Apple Patent Looks to Save iPhone Battery Life By Detecting Usage Patterns

The US Patent and Trademark office published an Apple patent application that looks to save battery life on mobile devices by powering down certain components of the device depending on the users habits and even location.

The "Power management for electronic devices" application described a system that analyzes a user's usage pattern and estimated the needed energy to run the phone through a charge. The OS dynamically shuts down certain software components and even some hardware components based on the usage patterns thus maximizing battery life.

A method for modifying one or more characteristics of a mobile electronic device in order to save or reduce power consumption of the device. The method includes determining by, a processor of the mobile electronic device, an estimated use of the mobile electronic device during an upcoming time period; using the estimated use, determining, by the processor, whether an internal power source of the mobile electronic device has sufficient power to continue operation of the mobile electronic device in a first state during the upcoming time period; based on the estimated use and the internal power source, if the internal power source does not have sufficient power, adjusting the one or more characteristics to reduce a power consumption of the mobile electronic device during the upcoming time period.

The power management system even learns charging locations where a user would typically charge their device (ex home or work) as well as the length of the charge. As a result, by using GPS the software cam automatically create a power management profile.


For instance, if you're driving home from work and only have 10 minutes of battery left but won't reach your charger at the house for another 20 minutes, the software can dynamically change "one or more characteristics" of the phone to last 20 minutes instead of 10 (shutting down wifi, location services, etc).

As always, Apple patents may never make it into the final product, but improved battery life is always a welcomed addition.

Read More via AppleInsider