ios 7 - Macmint

iOS 7. Many iPhone users love it, and a few can’t stand it. The initial hype has now passed and the overwhelming, system clogging downloads of the new iOS are largely done. iOS 7 comes with many changes. A new interface, apps designed especially for it, and even handy features like a flashlight. However, many of us are discovering something else that iOS 7 came equipped with – a distinct ability to suck the life out of our iPhone batteries.

If you’ve noticed your battery power dropping at an alarming rate, there are a few tweaks you can make within your iPhone settings that will help you improve the life of your battery. Quick and simple to set up, they will make a marked improvement in your ability to text, tweet, upload photos and play Angry Birds to your heart’s content, without carrying your phone charger everywhere you go.

1. Turn off AirDrop

Unless you really need it, which many iPhone users don’t, shutting down AirDrop is a great way to conserve power. Stop your iPhone from constantly searching for others nearby and you’ll notice your battery life improve.

2. Turn off Wi-Fi searching

Do you really need to constantly be searching for wireless networks everywhere you go? This may be useful on vacation, when you want to check your Facebook and email without paying the exorbitant cost associated with data roaming. Otherwise, all it is is a drain on your power.

3. Disable apps from refreshing in the background

Like AirDrop and Wi-Fi searching, this is another sneaky feature that runs on your iPhone and uses up the battery. Tweaking your notification settings for your specific needs will help you stay on top of the latest information through your apps of choice without wasting battery life. There are few instances where having your apps constantly refreshing in the background will actually be essential.

4. Turn off unneeded notification settings

As mentioned in number 3, they can be set up the way you prefer. Once you’ve shut off your iPhone’s background app refresh, take a look at your notifications centre and shut off anything that you don’t really use. Like the default Stocks app.

5. Turn off Siri’s “raise to speak” feature

Fans of the virtual assistant should note that this doesn’t mean shutting Siri off completely. Rather, you’re just disabling the feature that activates Siri each time you raise your phone to your face. If you need Siri, she’s there for you. Not prompting her every time you raise your phone to your mouth can help your battery last quite a bit longer.

6. Swap to Airplane Mode

If you know you’re in a location with terrible reception or where you won’t otherwise be able to take calls, this is an ideal way to save battery power. You can even turn Wi-Fi on while you’re in Airplane Mode, which means you can preserve the life of your battery without missing important emails or tweets.

7. Turn down the brightness setting

By dimming your screen even slightly, you can use less power and enjoy extended battery life throughout the day. There are few situations that genuinely require brightness to be up full blast. If you’re not in one of them, dim the lights a little and your battery won’t run out so fast.

Running out of battery power throughout the day or being a slave to your charger is annoying, but by spending a few minutes configuring the settings in your iPhone, your battery life is sure to improve significantly. It is possible to enjoy all the amazing features of iOS 7 without draining your battery. It just takes a little initial effort.

The latest Apple operating system is due to be released shortly, and like everything Mac, iOS 7 is generating a lot of buzz. Compared to previous updates, there are some substantial additions and changes. Apple has promised it’s their most advanced mobile operating system yet, that will make usage “easier, faster and more enjoyable.” The top 5 updates we’re excited about are:

Apple - Updated built-in apps — Apple – Updated Built-in Apps

1. Upgraded pre-loaded apps:

While the Apple store offers lots of alternatives to the standard apps, the iPhone’s default apps will get a makeover with iOS 7.

The weather app is now reportedly similar to Yahoo! Weather and has beautiful graphics that capitalize on the crisp retina display.

The calendar has a cleaner interface and allows users to swipe and zoom through their schedule.

Safari comes with new 3D tabs, enhanced bookmarking capabilities and Twitter integration. And perhaps best of all, the Mail app now includes better photo sharing capabilities, so you’ll no longer be limited to emailing four pictures at a time through the photos app.

Apple - Updated Siri App — Apple – Updated Siri App

2. Significant upgrades to Siri:

The integrated virtual assistant now comes with the ability to choose between male and female voices and interact in other languages, such as French and German. It also has enhanced voice control features so you can speak up to change the brightness of your display or enable and disable Wi-Fi. You can even ask to have Twitter and Wikipedia entries read to you!

Apple - Updated security — Apple – Updated Security

3. Better Security:

Smartphones are a common target for thieves, with iPhones being among the favorites to steal. To protect against theft, Apple has included a new security feature, called Activation Lock, with iOS 7. In the unfortunate event your iPhone is stolen, unless the thief can enter your iCloud user name and password he won’t be able to reactivate your phone. That’ll give you time to back up your data to iCloud, attempt to locate your phone through the GPS-enabled Find My Phone app and rest assured that at least a giant bill isn’t being accumulated with your service provider.

Apple - New iTunes Radio — Apple – New iTunes Radio

4. iTunes Radio:

Previously known as iRadio, the streaming music service is similar to Pandora and lets listeners access inbuilt stations. The service has smart features such as the ability to learn which songs you like and which you don’t. And because it works in conjunction with iTunes, if you hear a song you like you can purchase it.

Apple - Home Screen Transparency — Apple – Home Screen Transparency

5. Home screen Transparency:

iOS 7 has been designed to track motion, making it possible to view what’s behind your app icons. What does this mean for you? When you’re viewing your apps, your wallpaper will still be visible. While not a significant chance with regard to functionality, it is the newest feature of the iPhone and makes for a cleaner, simplistic look.

While other operating system updates have come and gone without generating significant buzz, iOS 7 will have more impact on users. In addition to our top five favorites, it boasts a host of other features, too, with yet more rumored to surface by the release date. Overall, this significant update will make for a cleaner look and even more user-friendly experiences certain to please Apple fans.

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How to increase iOS 7 battery life