Is your smartphone dying faster than expected? Many hidden settings on Android and iOS can cause smartphone battery drain without you realizing. Both Android battery tips and iPhone battery saving settings often point to overlooked features that sip power all day. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll cover 10 lesser-known settings (for devices like the Samsung Galaxy S24, iPhone 15 Pro, and more) that could be stealthily draining your battery. We’ll explain why each setting hurts battery life, share expert insights and real data on the impact, and show practical steps to disable or adjust these settings to increase your phone’s battery life. Let’s dive in!
1. Always-On Display (AOD)
One of the biggest hidden battery hogs is the Always-On Display, which keeps part of your screen lit to show time or notifications even when the phone is idle. Manufacturers claim AOD only uses a small percentage of battery (around 1% per hour) but tests show the impact is often higher . For example, enabling the always-on screen on an iPhone 14 Pro drained about 0.8% battery per hour(with wallpaper on), versus ~0.6% per hour with a minimal display. Over 24 hours, that added up to roughly 16% less charge on both an iPhone 14 Pro and a Galaxy S22 Ultra just from AOD . In controlled tests, DXOMARK found that idle phones with AOD turned on lost battery 4× faster than those with it off.
Why it drains battery: AOD forces your display and processor to remain active in low-power mode continuously. Even at 1% per hour, that’s ~8–24% drain in a day just to keep the clock on-screen. The constant lighting of pixels (especially on OLED screens) and refreshing of information use power that would otherwise be saved when the screen is fully off.
On Samsung Galaxy (S22/S23/S24): Navigate to Settings > Lock Screen > Always On Display and switch it off (or set it to “Tap to show” instead of “Always” so it only lights when you tap the screen).
On Google Pixel and others: Look under Settings > Display > Lock screen (or Ambient Display settings) for the Always-On option and disable it.
Disabling AOD means you’ll have to wake the phone to check the time, but you’ll likely notice an immediate boost in standby battery life. As ZDNet notes, it’s nice to glance at your phone on the table, but “it’s probably not worth sacrificing battery life”.
2. High Screen Refresh Rate (120Hz Mode)
Modern smartphones often ship with high refresh rate displays (90Hz, 120Hz, or even higher) for smoother scrolling and animations. Devices like the Galaxy S24 Ultra and iPhone 15 Pro use 120Hz screens that make visuals buttery smooth – but this smoothness comes at a cost to battery life. Running the screen at 120Hz can consume significantly more power than the standard 60Hz. In fact, tests on Samsung’s Galaxy S20 series showed that using 120Hz mode could cut battery life by 20– Thirty% or more in endurance. Even with newer adaptive refresh technologies, keeping the refresh rate high all the time will drain your battery faster.
Why it drains battery: A higher refresh rate means the display updates more times per second. This makes the GPU and processor work harder and the screen draw more power each moment. If you’re just reading static text or idle, those extra refreshes are wasted energy. While many phones dynamically adjust refresh rate to save battery (e.g. dropping to 60Hz when static), forcing or allowing 120Hz constantly (such as in games or poorly optimized apps) will use extra juice. High refresh is especially taxing when coupled with bright screens or high resolution.
How to reduce it:
On Android (Samsung, Pixel, etc.): Go to Settings > Display > Motion Smoothness (Samsung) or Display > Smooth Display (Pixel). Select the standard 60Hz option (often labelled “Standard” or “Low” refresh) instead of “High” or “Adaptive” for maximum savings. Samsung’s “Adaptive” mode will switch between 120Hz and lower rates automatically; choosing “Standard 60Hz” locks it to a lower rate for constant savings.
On iPhone 13 Pro/14 Pro/15 Pro: Apple doesn’t provide a simple toggle for ProMotion (120Hz) in Settings, but enabling Low Power Mode will cap the iPhone’s refresh to 60Hz to save battery. There’s also an Accessibility option: Settings > Accessibility > Motion > Limit Frame Rate, which sets the maximum refresh to 60Hz. Turning that on can preserve battery life if you don’t need the smoothest motion.
Keep in mind that lowering to 60Hz might make scrolling feel slightly less smooth, but it can extend your battery life noticeably during heavy use. You can always re-enable high refresh when you want that ultra-fluid display (for example, when gaming or scrolling social media), then turn it back down when focusing on battery longevity. It’s a trade-off between experience and endurance.
Paul Balo is the founder of TechBooky and a highly skilled wireless communications professional with a strong background in cloud computing, offering extensive experience in designing, implementing, and managing wireless communication systems.
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