Smartphones have become an integral part of many people’s lives. They’re where we take pictures, chat with friends, check-in on social media and get our news. However, just like anything else that becomes integral to our daily routines, it can be easy to let some bad habits slip into how we use them. To ensure you’re getting your money’s worth from your smartphone and keeping it free from damage or wear and tear, follow these tips for a better smartphone experience.
How can You Have a Better Smartphone Experience?
1. Use A Screen Protector
A screen protector is one of those things you can’t appreciate until it’s too late. If you’re not careful, your screen can become scratched, cracked or broken and repairing them isn’t cheap. If you don’t want to deal with replacing screens or spending money on repairs down the road, try investing in a protective film that fits over your phone and protects against everyday scratches and dings.
Screen protectors can come in several different forms and offer varying levels of protection. Some are just thin films that you place over your phone, while others can be thick plastic sheets that protect against falls or even dings from keys and coins. While screen protectors don’t look as nice as an undamaged screen, they can save you hundreds if not thousands of dollars down the road if used correctly. If you plan on protecting your entire phone with one piece of glass, opt for a thicker protector to ensure it covers all areas.
2. Turn Off Bloatware
Before you even power on your smartphone, your phone’s manufacturer has loaded it up with several third-party apps and services. These bloatware apps often don’t have any purpose other than to advertise their services or products. To enjoy a better smartphone experience, be sure to turn off all of these bloatware apps before you begin using your phone. You can do so by visiting Settings and looking for an option labelled App Management or Apps. To uninstall third-party applications that were preinstalled on your phone, look for options labelled Uninstall.
3. Keep Your Apps Updated
Nothing is worse than forgetting to update your apps. Not only do you run an increased risk of malware and virus, but you’re also slowing down your phone. Whether it’s Google Play or Apple’s App Store, make sure all of your apps are up-to-date and you won’t regret it. If anything, consider creating a calendar reminder for yourself. You could end up saving time in unexpected ways.
Apps updates can eat up your data plan and take away valuable time. Make sure you check for updates before you leave for work, or even better, download them when you’re on Wi-Fi. If you must update over cellular data, make sure to keep track of how much bandwidth is used so that you don’t exceed your limits and end up paying big bucks in overage fees.
4. Block Notifications You Don’t Need
While it may be tempting to never miss an updater, it’s also important to maintain your focus and general well-being. So if some specific apps or notifications are distracting you, do yourself a favour and block them. You can always re-add them later but in many cases, you won’t even notice they’re gone. It might sound counterintuitive, but sometimes less is more.
If you’re tired of feeling overwhelmed by notifications from apps, social media accounts, and other sources, consider taking some time to go through your list of notification settings. It might be easy to ignore things when they’re happening in real-time but reviewing your notifications could give you an entirely new perspective on how much information is coming at you daily.
5. Don’t Overcharge Your Battery
Overcharging your smartphone’s battery can lead to reduced performance, battery life, and even the risk of fire. To keep your phone in tip-top shape, don’t overcharge it. Plug your phone in when you go to bed or right before leaving for work and remove it from its charger once it’s 100 per cent.
This may seem like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised at how many people overcharge their batteries without realizing it. If you don’t keep an eye on your battery, it could be charging for hours while you sleep or work, depleting its life and reducing your phone’s ability to hold a charge.
6. Clean Up Apps That Could Cause Glitches
The more apps you have on your smartphone, the higher chance of glitches and malfunctions you may experience. This can be very frustrating for those who use their phones for work or other important things. If you’re experiencing frequent crashes or slowdowns, it’s time to prune your app collection. The best way to make sure that these experiences don’t come back is to remove them from your phone and enjoy a better experience with your smartphone once again.
The number of apps on your phone and how much space they take up is something that most people don’t think about. The more space an app takes up, and therefore, the more you need to store it on your device. This can slow down your phone because it has to work harder to access these data points.
7. Uninstall Unused Apps
There’s no point keeping apps on your phone that you rarely, if ever, use. Not only will doing so take up space and potentially slow down your device but there are many cases where unused apps can cause performance issues and battery drain. Do yourself a favour and clear off your phone by uninstalling those unused apps. It’ll make your smartphone experience better in more ways than one.
How do you know which apps to uninstall? It’s pretty easy to tell. First, go into your app settings and check how much space each of your apps is taking up. If there’s an app that isn’t used often or can be replaced by another with minimal effort, get rid of it. Second, consider how many times you open each app per day.
If multiple unused apps aren’t even opened once per week, uninstall them as well. Be sure to double-check for updates before uninstalling anything; if an update has recently been released for an app, chances are it will use less storage space than before since developers tend to optimize updates. Remember, just because these apps are disabled doesn’t mean they don’t take up storage space on your device.
8. Keep Your Apps Ordered By Group
Using your apps makes up a lot of time on your smartphone. Keeping them organized will help you find them easier and have an overall better experience with your phone. Make sure you get rid of clutter: It’s important to keep only what’s useful to you, that way nothing is cluttering your app drawer, making it harder to find things. If it’s not useful, delete it.
Grouping your apps by category and making folders can help you use them more easily. Create folders for Social Media, Entertainment, News and other categories of apps you tend to use often. This will make it easy to find them quickly when you need them.
9. Charge The Battery Before It Gets Flat
One of the most common complaints about smartphones is that their batteries are terrible. The best thing you can do to avoid an embarrassing no battery left situation is to charge your phone before it gets flat. It doesn’t need to be plugged in for weeks, but it does need to get recharged from time to time if you want it to last a full day.
We know that you can’t always charge your phone before it runs out of battery, but you should try to do so more often than not. Look at your smartphone right now. How much of its battery is left? If it’s around 30%, start thinking about ways you can give it some juice in an hour or two. That way, when you get stuck with a flat battery when least expected, you won’t be panicking because you didn’t plugin earlier.
10. Install Security Updates
Keeping your software up-to-date is one of the most important steps you can take to protect yourself. Make sure to keep all of your devices’ operating systems up-to-date with their latest security patches and bug fixes. If your phone or tablet offers automatic updates, enable them; otherwise, make sure you check for updates regularly. Don’t wait until it looks like there are big problems—keep everything up-to-date as soon as new versions are available.
To keep your phone as safe as possible, make sure you have all updates installed. To do so, go to Settings>General>Software Update. Also, be sure to install apps from legitimate sources only.
In conclusion, optimizing your smartphone experience is not just about enhancing performance; it’s about fostering a healthier and more mindful relationship with our digital companions. By incorporating these ten tips, you’re not only ensuring the longevity and efficiency of your device but also promoting a balanced and conscious approach to technology use. Remember, a better smartphone experience is not solely measured in gigabytes or processing speed; it’s about finding harmony between the virtual and the real, allowing your device to serve as a valuable tool without overshadowing the richness of the offline world. Embrace these tips, and may your smartphone journey be seamless, efficient, and enriching.