This comprehensive tutorial guides you through creating and using battery-related shortcuts on your iPhone to manage and extend battery life. Using the built-in Shortcuts app, you can set up automations to alert you when your battery is low and enable Low Power Mode automatically. Additionally, you’ll learn how to check your battery health to monitor its condition. These steps are designed for iPhone users running iOS, with minor variations depending on the iOS version. Always ensure your iPhone is updated to the latest iOS for optimal functionality.
Why Use Battery Shortcuts?
Battery shortcuts help you stay proactive about your iPhone’s power management. For example:
- Low Battery Alerts: Verbal notifications ensure you don’t miss critical battery warnings, even if your phone is on silent.
- Automatic Low Power Mode: Saves battery by reducing background activity and performance when power is low.
- Battery Health Monitoring: Helps you track your battery’s capacity and lifespan, informing decisions about maintenance or replacement.
These features are particularly useful for heavy users, travelers, or anyone who needs their iPhone to last longer between charges.
1. Setting Up a Low Battery Alert
This shortcut configures your iPhone to verbally announce when its battery falls below a specified percentage. It’s ideal for users who keep their phone on silent and might miss standard notifications.
Steps:
- Open the Shortcuts App: Launch the Shortcuts app on your iPhone. If you can’t find it, swipe down from the home screen to open Spotlight, type “Shortcuts,” and tap the app icon.
- Access Automation: Tap the Automation tab at the bottom of the screen.
- Create a New Automation: Tap the + button in the top-right corner, then select Create Personal Automation.
- Select Battery Level Trigger: Scroll down and tap Battery Level.
- Set Battery Percentage: Use the slider to set the desired percentage (e.g., 20%). Choose Is Below to trigger the automation when the battery drops below this level. Tap Next.
- Add Speak Text Action: Tap Add Action, type “speak” in the search bar, and select Speak Text.
- Customize the Message: Tap the text field and enter a message, such as “Your battery is low. Please charge your iPhone.” Optionally, tap the blue chevron next to Speak Text to adjust the speaking rate, pitch, language, or voice.
- Preview the Alert: Tap the play button in the bottom-right corner to hear how the message sounds.
- Proceed: Once satisfied, tap Next.
- Disable Confirmation Prompt: Toggle off Ask Before Running to allow the automation to run automatically. Confirm by tapping Don’t Ask when the warning pop-up appears.
- Save the Automation: Tap Done to save.
Outcome:
Your iPhone will now verbally announce the specified message whenever the battery falls below 20% (or your chosen percentage). This works regardless of whether your phone is on silent, making it a reliable way to stay informed.
2. Automatically Enabling Low Power Mode
Low Power Mode reduces power consumption by limiting background app refresh, visual effects, and other features. This automation turns it on automatically when your battery reaches a low level, helping you conserve power without manual intervention.
Steps:
- Open Shortcuts App: Launch the Shortcuts app and tap Automation.
- Create New Automation: Tap + and select Create Personal Automation.
- Choose Battery Level: Select Battery Level from the list.
- Set Trigger Condition: Move the slider to your desired percentage (e.g., 20%) and select Is Below. Tap Next.
- Add Low Power Mode Action: Tap Add Action, search for “low power,” and select Set Low Power Mode.
- Enable Low Power Mode: Choose Turn On to activate Low Power Mode when triggered.
- Proceed: Tap Next.
- Turn Off Confirmation: Toggle off Ask Before Running, then tap Don’t Ask to confirm.
- Save: Tap Done to save the automation.
Outcome:
When your iPhone’s battery drops below 20% (or your set percentage), Low Power Mode will automatically activate, helping extend battery life until you can charge your device.
3. Checking Battery Health
Monitoring your iPhone’s battery health is essential to understand its capacity and performance over time. While this isn’t a shortcut, it’s a critical part of battery management.
Steps:
- Open Settings: Launch the Settings app on your iPhone.
- Navigate to Battery: Scroll down and tap Battery.
- Access Battery Health: Tap Battery Health & Charging.
Information Provided:
- Maximum Capacity: Shows the percentage of your battery’s original capacity (e.g., 90% means it holds 90% of its original charge).
- Optimized Battery Charging: Indicates if this feature is enabled to reduce battery aging by delaying charging past 80% until needed.
- Peak Performance Capability: Confirms if your battery supports normal performance or if it’s degraded, potentially causing slowdowns.
Advanced Metrics:
For detailed statistics like battery cycle count (the number of full charge-discharge cycles), you may need third-party shortcuts, such as the Battery Stats Shortcut from Payette Forward. These shortcuts often require accessing analytics data in Settings > Privacy & Security > Analytics & Improvements > Analytics Data, sharing a file with the shortcut, and viewing the results. Due to their complexity, they’re not covered in detail here but are available for advanced users.
Additional Battery-Saving Shortcuts
Beyond the two automations above, other shortcuts can further optimize your iPhone’s battery life. Here are a few examples inspired by resources like Matthew Cassinelli’s 10 Shortcuts:
- Super Low Power Mode: Extends beyond standard Low Power Mode by disabling Wi-Fi, mobile data, and background processes. You can download a pre-made version from iCloud.
- Adjust Screen Brightness: Lowers screen brightness at critical battery levels to save power. A pre-made shortcut is available at iCloud.
- Battery Health Check: Provides detailed stats like cycle count and capacity. These often require parsing analytics data and are available from trusted sources like Payette Forward.
To create these manually, you can explore additional actions in the Shortcuts app, such as Set Brightness or Turn Off Wi-Fi, and combine them with battery level triggers. However, pre-made shortcuts from reputable sources are often easier for complex tasks.
Table: Summary of Battery Shortcuts
| Shortcut | Purpose | Trigger | Key Action | Complexity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low Battery Alert | Verbally announces when battery is low | Battery < 20% | Speak Text | Beginner |
| Auto Low Power Mode | Activates Low Power Mode to save battery | Battery < 20% | Set Low Power Mode | Beginner |
| Super Low Power Mode | Disables Wi-Fi, data, and more for maximum battery saving | Manual or battery level | Multiple settings adjustments | Intermediate |
| Adjust Screen Brightness | Lowers brightness to conserve power | Battery level or manual | Set Brightness | Intermediate |
| Battery Health Check | Displays cycle count and capacity stats | Manual (analytics data) | Parse analytics file | Advanced |
Tips for Success
- Test Your Shortcuts: After setting up, manually lower your battery (or simulate by unplugging) to ensure the automation works as expected.
- Update iOS: Ensure your iPhone runs the latest iOS version for full Shortcuts app functionality. Check for updates in Settings > General > Software Update.
- Explore More Shortcuts: Visit resources like Matthew Cassinelli’s website for additional battery-saving ideas.
- Battery Health Maintenance: Enable Optimized Battery Charging and avoid keeping your iPhone at 100% charge for extended periods to prolong battery lifespan.
Conclusion
By setting up these battery shortcuts, you can take control of your iPhone’s power management, ensuring you’re never caught off guard by a low battery. The verbal alert and automatic Low Power Mode are easy to implement and highly effective, while checking battery health keeps you informed about your device’s long-term performance. For advanced users, third-party shortcuts offer deeper insights into battery metrics. With these tools, you can optimize your iPhone’s battery life for daily use, travel, or emergencies.
