Audible & Battery Usage: 10 Easy Answers (Explained)

Audible has a wealth of audiobooks and countless happy customers, all using the Audible app to take their books on the go via their mobile devices. However, when it comes to using apps, battery consumption is a valid concern.

In this article, we take a look at your burning questions surrounding the Audible app and its effect on battery usage.

Here’s Everything you Need to Know about Audible & Battery Usage:

Smartphone users report they can listen to Audible for 4-6 hours straight before their mobile loses significant battery. To reduce Audible’s battery consumption, users can activate ‘Low Power Mode’ and ensure their devices and the Audible app are updated. Battery consumption varies between devices.

Table of Contents

How Much Battery does Audible Consume?

How much battery the Audible app will use will vary depending on the make and model of the device that you are using to listen with.

The amount of battery that is consumed will also vary depending on how heavy the usage is.

On average, in 2022, users report that with heavy usage (near constant listening), they can listen to their Audible audiobooks anywhere from 4 to 6 hours before their smartphone or other device is completely drained of battery.

Audible has come under scrutiny from users in the past year, as the amount of battery consumed by the app has appeared to increase ever since the release of one of their more recent updates.

However, Audible has released further updates and has ensured that if you keep the app fully updated, you will no longer experience any extreme battery drainage.

Note also that using podcast apps may drain your battery.

How New should your Smartphone be to Run Audible?

In order to use the Audible app to listen to and enjoy all of your favorite audiobooks, you will need to have a smartphone that can support it.

Here is a list of the iPhones that are fully compatible with the Audible app:

6S and 6S Plus
SE (1st, 2nd & 3rd generations)
7 and 7 Plus
8 and 8 Plus
X, Xs, and Xs Max
iPhone XR
11, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Max
12, 12 mini, 12 Pro, and 12 Pro Max
13, 13 mini, 13 Pro, and 13 Pro Max
14 Plus, 14 Pro, and 14 Pro Max

Take a look at our article about other devices that work with Audible.

Your iPhone will also need to be updated to the latest iOS in order to run Audible smoothly. The App Store states you need to be using iOS 15.0 or newer in order to install the Audible app.

So as long as you have an iPhone 6S or newer that’s updated to iOS 15.0, you should have no problem listening to titles on the Audible app. If you are experiencing glitches when using Audible, you may need to update your device.

To update your iPhones iOS, follow these simple steps:

Start by ensuring your iPhone is charging and connected to a stable internet network.
Tap on ‘Settings’
Navigate to ‘General’
Next, select ‘Software Update’
Lastly, choose either ‘Install Now’ or ‘Download and Install’

Your iPhone will now begin updating to the latest iOS currently available.

For Android smartphones, any device operating on OS 6 or newer will be completely compatible with Audible.

Updating your Android device’s operating system, and thus ensuring you can use Audible hassle-free, is incredibly straightforward.

To update your Android phone’s OS, follow these steps:

Begin by opening ‘Settings’ on your Android smartphone.
Scroll down to ‘About Phone’, which you will find near the bottom.
Next, tap on ‘Check for Updates’
Finally, choose ‘Install’

Does Audible Consume More (or Less) Battery than other Audiobook Apps?

Nearly all audiobook apps will consume a very similar amount of battery. When it comes to comparing battery usage on the top audiobook apps, you will struggle to find many variations.

You will also find that Audible will use far less battery than the popular social media apps and other health apps that you may be using every day.

It so happened that when comparing the top audiobook apps for 2022, reviewgeek.com found that Audible came in at the top.

This is because there are just so many perks to using Audible to listen to audiobooks – from their 200,000 plus catalog to the Audible original titles – you won’t be disappointed.

How can you Preserve Battery while using Audible?

It’s natural to be concerned about battery consumption and apps such as Audible. We want our phones to last as long as possible on any given day. Moreover, we need to ensure that listening to Audible is not going to push our phone’s battery to the limit.

There are many ways to conserve battery whilst using Audible, just take a look at the tips below to prolong each Audible listening session.

Update your Device to the Latest OS

Keeping your devices updated to the latest OS is crucial to keeping their overall performance smooth and problem free.

Having an outdated OS will hinder your device’s general functions and will increase any potential security risks that your device may be susceptible to.

Updating your device will help with battery consumption when listening to Audible and will allow it keep up with all of the latest features available in the app.

Doing so is a quick and easy procedure; simply take a look at the steps found earlier in this article for how to update your iOS and Android OS so that Audible functions optimally.

Update the Audible App

It’s very important to also keep up with Audible’s latest application updates. App updates are designed to fix any bugs or glitches you may be experiencing when using them.

If you find that Audible is using a lot of your battery, simply updating the app can help preserve it.

Here’s how to update Audible on your iOS device:

Begin by opening the App Store on your iPhone, iPad, or other iOS devices.
Tap on your profile icon on the top right-hand side.
Refresh the page by swiping down and letting go.
Scroll through your apps and select ‘Update’ next to the Audible icon.

If you cannot see an update option, then you are currently running the most recent version of Audible.

Here’s how to update Audible on your Android device:

Start by opening up the Google Play Store.
Tap on your profile icon located in the top right of your screen.
Select ‘Manage apps and device’
Scroll through your apps until you locate Audible. If there is an update, you will see ‘Update Available’ next to the Audible icon.
Tap on this and Audible will begin updating.

Adjust your Screen’s Brightness Levels

Decreasing your iOS device or Android device’s screen brightness is one of the simplest ways to prolong battery life when using any app, not just Audible.

To adjust your screen’s brightness settings on your iOS device, follow these steps:

From your Home Screen, simply swipe upwards from the bottom.
You’ll see a quick access menu for your WiFi connection, Bluetooth, and screen brightness.
Locate the grey ‘sun’ icon and adjust the screen’s brightness accordingly.

You can also adjust the brightness by navigating to Settings> Display & Brightness and dragging the slider left or right.

Here’s how to adjust the brightness of your screen on your Android device:

Begin by unlocking your device.
Swipe downwards on your screen two times and you will see a menu appear.
Press and hold on to the brightness slider and adjust the levels to make the screen brighter or dimmer to fit your needs.

Enable Low Power Mode

Switching your Android or iOS device into low power mode will always help conserve your battery usage by reducing any background activity, automatically lowering the brightness, and optimizing performance for lower battery consumption.