Most smartphones are designed to last for two to three years. In some events, these may last for even five to six years if you have maintained them well. For some, it could be even less than the average, say 15 to 18 months. This depends on usage patterns, battery, software updates, and even physical damage. iPhones are known to last for four to five years if used carefully. But if you are too nice and careful with them, they can last as long as you want them to be, even more than five years. The reason behind the shorter longevity of smartphones is simple — to keep the demand and market up and alive. It ends up being hard on people’s pockets and somewhat frustrating to keep getting the parts replaced and even using them on ventilator support (such as local screen, battery, or even camera because let’s face it, the original branded ones are expensive given the cost of the product itself). Not to mention, the piling up of e-waste just like the landfill of garbage puts an extensive strain on the environment. According to a report by the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) forum, in the year 2022 alone, around 5.3 billion phones were thrown away. To put it in perspective, if stacked flat atop one another at an average depth of 9 mm, the disused phones would rise roughly 50,000 km, which is 120 times higher than the International Space Station; one-eighth of the way to the moon.
So it’s good sense to try and find ways to make them last longer, especially when you change it just for the sake of it even when the new one doesn’t have many novel features. It might be a feel-good purchase but let’s face that, that’s indeed unnecessary.
Here’s how to squeeze every ounce of life from your smartphone.
Prioritise battery health
To maintain the battery’s health, there are two ways to keep it in optimal condition — avoid extreme temperatures and practice good charging habits. Tech experts say that extreme temperatures can damage the battery. In tropical countries like India where summer temperature can go up to 45-50 degree on average, you might have noticed your phone getting overheated. Smartphones from Apple, Samsung, and Google are recommended to be kept at an ideal temperature of 16°C and 23°C and the battery can get damaged if the temperature is less than 16°C or more than 35°C. While short-term exposure to colder temperatures doesn’t do as much damage, exposure to hotter temperatures can permanently shorten battery life.
It is also suggested to not charge your phone to 100% regularly, which most of us do thinking we might not have to charge frequently and it will last long. However, experts say that keeping your phone between 20-80% can extend its battery life. For that, you should turn on that battery charging optimisation button in your phone and put it on an 80% limit. This feature is found in most Samsung Android phones and iPhones. There is also an option called adaptive charging which can do the job. Display of smartphones should also be used ‘smartly’ and using a mix of dark mode, or adaptive brightness help. Other ways are to reduce the screen timeout to ideally under 60 seconds, avoid the over-use of GPS-reliant apps such as maps, and turn it on in low-power mode among others.
Smart storage
If you are a person who likes to have multiple apps and stuff your phone with videos, photos, games, and music, you should know that it can affect your phone’s overall speed and performance. Experts say having little storage space can lead to it working harder and overloading the CPU and RAM. So, in that case, try to stream music or videos in external storage and on apps instead of local storage, and keep cleaning your phone’s storage regularly by removing things you don’t need.
Software updates
The software updates come up with bug fixes and newer features and OS versions but they don’t do just that. They come with security updates and enable the old device with a newer version of the OS to be able to install more efficient and secure versions of the apps. While Apple’s updates come every four to six weeks for iPhones, Google sends monthly security updates for its Android phones. So, be sincere and quick with those updates rather than just letting them hang in your notification panel as an impending task.
Hygiene is important
While it’s well-established that phones carry 10 times more germs than most toilet seats, hygiene is important for them for not just this reason alone. While cleaning don’t just keep the screen clear, it is also important for keeping the charging port and speaker points clear of of any build-up. These buildups of lint and dust can cause charging issues or hamper the sound of the phone. All you need to do is use a microfibre cloth, some dish soap, a wooden toothpick, and a 70% alcohol wipe to clean it regularly.
Protect like a baby
While most phones now are water-resistant and scratch-resistant, those are still not foolproof. If water manages to pass through the holes and sides, it can still damage the phone. So it’s good sense to have protective film on the screen and cover for your phones. Putting the phone on the surface in a manner that the camera is not directly in touch with the surface also helps the camera to not have scratches and get blurry.fe feature