Energy and Battery

🇩🇪 Deutsche Version

JourneyPulse adapts location accuracy to what you're doing. When stationary the app saves power; when driving or navigating, location automatically becomes more precise.

Location modes

The app switches automatically between four modes, depending on speed and movement:

Mode	Character
Standby	Minimal consumption, e.g. when stationary
Power saving	Economical operation with reduced location
Standard	Normal location
Precise	Highest accuracy, e.g. when driving fast or navigating

The current mode is shown in the Live Activity. On navigation trips accuracy takes priority over battery so that instructions, recalculation and CarPlay stay reliable. When charging, the app puts even more weight on precision.

Tracking profiles

Under Settings → Recording & Energy → Tracking Profiles & Energy you choose how the app works in the background:

• Background with trip recording: clean routes even with the screen locked, with automatic accuracy.
• Background significant places only: saves more battery and is better suited to place and stay detection than to detailed routes.
• Foreground only: tracking stops completely when you close the app. No Dynamic Island, no widgets, no background consumption.

Further controls in the same section:

• Motion detection for energy saving: uses the motion sensors to throttle location when stationary.
• Automatic accuracy: ramps GPS up when moving and down when stationary. If the vehicle stands still for more than a minute during a recording, the app does without the power-hungry navigation accuracy until it rolls again. During navigation full accuracy is kept.
  • Parking mode: if the iPhone is stationary for five minutes during a recording, the app locates only via Wi-Fi and cellular — GPS is then off. The trip continues; map and route get no rough points during this time. As soon as the iPhone detects walking, cycling or driving or the location changes by more than about 100 m, full accuracy applies again immediately. If you drive off without walking first (iPhone already in the car), the start of the route may be missing for a few seconds. There is no parking mode during navigation; it ends with the "Automatic accuracy" switch.
• High precision on foot / by bike: cleaner line on hikes and bike tours, at the cost of higher battery use.
• Sensitivity: determines how early the app wakes up on movement (very early to late). Below it the app shows the current wake-up speed and the waiting time after a stop.
• Keep display on while tracking (Display & Map → Display while tracking): prevents automatic standby while the app is in the foreground and a trip is running. This costs battery. In parking mode the display may still lock.

Protection at low battery and heat

The app monitors battery level and device temperature. The check runs more often the lower the battery level. At low battery (default 15 %) or strong heating the message "Power saving mode recommended" appears with three options:

• Enable power saving mode: the app throttles secondary tasks: the always-on display during recording is switched off, warnings are queried less often outside navigation, and the Live Activity updates less often.
• Remind me later: the message comes again after 30 minutes if the condition is still critical.
• Ignore: the message stays silent until the condition has recovered and later becomes critical again.

iOS Low Power Mode has the same effect without asking and additionally lowers recording accuracy slightly; OBD values are then also queried less often. A running navigation is not affected.

If a trip ends while the app is in the background, the app also ends location after about 30 seconds.

In the app's power saving mode, recording and navigation continue unchanged: GPS accuracy is not reduced. Power saving mode ends automatically when the battery is sufficiently charged again (at least 10 percentage points above the threshold) and the iPhone is no longer hot.

Live Activity and Dynamic Island

Only during a recording or navigation does JourneyPulse show a Live Activity on the lock screen and in the Dynamic Island; it ends with the trip or navigation. Depending on the situation it shows:

• location mode, speed, distance and duration of the trip
• whether the iPhone is charging
• during navigation: next instruction, turn icon, remaining distance, remaining time and arrival time, as well as notices on recalculation or route deviation
• the next hazard with distance
• the GPS accuracy

Settings under Display & Map → Live Activity & Dynamic Island:

• Agent mode (no Island/widget): switches Live Activities and widgets off completely.
• Minimal mode, Lock interactions, Hide keyline: reduce the display.
• Start Live Activity automatically after agent mode: starts it again as soon as you leave agent mode.
• Widget repair: ends all widgets and Live Activities and starts them fresh. Helps when the display is stuck.

Saving tips

• Choose "Background significant places only" if places matter more to you than exact routes.
• Querying warning sources and places in the background also costs energy and data. Disable data sources you don't need under Warnings.
• iOS Low Power Mode can restrict background location.
• Without the "Always" permission, iOS may end recording in the background.

See also: Settings · Recording Trips · FAQ