I put seven lesser-known Samsung settings to the test across a Galaxy S25 Ultra and a midrange Galaxy A55, and the results were consistent: two to four extra hours of use on a single charge, with no noticeable hit to everyday performance. Your mileage will vary depending on coverage and habits, but with displays and radios responsible for most phone power draw, small optimizations compound fast.
These tweaks lean on what One UI already offers, not gimmicks. They target the two biggest drains—screen and modem—while cutting background waste. Here’s exactly what I changed, why it works, and how you can replicate it.
The seven battery-saving tweaks I used on Samsung phones
- Switched the entire system to Dark mode and chose a pure-black wallpaper. Samsung’s AMOLED panels turn off individual pixels for black, reducing power with every dark pixel. Google’s Android team has presented data showing substantial savings on OLED at higher brightness levels, and in mixed daily use I saw roughly a 5–10% reduction in screen power compared with Light mode.
- Left Adaptive Brightness on and stopped manual micromanaging. Modern Samsung phones have far better ambient light sensing than a few generations ago. Letting the OS right-size luminance prevents overdriving the panel—often the single biggest energy hog, accounting for a large share of consumption in tests from labs like DisplayMate and reviews by AnandTech. If it’s too dim in a rare case, a quick swipe up nudges it without disabling automation.
- Uninstalled or disabled preloaded apps I don’t use. Social apps, duplicate cloud storage, and companion services can wake frequently. I long-pressed their icons to Uninstall, or went to Settings > Apps and tapped Disable for those that can’t be removed. Less background sync means fewer CPU spikes and fewer radio pings, which adds up over a full day.
- Put infrequently used apps to “Sleeping” and “Deep sleeping.” In Settings > Battery and device care > Battery > Background usage limits, I added rarely opened apps to the stricter tiers. This works with Android’s App Standby and Doze so they don’t request data or run jobs unless I open them. Samsung’s battery chart then made it easy to spot and tame any remaining outliers.
- Downloaded maps and playlists over Wi‑Fi before heading out. Streaming over cellular and constant navigation updates wake the modem, which draws more power when signal is weak. Network analysts at firms like Ookla have noted higher draw in marginal 5G coverage, so I cached Spotify playlists and Google Maps areas on Wi‑Fi. My phone ran cooler outside and dropped less battery per hour on commutes.
- Scheduled Always On Display instead of leaving it on 24/7. On LTPO panels that can idle at 1Hz (like the latest Ultras), AOD is relatively efficient. On midrange models with higher minimum refresh, it’s more costly. I set AOD to show only during work hours (Settings > Lock screen and AOD > Always On Display > When to show > As scheduled) and toggled off the lock screen wallpaper in AOD to reduce the pixels being lit.
- Switched the Performance profile to Light. In Settings > Device care > Performance profile, Light dials back peak CPU/GPU bursts you’ll rarely notice in messaging, browsing, and video, but it helps avoid heat and throttling. Qualcomm and other chipmakers note that sustained high clocks are disproportionately expensive; keeping bursts in check preserves both battery and consistent performance.
What I gained in day-to-day use on two Galaxy phones
On the S25 Ultra (5,000mAh), average screen-on time rose from about six hours to just over eight across a typical workday of email, chat, maps, photos, and streaming. Standby drain fell from roughly 1.8% per hour to about 1.1% on days with spotty coverage. The A55 saw smaller absolute gains but a similar pattern. The experience didn’t feel “slowed”—apps launched promptly, scrolling remained smooth, and I rarely thought about charging before evening.
The biggest contributors were the display-related changes and limiting background activity. That tracks with industry measurements showing screens and radios dominate phone energy use, especially at higher brightness and with poor signal. The beauty here is that these wins are persistent, not just emergency measures.
Pro moves when you are running low on battery power
If you’re under 15% and hours from a charger, stack the built-ins: enable Power saving in Quick Settings, toggle 5G off if coverage is weak, turn off hotspot and Bluetooth scanning, and restrict background data for nonessential apps. Samsung’s Ultra power saving can extend standby dramatically by applying grayscale, limiting apps, and curbing CPU speeds—useful as a last resort on travel days.
Bottom line: simple changes that add real battery life
None of these changes mutilates the experience or forces you to baby the phone. They align One UI with how you actually use your device, trimming constant wake-ups and unnecessary pixels. Try them for a week, watch the battery graph in Device care, and keep the tweaks that net you the most time. Extra hours, no charger anxiety—that’s the win.
