Smartphones have become almost indispensable in our modern way of life. And there is a good chance you have one if you are reading this article. Unfortunately, these poor beasts live only 18 months on average, while they could easily reach the ripe old age of five if we took more care of them. But how can you keep your smartphone longer, I hear you ask? Start with this:
1. The protection: Use a shell and screen protector
Our poor smartphones often lead dangerous lives. They are banged, dropped or exposed to harsh external conditions. The world is a hostile place to these fragile animals. When you get your phone, consider wrapping it in a shell and putting a protective film or glass over the screen. It will save you from losing it in its first accident. Furthermore, this simple practice will greatly increase its value when you come to resell it.
2. The heart: take care of the battery to make your smartphone last longer
If a smartphone survives being dropped, then it is usually bad charging management that affects it after a few months. If you want to keep yours longer, unplug it when it reaches 100% (or slightly before) and wait 10-15% before reconnecting it. The time between charges also affects the battery life. Remember to turn off mobile data, put it in airplane mode or turn it off when you’re not using it, and adjust the brightness of the display according to the lighting.
3. The temperature: protect your smartphone from heat, cold and humidity
Like any electronic device, smartphones hate extreme temperatures. Avoid leaving it in the sun to prevent wear of components and swelling of the battery. Same goes for the cold. Also beware of wet places if you want to avoid inconvenient short circuits.
4. The breath: properly manage running applications
It may be obvious, but remember to close applications that you do not use and keep open those you use regularly in a short period of time, since opening a program can consume a lot of energy. These two simple practices will prevent your phone from running out of steam by hurtling along unnecessarily at full speed.
5. The memory: sort it out
To not find yourself in the annoying situation where your smartphone takes three years to open Google Maps, or overheats as soon as you want to send the tiniest GIF. Regularly sort your phone’s applications, data and cache memory. In short, everything you no longer use. And then when freeing up space across the board is no longer enough, save your data and reset the phone. It may sound radical, but it works.
By following these tips, it is possible to make your smartphone last five years.
And for your new phone, why not buy a refurbished model? You reduce your ecological footprint by 80% and you will find the models are of the same quality but up to 50% cheaper.
