Happy Friday from the Tech-Savvy Teachers!

Fall means more than football and back-to-school, it is smartphone release season!  Technology companies ranging from Apple to ZTE have released or will release new phone models in time to upgrade during the holiday season.

One trend that continues in the “smartphone arms race” is the higher and higher resolution on new models of smart phones.  Many high end smart phones come at resolutions that are far higher than even larger monitors sitting on your desktop.

These screens might be beautiful, however, the proliferation of high resolution screens is seriously impacting battery life.  I know this well: my otherwise awesome 2014 LG G3 Android-based phone can’t get through a workday with even light use.

For me, this means that I need to carry a charger with me and often plug in my phone a few times a day.

One tip I heard from a colleague that works for me in my pursuit of a charged phone: your phone charges faster turned off, or, in a pinch, in airplane mode!

The modern smartphone contains many hardware tools that provide advanced functionality.  The tools that use the most battery include the LTE/cell radio, the Wifi radio, and GPS hardware.  These tools are turned off in airplane mode.  If you couple this with keeping your screen off during a quick charge, you can move your battery back into mobile mode and be on your way!

How’s your cell phone battery life?  Hit us up in the commons below or let us know on Twitter!

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