How to make the phone you have last longer — and get off the upgrade hamster wheel |
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| Kristina Tzekova for NYT Wirecutter |
 | By Haley Jo Lewis Haley is a newsletters editor at Wirecutter — and owner of a currently shattered iPhone 16. |
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I’m bad at my phone. By that I mean a few things: I don’t take the best care of it, and I drop it at a rate that even a slapstick comedian would call over the top. At this moment, I have 21,708 unread emails and 32,320 photos clogging it up. My iCloud storage is gravely full. But perhaps most troubling — to me, at least — is the amount of time I spend scrolling on the thing.
All of which is why I’m excited to kick this off today: our three-part series on how to use your phone better. Over the course of three Sundays, I’ll share some tips (backed by Wirecutter’s heroic-to-me tech experts) to help you get the most out of what is likely your most-used gadget. I’ll embark on my own journey right alongside you — tackling all these challenges with my iPhone 16 in hand. I hope that at the end of this series, we’ll all feel like we’re using our phones a little better, with a little more intention, and a bit more like, well, a tech expert would.
The first step to using your phone better is loving the one you’ve got. When new phones are released (as was the case this week, in case you missed it), it can be tempting to feel like you need to upgrade your phone ASAP to the latest and greatest. But our advice? If you’ve got a working phone you like, keep it. There’s no need to upgrade right away, and you can make your current phone last for years by investing in the right protective gear and adjusting your phone habits. Let’s do this.
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Start here: Stop charging your phone to 100% |
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| Michael Hession/NYT Wirecutter |
One of the most annoying things about a phone growing older — and a likely reason for many phone upgrades — is a battery that dies halfway through the day. But there’s a right and wrong way to charge your phone, and doing it the right way can help your phone maintain optimal battery health for longer.
There are two easy-enough things to keep in mind here: Avoid extreme temperatures (like leaving your phone out to tan at the beach), and don’t charge your phone to 100%.
Over time, charging your phone all the way can weaken your battery and cause it to lose its charge much faster. Instead, charge it somewhere in the range of 20-80%. And if you like the convenience of charging your phone overnight, you don’t have to set an alarm to wake up and unplug it. Many newer model phones have optimized-charging features that allow you to set a max of 80%. I followed our experts’ instructions and adjusted my settings in 15 seconds flat.
How to set up optimized charging for your phone — and more tips for making your battery life last longer→
The charging gear our experts recommend |
How to protect your phone |
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| Michael Hession/NYT Wirecutter |
It’s also a good idea to invest in protective gear to keep your phone in working order — and prevent damage from drops and dents. (And if you do end up eventually upgrading, you can get more money or trade-in value if your phone is still in pristine condition.)
If it is time to upgrade your phone … |
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| Marki Williams/NYT Wirecutter |
If your current phone is quite damaged, running too slowly, or you’re simply ready for an upgrade, here’s where we’d start for getting a new gadget:
See you next Sunday for part two of our phone series. We’re decluttering our devices. Gulp.
You can reach the Wirecutter Newsletters team at newsletters@wirecutter.com. We can’t always respond, but we do love to hear from you.
