Click to Skip Ad
Closing in...

A simple Google Now trick might fix poor battery life on Galaxy S6 and other phones

Published May 20th, 2015 1:00PM EDT
Galaxy S6 Battery Life Google Now
Image: Zach Epstein, BGR

If you buy through a BGR link, we may earn an affiliate commission, helping support our expert product labs.

In case you’re experiencing poor battery life on your brand new Galaxy S6 or Galaxy S6 edge, there might be a very simple Google Now trick at your disposal to fix it.

DON’T MISS: Netflix is testing a redesign that users are going to love – see it first right here

Just turn it off. That’s it. At least that’s what Business Insider says can fix poor battery life on Samsung’s top 2015 flagship smartphones. Of course, disabling Google Now will improve battery life on other phone models, as well.

“I was getting only slightly better battery life than with my old Nexus 5, and I was about to put the S6 back in its box and ship it back to wherever it came from,” the blog said in its review the Galaxy S6 after using it for a month.

“Before I did that, I tried one last thing. I switched off Google Now, Google’s digital assistant, and my battery life skyrocketed to last me about 36 hours on a single charge with relatively decent usage, including music streaming, but without using Bluetooth or GPS. I charge it every night, but I usually have just under 50% battery left before I go to bed,” the publication added.

Google Now uses GPS to gather location data and the phone keeps processing the updates coming from Google Now, Business Insider says. That’s why battery life isn’t satisfactory on the phone as long as Google Now is activate and constantly running in the background.

The obvious downside to this is that you won’t be able to use Google’s handy virtual assistant when it’s turned off. If that’s not something you want to do to improve battery life on the Galaxy S6, you could always activate the Power Saving mode on the handset when your battery gets too low, or buy additional external battery packs.

Chris Smith Senior Writer

Chris Smith has been covering consumer electronics ever since the iPhone revolutionized the industry in 2008. When he’s not writing about the most recent tech news for BGR, he brings his entertainment expertise to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe and other blockbuster franchises.

Outside of work, you’ll catch him streaming almost every new movie and TV show release as soon as it's available.