How Long do Tablet Batteries Last? 2024 Complete Guide
For many of us, a tablet is more than just a device. It is a companion that entertains us, connects us, and helps us work or learn online. Unlike laptops, tablets are light and handy, offering a large-screen experience. However, the battery life is short. One of the common questions that tablet users have is how long tablet batteries last. There are many myths and misconceptions about battery care. With regular use and improper maintenance, the battery will inevitably wear out eventually. But how fast or slow does that happen?
The answer depends on several factors, such as the quality of the battery, the usage patterns, the maintenance practices, and the environmental conditions. According to manufacturers, the average lifespan of tablets is 3-5 years.
However, this may vary depending on how often you use it. If you use the device for 5-7 hours daily, you will likely experience a shorter battery life. This guide will explain the average lifespan of tablet batteries, what factors affect the lifespan, and how you can keep the battery healthy.
How Long do Tablet Batteries Last?
Tablets are great devices for entertainment, productivity, and communication. They are portable, versatile, and easy to use. However, like any other electronic device, they depend on batteries to function. How long do tablet batteries last? And what factors affect their performance and lifespan? In this article, we will answer these questions and provide some tips on keeping your tablet battery healthy.
What is the Average Lifespan of Tablets?
The lifespan of a tablet depends on several factors, such as the quality of the battery, the usage patterns, the maintenance practices, and the environmental conditions. Generally speaking, most tablets can last for about three to five years before they need to be replaced.
However, the battery will only last for a while. The battery is one of the most vulnerable components of a tablet, and it will degrade over time due to chemical reactions and physical wear and tear.
According to some estimates, the average tablet battery can retain about 80% of its original capacity after 500 charge cycles. A charge cycle uses 100% of the battery’s capacity, whether in one or multiple sessions. For example, if you use your tablet from 100% to 50% one day and then from 50% to 0% the next day, that counts as one charge cycle. However, you should still drain your battery completely before recharging it. In fact, doing so can shorten its lifespan.
What Causes Tablets to Slow Down?
One of the common signs of a deteriorating battery is the slow or sluggish performance of the tablet. This can be caused by several factors, such as:
Heat is the Enemy
Heat is one of the biggest enemies of batteries. High temperatures can accelerate the chemical reactions inside the battery and cause it to lose capacity faster. Moreover, heat can also affect other tablet components, such as the processor, the memory, and the display. Therefore, it is essential to avoid exposing your tablet to direct sunlight, hot surfaces, or enclosed spaces with poor ventilation.
Connectivity
Another factor that can drain your battery and slow down your tablet is connectivity. Wireless connections, such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, and cellular data, require much power. If you are not using them actively, turn them off or switch to airplane mode. This can save your battery life and reduce interference with other signals.
Display Settings
The display is one of the most power-hungry components of a tablet. The brightness, resolution, and refresh rate of the screen can affect how much energy it consumes. To optimize your battery life and performance, you should adjust these settings according to your needs and preferences.
For example, you can lower the brightness in a dark environment or use adaptive intelligence to automatically adjust it based on ambient light. You can also reduce the resolution or refresh rate without watching high-definition videos or playing fast-paced games.
Background Apps
Another factor that can affect your battery life and performance is background apps. These apps run in the background even when you are not using them actively. They can consume memory, CPU, and network resources and cause your tablet to lag or freeze.
To prevent this from happening, you should close or disable any apps that you don’t need or use frequently. You can also use a task manager app to monitor and manage your background apps.
Push Notifications and Alerts
Push notifications and alerts are messages on your screen from various apps and services. They can help keep you updated on important information or events, but they can also be annoying and distracting.
Moreover, they can also drain your battery and slow down your tablet by waking up the screen and activating the network connection. To save your battery life and performance, limit or turn off push notifications and alerts from apps you don’t care about or need.
Software Failure
Sometimes, software failure can cause your tablet to slow down or malfunction. This can be due to bugs, glitches, viruses, malware, or incompatible updates.
To avoid this, keep your tablet’s operating system and apps updated with the latest versions and security patches. You should also scan your tablet regularly with an antivirus app and remove any suspicious or unwanted files or apps.
Talk Time
If you use your tablet for voice calls or video calls frequently, you should be aware that this can also consume a lot of battery power and affect your performance. Voice calls require a constant network connection and audio processing, while video calls require additional video processing and display power.
To optimize your battery life and performance while making calls on your tablet, you should use headphones or speakers instead of holding the device near your ear or face. You should also reduce the duration and frequency of your calls if possible.
Want to Keep Your Phone or Tablet Battery Healthy?
Now that we have discussed the factors that can affect your tablet’s battery life and performance let’s look at some tips on how to keep your tablet battery healthy and extend its lifespan.
Avoid High Temperatures
As we have mentioned earlier, heat is one of the biggest enemies of batteries. Therefore, you should avoid exposing your tablet to high temperatures or sources of heat. You should also avoid using your tablet while charging or placing it on a charger for too long. This can cause overheating and damage your battery. You should remove any cases or covers that trap heat and prevent proper ventilation.
Charge When Needed
Another tip to keep your tablet battery healthy is to charge it when needed. You should not let your battery drain completely before recharging, as this can cause deep discharge and damage your battery. You should also not overly charrettes or leave it plugged in for too long, as it can cause overcharge and damage your battery. Ideally, keep your battery level between 20% and 80% most of the time and charge it thoroughly monthly to calibrate it.
Activate Energy Mode
Most tablets have an energy or power-saving mode that can help you conserve battery power and optimize performance. This mode can reduce the brightness, resolution, refresh rate, connectivity, and background activity of your tablet. You can activate this mode manually or automatically when your battery level is low. This can help you extend your battery life and performance when needed.
Limit Auto-Synchronization
Auto-synchronization is a feature that allows your tablet to sync data and settings with online accounts and services, such as email, contacts, calendar, photos, etc. This can be useful for keeping your data updated and backed up, but it can also consume much battery power and network resources. To save your battery life and performance, you should limit auto-synchronization to the accounts and services you need or use frequently. You can also adjust the frequency and timing of auto-synchronization to suit your needs and preferences.
Remove Unused Apps
Another tip to keep your tablet battery healthy is to remove unused or unwanted apps from your device. These apps can take up valuable storage space, memory, CPU, and network resources and affect your battery life and performance. Moreover, some apps may contain malicious code or adware that can harm your device or compromise privacy. To remove unused apps from your tablet, you can go to the Settings app, select Apps or Applications, and uninstall any apps you don’t need or use.
FAQs
Here are some frequently asked questions about tablet batteries and their answers.
Conclusion
Tablet batteries are essential for the functionality and performance of tablets. However, they are also susceptible to degradation and damage over time due to various factors. Therefore, it is crucial to know how long tablet batteries last and how to keep them healthy and extend their lifespan. By following the tips and methods described in this article, you can optimize your tablet’s battery life and performance and enjoy using it for longer.
