Mapping and phone battery a Question for the more technical folk

[chrismechmaster]

Although I use a garmin which is ok on my smaller more Leisurely rides I prefer to just have my iPhone on the bars as it’s all much clearing on the mapping and navigation

now I am not worried about data consumption as I have unlimited data but I am worried / trying to conserve battery as much as possible

what do I need to use to have mapping / navigation the most battery friendly way

For example should I use gps or are there apps that use navigation in a battery friendly way
Or should I be downloading and saving a map to use ?

Ultimately tying to find out the most battery saving way of navigation on a phone please

 

[Sidepod]

Similar problem. I’ve found using Bike GPX it just kills the battery (iPhone XS).
I don’t bother anymore I just use the OS maps app which I find so much better.

 

[MrSimmo]

Ive been through the same and trialled virtually every map app out there in combination with offline/online modes etc. Basically ended up with:

- The main battery drains are having gps active and having the screen on, so phones are generally bad for navigation unless you buy one with a maoosive battery to offset the drain.

- Offline navigation does help quite a bit. OS Maps, Komoot apps are two of the best imo in the UK. Viewranger and some others do offer a 'less accurate' gps option which apparently saves battery but tbh I've not seen any benefit at all from that and it resulted in missing trail junctions etc.

- Turn the screen brightness down and disable auto brightness and truetone if you have that. Use nightmode on screens which are OLED as it’ll keep more 'pixels' turned off at any one time.

- Disabling mobile data (4g etc) does help as it stops the phone trying to keep connected to Whatsapp, Photos etc

- Disable bluetooth and wifi unless you specifically need bluetooth for something such as Apple Watch or connecting to earphones or the bike itself. BTLE (Low Energy) mode helps with saving battery but for some reason the iPhone keeps falling back into full transmission mode (i.e. disabling Low Energy) - might be accessory related - I used the Watch, Airpod Pros, Sony earbuds and connection to the Levo (at different times).

That will all help but tbh the two biggest improvements were either switching to a dedicated nav device such as a garmin and put up with the crap user interface or buy a monster battery phone such as a Motorola g8 power.

Hopefully helpful ?

 

[Sidepod]

One point worth noting regarding switching off mobile data, if running e-connect with auto crash detection text sending thing, it won’t work.

 

[Hamina]

The GPS is just a receiver (...well it has do to some calculations but..) and it's not the one using much battery. The main battery drain happens when you keep the screen on and load maps through mobile internet. All new bluetooth radios are able to use low energy mode so that's not anymore (since 2009) a problem.

If Iphone, then just turn battery save mode on. If that's not enough, then buy powerbank. If that's still not enough you have to look for different devices like MrSimmo said.

 

[Tonycube]

If you have a kiox display could you just connect a cable from kiosk to phone and charge as you ride?

 

[MrSimmo]

The GPS is just a receiver (...well it has do to some calculations but..) and it's not the one using much battery. The main battery drain happens when you keep the screen on and load maps through mobile internet. All new bluetooth radios are able to use low energy mode so that's not anymore (since 2009) a problem.

If Iphone, then just turn battery save mode on. If that's not enough, then buy powerbank. If that's still not enough you have to look for different devices like MrSimmo said.

Good points - I'll update my post two sec

 

[Jackware]

Can't you just buy a high capacity powerpack to connect to your phone and store in a small top tube frame bag?

 

[Konanige]

Just use a Garmin and install some proper mapping! Right tool for the job. IPhone is just a jack of all trades as the saying goes.

 

[pampmyride]

I used an old Android motorola moto E 2nd gen phone £30, solely as GPS routemap & record. Plot routes online alltrails.com & transfer GPX file to phone. Great Britain Topo Maps (android app) is great for route following & finding new tracks. More recently started using the Cubot Kingkong mini – cheap (£70 – 90), small size & large memory, but battery is only average, so I now add a small powerbank £2.80! Gives an extra 4 hours. Bar mount £8 Chinese jobby. Run is airline mode and/or turn data off. with the power bank gives 6-8 hours of use.

Posted 4 months ago