Is it better to turn the phone's performance mode on or off?

Audit expert: Zheng Yuanpan

Professor of Zhengzhou University of Light Industry

On weekdays, when people use laptops for study, work or entertainment, they may miss the chance to win the game due to the lack of smoothness or lag, which is a poor device experience, and they may even lose some files that they have worked hard to compile. At this time, many people will think of turning on the high-performance mode of the computer to improve performance and get a better user experience.

Users of IOS phones may not be aware of this, but most Android phones also have a similar "high performance mode" function, which is the phone's "performance mode" . A phone with performance mode turned on is certainly smooth to use, but some brands of phones may prompt a message when turning on performance mode: "Using performance mode for a long time will cause the phone to age."

There is also a discussion on Weibo about whether performance mode is necessary. Just looking at the name, doesn't performance mode just consume more power? Why does it also cause damage to the phone's hardware such as accelerated aging?

Source: Screenshot of Weibo topic

Today we will learn about the characteristics and principles of mobile phone performance mode.

What is Performance Mode?

Performance mode is a setting option of the mobile phone, which can improve the performance of the mobile phone to obtain faster response speed and provide users with a better user experience. Its specific principle is to increase the operating speed of the CPU (Central Processing Unit) and GPU (graphics processing unit) or adjust the allocation, use and operation of system resources to meet the needs of mobile phone users.

Performance mode page of a certain brand of mobile phone

Source丨Editor

The performance mode exists to improve the running speed of the phone. If you are using an Android device, you can also find it in the system settings. The Android system has several modes such as performance, balance, power saving and custom, and users can choose different modes according to their own needs. However, iOS phones do not have this mode. This is because the iOS system will adjust the performance of the phone accordingly through regular system updates, software and hardware resource integration, and the use of the phone and application requirements, so that the device has the best performance in different situations. Therefore, iOS users can get an excellent user experience without manually selecting the performance mode.

How does Performance Mode work?

We mentioned above that the principle of performance mode is related to the running speed of the CPU and GPU and the strategic adjustment of resource allocation. Let’s talk about the technical level first.

CPU and GPU are the abbreviations of central processing unit and graphics processing unit respectively. These two processors are important components of many electronic products. The former is responsible for interpreting and running the code, while the latter is mainly responsible for graphics and image calculations.

CPU source: pixabay

When designing the CPU and GPU, smartphone manufacturers will assign fixed operating frequencies and scheduling policies to the CPU and GPU based on factors such as the degree of compatibility between hardware and product positioning. Under normal use, the CPU and GPU will adjust their operating frequencies based on the load of the phone, which can save power when the load is small and provide higher performance when the load is large. In this pre-made default mode, the phone will limit the frequencies of the two processors by default, focusing on lower power consumption and heat generation.

When the performance mode is turned on, the CPU and GPU will be "unrestricted" and they will run at the highest frequency, or even overclocked. At this time, the performance of the phone is greatly improved, and the phone will focus on maximizing performance. The heat generation and energy consumption will also increase dramatically, making it a "hand-warming artifact" in winter.

In addition, there is the more familiar power saving mode . When this mode is turned on, the CPU and GPU will run at a lower frequency, the device performance will decrease, and the screen brightness will be limited to about 30%. In this mode, the battery life of the phone can be extended and the heating of the device can be reduced.

In addition to improving the operating speed of the hardware, the performance mode can also satisfy the user experience by adjusting the allocation and use strategy of system resources . For example, if the user is currently mainly running games, the mobile phone system will give priority to allocating GPU and other resources to the running of game programs, making them more fully utilized. In this way, users will feel faster, more responsive, and have a better experience when using it.

What are the negative effects of performance mode?

Although mobile phone users will have a better user experience in performance mode, it will also have a certain negative impact on the phone. The first is the battery problem. After enabling performance mode, the CPU, GPU and other hardware of the mobile phone will run faster, which will increase battery power consumption and shorten the battery life .

Charging mobile phone

Source: pixabay

Next is the well-known "hand warmer" - that is, the high temperature problem. In performance mode, the CPU and GPU of the phone will run at a higher frequency, which means that more heat will be generated in the same amount of time. Although it is common for mobile phones to heat up, if they overheat, it will cause certain damage to the hardware of the phone , thus affecting the service life of the phone.

In addition to high temperatures, there are also problems with freezing. After enabling performance mode, some mobile phones will become more prone to overheating. At this time, the phone's processor will activate a protection mechanism, automatically reducing the processor frequency when the phone is overheated, and the performance of the phone will decline. In the end, there may be a series of problems such as application or operating system freezing, and game frame drops, which will affect the user experience.

From the above introduction to performance mode, we can see that although enabling performance mode may provide mobile phone users with a better user experience and meet usage needs in different situations, it also has some potential negative effects such as high heat, high energy consumption and premature hardware aging.

Therefore, it is recommended that you use this mode reasonably according to your actual needs, and also pay attention to the duration and frequency of use, as well as a series of problems that may be caused, such as shortened life of mobile phone hardware components such as batteries, overheating and freezing of mobile phones, and dropped frames. Correct use and management of the performance mode of mobile phones will help everyone better enjoy the convenience and fun of mobile phones.