iPhone Low data mode?

[steve62388]

Does anybody know what Low Data Mode actually does beyond the description in iOS? I’m curious.

 

[Freakonomics101]

“Low Data Mode is a new feature in iOS 13 that restricts the data your apps use in the background. This can reduce your data usage and make your network connection feel faster. You can enable Low Data Mode for cellular data or for specific Wi-Fi networks in the Settings app.”

Low Data Mode on iPhone: How to enable and use it

Low Data Mode on an iPhone reduces how much internet data your phone uses, whether you're on Wi-Fi or cellular data.

amp.businessinsider.com

 

[steve62388]

“Low Data Mode is a new feature in iOS 13 that restricts the data your apps use in the background. This can reduce your data usage and make your network connection feel faster. You can enable Low Data Mode for cellular data or for specific Wi-Fi networks in the Settings app.”

Low Data Mode on iPhone: How to enable and use it

Low Data Mode on an iPhone reduces how much internet data your phone uses, whether you're on Wi-Fi or cellular data.

amp.businessinsider.com

Thanks for the reply but that doesn’t really tell me any more than what it says in iOS. For example, does it reduce the number of times an app can poll for data? Is it much more clever than that? Does anybody really know?

 

[Freakonomics101]

Thanks for the reply but that doesn’t really tell me any more than what it says in iOS. For example, does it reduce the number of times an app can poll for data? Is it much more clever than that? Does anybody really know?

My guess is it will improve battery life and reduce cellular data usage.

 

[4339142]

Apple Support has a article about it: Use Low Data Mode on iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch

Different apps use different ways of reducing data usage in Low Data Mode. In general, here's what you can expect:

• Apps might stop using network data when you're not actively using them.
• Background App Refresh is turned off.
• The quality of streaming content might be reduced.
• Automatic downloads and backups are turned off.
• Services such as iCloud Photos pause updates.

Built-in iOS apps and services adapt to Low Data Mode in the following ways:

• App Store: Video autoplay, automatic updates, and automatic downloads are turned off.
• Music: Automatic downloads and high quality streaming are turned off.
• Podcasts: The frequency of feed updates is limited, and episodes are downloaded only on Wi-Fi.
• News: Article prefetching is turned off.
• iCloud: Updates are paused, and automatic backups and iCloud Photos updates are turned off.
• FaceTime: Video bitrate is optimized for lower bandwidth.

 

[zorinlynx]

I'm glad they made this available for WiFi. This will be good when I join busy WiFi networks that don't have very good backhaul, such as at conventions, arenas, etc...

 

[steve62388]

I'm glad they made this available for WiFi. This will be good when I join busy WiFi networks that don't have very good backhaul, such as at conventions, arenas, etc...

Is it? Because it’s under the Mobile Data section.

 

[zorinlynx]

Is it? Because it’s under the Mobile Data section.

Hit the little "i" in a circle next to your WiFi network in settings and you'll see the option.

 

[steve62388]

Hit the little "i" in a circle next to your WiFi network in settings and you'll see the option.

They hid that well. Interesting that you can activate it on a network by network basis.