • Safari features an anti-tracking mechanism that ensures ads do not follow you while surfing.
  • If you are using Apple Maps, you can now scroll with one finger after double tapping the screen.
  • The videos and Photos are saved in a new format that takes up less space.
  • iMessage offers more stickers and add-ons and you can also send money using iMessage
  • The Camera app has also improved with new filters
  • The Live Photo feature has also improved and it is easy to search for a key photo in the clip and apply a filter to it

Summary of iOS 11

The new enhancements introduced in iOS 11 have certainly bridged some gap between traditional computers and the iPad; not all features will be available for iPhone and other devices. The iOS 11 is a step towards building a complex mobile ecosystem which is simpler and more user-friendly.