Monday 30 June 2014

Free Jackery app provides iPhone battery insights



Jackery, app, app store, battery meter, battery level, iPhoneJackery is best-known as a manufacturer of external battery packs; we've reviewed several of their products in the past, the Jackery Giant 10,400 mAh battery pack and the Jackery Leaf battery case for iPhone 5 and 5s. Now the company wants iPhone users to gain more insight into exactly how the batteries in their devices are using that precious power, and they've introduced a free Jackery app today that does just that.


There are four main features in the app:



  • It monitors your battery consumption day and night, 24/7

  • It accurately estimates just how much time you have left on your device

  • It notifies you when it might be a good time to plug your iPhone into a wall socket or a Jackery (or other) battery pack

  • It's full of hints on how to maintain your battery for extended usage and longer life


Upon launching the app, you're immediately greeted with the Monitor screen. It shows you the remaining percentage of energy stored in your battery, the remaining time estimated before your device runs out of charge, and when the battery level will drop below 50 percent and 20 percent. It will also give you an estimate of what time to charge your iPhone again.


Note that it takes the app a little while to track usage and start displaying the estimates. I found that when my iPhone 5s reached about 90 percent charge level, the remaining time and time estimates for various levels of power appeared on the app display. I was unable to get the app to show me the usage report, simply because I hadn't used it during a full charge/discharge cycle. I look forward to seeing my usage profile over time, primarily because it will tell me what apps and times of day seem to be the most draining for my iPhone 5s.


There's a button to get you into a community window with a chat room, coupons for discounts on Jackery products, and more. The app requires users to either log in via Facebook or create a Jackery account in order to take advantage of the community.


The monitoring settings can be tweaked by the iPhone user to provide notification at other set levels of charge. For example, if I've noticed that things really start to get wonky with my iPhone at about a 10 percent charge level, I can set my own notification.


I found it rather interesting that the percentage level shown by the built-in iOS battery meter and the Jackery app did vary a bit, with the app being a bit more conservative (i.e., lower) in its readings. I'm not sure which is more accurate...


The app looks great and the price is definitely right. If you're an inveterate battery-level watcher like I am, you'll want to install the Jackery app as soon as possible.





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