Researchers say we now spend on average nearly five hours a day on our smartphones texting, calling, using social apps, doing business, and entertaining ourselves with funny cat videos (are those still a thing?).

Apple estimates that a new iPhone 5s is good for up to 10 hours of talk time or Internet usage while a new iPhone 6s is good for up to 14 hours of talk time and 10 hours of Internet usage.

Having done some simple math, you may find yourself wondering where the five hours or more difference in battery life disappears to. The reality is, mixed use – using a bunch of apps and features at the same time – an aging battery, along with numerous background processes all result in significantly faster battery drain in real-life.

The good news is that there are things you can do to extend your iPhone’s battery life without changing how you use your phone (too much).

Prevent or limit background location access

Location Services in iOS allow apps to track your location even when you are not using the app. This feature uses you phone’s GPS and cellular network to pinpoint your location and can be a significant drain on your iPhone battery – especially if you have a large number of apps all accessing Location Services.

While can completely disable Location Services in iOS, you probably don’t want to since it’s a handy feature for certain apps (think location-based reminders, traffic updates, etc.).

The best strategy is to limit (or deny) specific apps’ access to Location Services. You have to option to Always allow access, Never allow access, or only allow access While Using.

To change how and when apps can access your location, go to Settings > tap on Privacy > tap on Location Services > now select how you want to limit each app’s access to your location.

Disable Background App Refresh

Background App Refresh allows apps access to your data connection while they are not in use. While this keeps those Twitter and Facebook notifications rolling in while your iPhone is in your bag, it’s hardly a necessary feature.

Like Location Services, Background App Refresh can be disabled entirely or on a per-app basis. Here’s how: go to Settings > General > tap on Background App Refresh > toggle off background refresh for individual apps.

Limit app notifications on the Lock screen

Smartphone displays keep getting bigger and brighter and are one of the biggest culprits when it comes to battery drain. The iPhone’s Retina HD display can and will impact how long your battery lasts.  Luckily there are a few things you can do to limit how often that display lights up.

In Notification Center, you can select which notifications show on your iPhone’s Lock screen by turning off Lock screen access for individual apps.

To disable Lock screen access for individual apps, go to Settings > Notifications > toggle off the Show on Lock screen option for each app.

Here you can also select if you want to see the app badges, play the sound, and show the alert in Notification Center.

Dim your screen in low-light situations

The brighter your iPhone screen is set, the more battery power it uses. Adjust your screen brightness when you are indoors or in low-light situations is not only easier on your eyes, but will also save you a significant amount of battery power.

To adjust screen brightness, swipe up to launch Control Center and adjust the slider to dim your iPhone screen.

You can take this even further by dimming the screen beyond the system minimum in Accessibility settings.

Not using your iPhone? Leave it facedown (iOS 9 only)

One of Apple’s new battery-saving features in iOS 9 uses ambient light and proximity sensors to detect when your iPhone is facedown and not in use. The feature activates automatically and prevents the screen from turning on when you receive a call or notification.

Apple claims using this feature can give you as much as one hour of extra battery life on a single charge.

Image credit: RyanMcGuire via Pixabay