Enhance System Performance: Part 2

Boost your battery life

BetterBatteryStats is an app, available from Google Play, that is designed to help you understand exactly what is using your battery life. It includes multiple customisation options and a myriad of statistics and results that will lead you to varied and accurate conclusions. You will need to install the app and leave it running for some time for it to build up the necessary data, but once you have done this you can use the ‘Since’ options on the front screen to show how the battery is being used. You can also read the exact drain for a number of states such as CPU and Alarms using the top option. From these, you will be able to use the knowledge base to fi x any battery drainage problems you have.

Since when? You can view the battery drain since the screen has been turned off, since charged and for many other states.

Use the numbers. You can choose to hide the graphs and concentrate purely on the numbers for clarity.

Exact information. Ratios and times down to the second are measured and presented to you for accurate adjustments to be made.

Complete customisation. The views are fully customisable and are able to be set to your exacting Android preferences.

Make sense of the battery screen

1. Tap the graph at the top and you will be shown a more detailed screen with all the extra information included.

2. Behind each section below the graph is a lot more information such as exact timings and the specific services using the battery power.

3. The stats update automatically, but you can manually refresh them using the arrows icon at the top of the screen.

Wait to update

It is all too easy to hurriedly download the latest update for the Android OS as soon as it is available for your device, but sometimes it will make sense to wait. Check online to see what the feedback is from those who have already updated their devices to make sure it doesn’t have bugs that could affect your device’s performance. On the whole, these updates should improve performance, but they can use more memory as more features are packed in.

Change the launcher

Manufacturers often like to add their own software and launchers to devices, but these can sometimes slow down the overall performance. If you do not need all of the extras that are bundled, take a look on the Play store for a replacement launcher with less features. Some of these are designed to work efficiently, but still include a number of options and features that could be beneficial. You do not need to live with the manufacturer’s stock system.