[Android] Recommended battery savers

When I switched to smartphones, it was marvelous. The phone before my first smart phone was a sony ericsson with physical buttons, which was considered cool back in my high school days (The reason being that you can install games from jar files, man that was fun). But eventually everyone got a smartphone so I also jumped on the bandwagon.

Smartphones are pretty convenient in many ways, but if you happen to run out of luck (like me), your smartphone's battery life can be pretty shitty. I tried to remedy this situation with battery savers - there are many battery savers out there that "claims" to help you save battery - but only a few of them actually works. I'll list out the battery saver apps that worked for me below.

• [Beginner level] - Avast Battery Saver

Avast Battery Saver turns on and off your internet connection according to your location, and when you turn your screen off. It only needs to be configured slightly. The issue I have with it is that it isn't always that reliable, so it only saves a little battery. The good point is obvious here - little to none configuration needed.

• [Beginner level+] - Deep Sleep Battery Saver

Deep Sleep Battery Saver puts your phone into "deep sleep" mode, which means your phone will turn off all Internet connections, and sync only at certain intervals. DS Battery Saver actually works decently with its default sync once every hour configuration. I had to tinker with the settings a bit to avoid it displaying an ugly ass bar in the notification tray. As a side note, it comes with an alarm when your phone is fully charged so that's a plus.

• [Beginner level / Intermediate level] - JuiceDefender

JuiceDefender comes with a free version and paid versions, so you could try its basic functionality out before making the plunge. I only used the free version, but that was enough to make a difference. It's been a while since I last used JD, but if I remember correctly, the free version switches wifi on and off automatically, saving battery life. The paid versions have more features unlocked, such as mobile data control, screen brightness control...etc. It does its job right out of the box, but if you would like to customize options to your needs, JD offers that to you.

• [Advanced level] - Greenify

Among the task killers, Greenify is probably the best one there is. Some task killers will kill apps but to have those apps keep on running again. I haven't had this kind of experience with Greenify. It actually "hibernates" the apps in question. However, some tinkering is required with Greenify. When it's first started up it will require you to select which apps to kill. To be honest, this process is confusing for those not that savvy with the phone, and its minimalist interface doesn't help either. After this hurdle though, it works like a charm when you want it to kill those pesky apps. To unlock its full power, you'll need to root your android phone so that it can perform its tasks automatically. This is yet another huge barrier for those not familiar with the Android rooting process.

• [Advanced level] - Tasker

Tasker is the only app in this list that is a paid app, but it well worth the money. Since Tasker is an utility box, it can do many more things other than saving battery, but that's another story. I actually wrote a blog post about how to configure Tasker to save battery, so you can check it out here: [Android] How to create battery saver with Tasker. The point here is that using Tasker is kind of like directly telling your phone what to do, so it works 100%, provided that your profiles are correct. Unfortunately, the configuration part is definitely a hassle even for those who are somewhat familiar with the phone, so just use the easier battery savers mentioned above.