An Ultimate Guide to Identifying Battery-Draining Apps on Your Smartphone

In today’s digital age, smartphone battery life is a major concern for users. Despite having a top-of-the-line phone, certain apps can drain your battery faster than you might expect. These applications may lead to problems with software optimization, increased data usage, and heightened phone activity stemming from push notifications, location services, and background processes.

If you’re wondering which apps are eating up your phone’s battery, this blog will guide you on how to identify them on both Android and iOS devices and provide steps to enhance your battery life.

How to Check Battery Usage on iPhones and iPads?

To identify which apps are draining your battery on an iPhone or iPad:

As you scroll down there is a list of apps along with the percentage of battery consumed by it. Last 24 Hours is the default view but you may switch to a more general view by tapping Last 10 Days.

1. Open Settings and then navigate to Battery.
2. Here, you’ll see find your battery status percentage and you get the Low Power Mode toggle button. This mode limits all the background app operations when the battery is low; it is, however, turned on once the battery percentage reduces to 20%.
3. Below the battery percentage, you will see how many percent of a charging cycle has been drawn from your battery since it was last charged.
4. As you scroll down there is a list of apps along with the percentage of battery consumed up by it. Last 24 Hours is the default view but you may switch to a more general view by tapping Last 10 Days.

Many users have a misconception that it is applications that are still open and running in the background that are the biggest consumer of battery power. Nevertheless, most of the times, such apps are not running in the background but are only sleeping or perform such operations as the data synchronization. Reloading an app requires more energy than continuing from where you left off, which is why your phone’s battery seems to die faster sometimes.

How to Check Battery Usage on Android Devices?

For Android phones, follow these steps to find which apps are consuming your battery:

1. Open Settings, then go to Battery > Battery usage.
2. This page displays the battery consumption since the most recent complete charge, along with a list of applications and their respective battery usage percentages.
3. The duration of each app’s active use and the amount of time it spends operating in the background are also displayed below each app. If these two times are in close proximity, it may not be sufficient to reduce app usage alone; settings must be adjusted.
4. Tap on any app for more options:

• Restricted: Prevents background activity for the app.
• Optimized: Lets Android decide the background activity based on battery levels and app usage.
• Unrestricted: Allows full background activity.

You’ll also see a graphical representation of your battery usage, which shows when your phone was using the most power throughout the day. Unusual spikes in usage may signal apps consuming battery abnormally, especially after updates.

How to Check Battery Usage on macOS?

For MacBook users, monitoring battery usage by app is simple:

1. Click on the battery icon in the menu bar to view which apps are consuming significant energy.
2. You can also open Activity Monitor from Applications > Utilities and switch to the Energy tab. This will list apps and processes, ordered by their energy impact.
3. To check battery drain over time, go to Apple Menu > System Settings > Battery, where you can view usage over the last 24 hours or the last 10 days.
4. You can activate Low Power Mode in the same Battery settings screen. This helps extend battery life by reducing background activities.

For battery-draining apps, uninstalling or updating to the latest version of the app might help improve performance.

How to Check Battery Usage on Windows?

Windows devices offer several options to track battery-draining apps:

1. Open Settings > System > Power & battery.
2. Under Battery usage, you can see a breakdown of app usage for the past 24 hours or 7 days.
3. You can sort the list by overall usage, background usage, and in-use usage. If an app consumes a lot of battery while running in the background, it’s best to reduce its background activity.
4. Click on Battery saver to manually enable it or set it to activate automatically when your battery is low.
5. Power mode allows you to adjust performance settings to optimize battery life, slowing down performance when you don’t need full power.

For particularly troublesome apps, you can uninstall them by going to Apps > Installed apps, finding the app, and clicking Uninstall.

What to Do if an App is Draining Your Battery?

Once you’ve identified the apps draining your battery, you can take several steps to minimize their impact:

• Force Stop Unnecessary Apps

Some apps continuously run in the background, consuming valuable battery life. If you notice a specific app using excessive power, try force-stopping it:

1. Go to Settings and select Apps.
2. Find the app in question and tap on it.
3. Select Force stop.

If force-stopping doesn’t help and the app continues to drain your battery, it may be time to uninstall it or look for an alternative.

• Activate Power-Saving Mode

Another effective solution is to activate your phone’s power-saving mode. This feature reduces background activity, disables non-essential functions like GPS, and dims your screen to save battery. Power-saving mode can be a lifesaver when you’re running low on battery and need to make it through the day.

To activate power-saving mode:

For Android: Go to Settings > Battery and toggle on Power saving.

For iPhone: Go to Settings > Battery and enable Low Power Mode.

• Optimize Battery Usage

Most modern smartphones come with built-in battery optimization tools. For example, OnePlus devices allow you to optimize battery usage from the Battery usage details page. This feature can help close apps that are unnecessarily consuming your phone’s power.

Once you’ve pinpointed the battery-draining apps, taking action is essential. Whether you decide to force-stop apps, enable power-saving modes, or optimize settings, these small changes can add up to a longer-lasting battery.

Moreover, if the health of your phone’s battery is declining as time goes on, it could be a good idea to think about getting a replacement or opting for a device that is more efficient with battery usage. By consistently tracking your battery consumption and implementing thoughtful changes, you can ensure your phone operates smoothly, even during intense app usage.