iPhone Battery Problems

One year has passed since I got my iPhone and I have gone from charging it once in two days to twice everyday. Now, when I see people talk endlessly about how iPhone can't do background processing, I only think of it as a blessing in disguise. I often think how many times would I be charging my iPhone everyday had there been the ability for apps to stay in the background ? iPhone is a gem that stands out of the crowded smartphone market. But I think it's battery is something that doesn't live up to what is expected. It's an inconvenient truth. But it is the truth.

Before going any further, let me tell you that I'm what people call 'a heavy user'. I use my iPhone very less for calling and much more for the other things. I have at least four email accounts configured to fetch new mail every hour. And I have at least five apps that send push notifications regularly. Although I don't use WiFi or Bluetooth, I never turn off 3G, location services and push notifications. And I use iPhone 3G. So, your results might vary.

There are many tips and tricks to save battery life. People suggest you to turn off 3G, location services, push and regular fetch mail etc. So, you pretty much have to turn off all those so called smartphone features to get a better battery life. Then why not get a dumb regular phone instead of an iPhone ? I bought an iPhone to use it to the full. I don't want to turn off everything and use my iPhone like a regular dumb phone. If it is sold as a smartphone, I think it should come with a smart battery too.

iPhone battery drops 20% of charging capacity after 300 to 400 charging cycles. That means if you are charging it once everyday, your battery can only hold 80% of the charge after an year. It is a fact that Apple specifies in the manuals that most people never read. So, if you have an iPhone for more than an year, you either have to replace the battery by paying Apple (you can't buy an extra battery and replace it yourself as the iPhone battery is sealed) or prepare to buy a new iPhone as battery charge get worse. Either way, it is Apple that earns more of your money.