Is it wise to turn off the iPad completely if I don't use it during the day?

Question

A friend of mine has an iPad that she uses only once a day for about a half hour.

I told her to turn it off completely in between uses to conserve energy - no point having the device run in standby for 23.5 hours a day. (So no standby, but a real "swipe to turn off" shutdown.)

I'm not completely sure whether this is correct, though. Is this the optimal way to go in terms of optimal battery lifespan? Battery life (i.e. the time until she has to recharge it again) is secondary, we just want to preserve the battery for as long as possible.

Apple's iPad battery tips don't give any hints, nor does what appears to be the reference question here on Apple.SE.

Answer 1

The total life of the iPad's battery is going to be affected by the temperature you keep the battery at and the number of discharge-charge cycles it goes through.

Turning off the iPad will cause the battery to drain more slowly than leaving it in standby mode. But the battery will still be draining when the device is "powered off" as there's circuitry enabled to detect you pressing the power button to turn it back on.

I'm not sure how long an iPad that's off will hold its charge vs. one that is simply sitting in standby mode. I can't imagine the marginal gain in battery life is worth the hassle of waiting for it to power up every time you want to use it.

Answer 2

I haven't seen anything that would qualify as scientific study on this, so reader beware, but my own anecdotal observations suggest that an iPad in standby consumes very minimal amounts of power.

I typically use my iPad every day, but I've never noticed it losing any charge overnight (based on the percentage remaining), which can be around 10 hours or so from last use in a day to first use the next. More to the point, I've had stretches where I haven't used it for 3-4 days in a row, and I don't ever recall seeing it loose more than a few percentage points of battery in that span.

Again, this is all anecdotal, I may have a good (or bad) battery, my usage patterns may condition the battery better, the meter may not be very accurate, etc. But I would say don't worry about shutting it off. For one thing, the major power draw in the iPad is the screen. Secondly, one of the nice things about it (for me anyway) is that I can pick it up, quickly look something up and put it back to sleep, with virtually no lag (entering my password takes far longer than waking from sleep).

Answer 3

I have actually noticed that my iPad 2 consumes less power while in standby than it does if it is completely shutdown. I can leave it in standby for several days, and the battery will slowly lose its charge over that time. However, if I completely shutdown the iPad and do not use it for a few days, the battery will be completely drained and I have to plug it in to power it back on. It seems like a very poor electronic design to me. Why would anything lose more power while it is supposedly turned off?