Cold weather can make your iPhone battery sad and your fingers ever sadder. Take a couple extra precautions to protect both this winter.
Protect your battery from the cold
Lithium-ion batteries are commonplace in many devices, and they're also the same type of battery that your iPhone uses. Without going down a technical rabbit hole, these batteries rely on a chemical reaction to produce power and charge; when they get cold, that chemical reaction slows down, causing your battery to perform poorly.
The easiest way to prevent the cold weather from negatively impacting your phone's performance is to keep your iPhone as warm as possible. If you plan to venture out into the cold this winter with your phone, do your best to keep it warm — especially if you're going out for a significant length of time. Try putting your phone into an inside coat pocket or under a layer or two to keep it nice and toasty when your life takes you into the winter wind!
Apple has a few handy tips for maximizing your battery's performance, and recently, the company explained why older iPhones can experience a slow down in performance due to cold conditions.
Never charge a cold battery
If you do end up leaving your phone in the car one night or spending too long outside with your iPhone exposed to the elements, make sure you let it warm up before you charge it. I know it may be tempting to plug it in right away — especially if it's dead — but charging a cold battery can really screw it up. Give your iPhone sometime to warm up before you go plugging it into the wall.
If you have Touchscreen gloves
Last year, I bought my first pair of touchscreen gloves and I haven't looked back since. It has made winter so much more bearable by allowing me to answer important text messages, check what time the bus is coming, or call a cab all without freezing my fingers off.
There are plenty of styles of touchscreen gloves out there, and even though they may cost you a little bit of money, I promise you they are worth the price!