You freak out when battery life hits 38%, but here’s how to extend it and calm the heck down

• April 18, 2025

The moment when you think it’s time to start charging your smartphone is probably as personal as your hairstyle. I doubt anyone fully agrees on when to plug back in, except when you’re completely out of juice. While some might be fine with 50% in the middle of the day, others might panic, just a little, when they hit 38%. At least that’s what a new study from Talker Research says.

In a survey of 2000 people in the US, researchers found that 38% is when the concern creeps in, and the majority of smartphone owners start searching for a charging option.

A third of the respondents wait until, for instance, their iPhone warns them the battery is running low (20% or less), and 13% are willing to wait until the power drops below 10%.

I’ve seen people take far riskier approaches, with as little as 1% left on their phone, and, somehow, they seem unconcerned. Perhaps they always have an extra battery backup in their back pocket.

The research, though, indicates there may be some generational differences in our battery approach. Gen Zers reach for a charging cable far sooner than their Millennial, Gen X, and Boomer counterparts, plugging in as soon as 44%.

In my own anecdotal survey on X, I found the majority start worrying about battery life when it reaches 20%. That’s even more than those who seem concerned at 10%.

This makes sense to me. 20% has long been my trigger, which means I plug and rarely see 10% or less. There is, by the way, a small contingent who charge up when the battery life hits 60%. They are, I bet, part of the “ABC” (Always Be Charging) crowd.

I got a few comments on X telling me there was no need to “panic” and that they found that some phones, like the Samsung Galaxy series, had good enough battery life that they rarely worry.

What you can do

The thing is, you have far more control over the life and longevity of your smartphone battery than you might think.

First of all, Android and iOS, along with hardware-based AI and machine learning, do their fair share to manage battery life, especially the longevity of the battery. That’s why your battery doesn’t always charge to 100%. The system has to manage the battery’s health so that the 100% battery life you experience when you first buy the phone is not radically different from the 100% battery life you get six months later.

Under Settings/Battery, you can see the health of your battery and the percentage it can actually charge to (95% capacity, 80% capacity, etc.)

For day-to-day battery life, there are a handful of well-worn tips for both iOS and Android that can significantly extend your charge while having minimal impact on the phone’s operation.

So, instead of panicking about 38% battery life, you can take charge, and maybe show friends who let the battery life drop to 10% what to do so they can make it through the rest of the night without being tethered to a wall outlet.

iPhone battery tips

• Dim your brightness (under Control Center)
• Turn on Auto Brightness (Under Settings/Accessibility)
• In WiFi settings, turn off cell service
• Enable Low Power Mode (Under Settings/Battery)
• Turn off background activity (Settings/General/Background App Refresh)
• Adjust mail fetch intervals (Settings/Accounts and Passwords/Fetch new data)
• Turn off location services on an app-by-app basis (Settings/Privacy/Location Services)
• Tamp down notifications (Settings/Notifications)

Android battery tips

• Reduce screen brightness (swiped down from the top to access control)
• Adjust your screen timeout setting (usually under Settings/Display)
• Use Dark Mode (usually under Settings/Display)
• Turn off keyboard vibrations and sounds (Settings/sounds and vibration)
• Turn on Power Saving (Settings/Battery)
• Turn on Put unused apps to sleep (Settings/Battery/Background Usage Limits)
• Turn off cell service in WiFi situations (Settings/Connections)

There are more ways to manage battery life and, especially in Android phones, battery-saving features specific to each manufacturer. I suggest you dig into your settings to see what you can adjust.

If all else fails, it’s always a good idea to travel with a cable and charge adapter, and also a portable charger.

ABC folks, A…B…C.

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The moment when you think it’s time to start charging your smartphone is probably as personal as your hairstyle. I doubt anyone fully agrees on when to plug back in, except when you’re completely out of juice. While some might be fine with 50% in the middle of the day,…