Whether you prefer a quick fix or a long-term solution, extending your laptop’s battery life should be among your priorities if you’re a heavy laptop user. Replacing an old battery with a new one or purchasing a new laptop shouldn’t be your only options, especially if you operate a business with limited resources. Here are some more economical ways to extend your laptop’s battery life.

Manage your laptop’s power settings

Computer manufacturers are aware that battery life is an important consideration for most users, which is why many Windows and Apple computers have settings that help reduce battery consumption. Windows laptops have a Power Plan setting that lets you choose either a standard setting or a customized power plan; Energy Saver under MacOS’ ‘System Preferences’ offers a setting that allows you to adjust display and sleep controls.

Adjust display and system settings

You can also make adjustments to your laptop’s display and system settings to reduce brightness, turn off screensaver, disable Bluetooth and Wi-Fi (when they’re not used), and trigger the system to hibernate instead of sleep. A “sleeping” laptop consumes a little energy, but a “hibernating” laptop consumes absolutely none.

Use a battery monitor and other maintenance tools

If you think your laptop battery drains unusually fast, access your system’s battery maintenance tool to check its status. If your laptop doesn’t have one, you can download an application that creates a battery health report. That report will include charge cycle count, which determines the number of charge cycles your laptop has; and battery life estimate, which states how much longer the battery will provide power based on its current settings.

Keep your laptop operating efficiently

One way to accomplish this is by managing your web browser usage. Having many tabs opened on your browser drains your battery’s power and reduces your productivity. If you really must have a handful of tabs opened, consider switching to power-saving browsers such as Windows Edge or Opera. When multitasking, close unused apps and programs — especially those that download files or play media, as they consume the most power. This not only helps reduce battery consumption, but also helps the user stay focused on the task at hand.

Handle your laptop with care

Laptops are delicate and require safe handling and a cool temperature. With the exception of a few models (e.g., Apple’s MacBook Air), many devices are designed with a cooling system that keeps its CPU, graphics processor, and other components from overheating; and not to mention, its battery from depleting fast.

For that reason, handling your laptop with great care ensures longer battery life and better overall performance. When using your laptop on-the-go, make sure you don’t block its vents from circulating air, which means you should never put it on a surface such as a bed or similar soft surface that could prevent its cooling fans from working. And while it may seem harmless — and appropriate — putting your laptop on your lap is actually unsafe.

For businesses with remote workers and/or bring your own device (BYOD) policies, a laptop that lasts all day allows employees to be more productive and saves your company from having to spend on new laptops or replace batteries as a result of neglect. For cost-effective strategies on business technology, call us today.

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Apple’s iOS 9 has been available for download for nearly two months now. If you have yet to upgrade, you may wonder whether or not you should. Not everyone has been happy with the new OS, and Apple is still working out the kinks. So if you’re on the fence as to whether or not you should update, here’s what you need to know about iOS 9 and four of its most handy features.

Introducing the News App

If you waste countless minutes everyday visiting different websites searching for your news, now you no longer have to. Pre-installed in iOS 9 is a new app called News. This app collects articles from a variety of news organizations and sources, and puts them in one place for your viewing convenience. Once you start using this app it will learn what type of stories you are interested in, and then gather articles to suit your unique tastes.

Improved Notes

The Notes app has gotten a major overhaul in iOS 9 and has some nifty new features. First off, you can now add checklists and bullets to your notes. So if you’re about do some shopping at the supermarket, forget about the traditional paper written grocery list. Instead, you can create your list in the Notes app and check off each item as you put it in your cart. Additionally, you can now insert maps or photos into a note, and even sketch a drawing with the tip of your finger.

Better battery

While a long battery life is not something smartphones are known for, the iPhone is making steps to improve it with iOS 9. The core technologies and built-in apps of the new OS now consume less power, which means you may be able to squeeze out an extra hour of battery life after updating.

Furthermore, iOS 9 now comes with Low Power Mode, which helps to conserve battery life. So if you’re nowhere near an outlet, and are praying you have enough power to last for the next few hours, Lower Power Mode is your savior. To turn it on, go to Settings and Battery.

And if these new battery improvements for iOS 9 aren’t already outstanding enough, now you can also find out which apps are sucking the most juice out of your battery. In Settings > Battery, click on Battery Percentage to see a list of apps you’ve used in the past 48 hours and the percentage of your battery life they have consumed. This will help you quickly identify the apps that are draining your power, so you can close them to prevent further battery loss.

Switching between apps is easier than ever

From time to time, every iPhone user needs to toggle between apps. Whether you’re switching between Mail and Safari, or Notes and iBooks, doing this can feel like an unnecessary annoyance as you are forced to return to your Home screen before switching. With iOS 9, not anymore. In a progression from the app switchers seen in previous iterations of iOS, now if you’re in Safari and want to return to your email, a little black button in the top left hand corner gives you the option. In this case, it will read Back to Mail. Just tap on it and you can return to your mail without first having to return to the home screen. This feature works for any two apps you’re toggling between.

So should you update to iOS 9?

Upgrading to iOS 9 is a big deal, as it is for any OS update to your iPhone. The reason? Once you do it, it’s nearly impossible to go back. While the four features mentioned above may sound appealing, here are some things to consider when deciding whether or not to update to iOS 9.

Owners of older versions of the iPhone, such as 4S, 5, and 5S, may be wary about reports that updating to iOS 9 has caused noticeable slowdown on these versions. For example, it can cause delays in launching and switching between apps, slow down camera performance, and lead to your phone taking longer to turn on.

However, it should be noted that if you choose to put off updating, you may leave your phone at risk to security vulnerabilities. What’s more, you may not be able to update to the latest version of apps as they will, at one point or another, no longer work with an older OS.

Whether you choose to update to iOS 9 or stick with your current version, our experts are happy to fill you in as to which is the best decision for you. Contact us today to learn more about iOS 9 or get support for any of your iPhone needs.

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