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[UPDATED] 2021: No more lags, freezes, battery drain, heating... Apr 7, 2021

TheMystic , Apr 7, 2021 :

PREFACE
In this thread, I will give you simple tips to have the best smartphone experience that is free of lags, battery drain, heating and other common complaints. You really don't have to do anything beyond this as most other 'solutions', 'suggestions' that you find elsewhere simply won't work for reasons quoted below. At best, you will have Placebo Effect that is completely misleading.

But before going into this, I want you to understand a few important things.

MISCONCEPTIONS
Complaints about battery drain, heating, lags, etc. are never-ending. You know why? Because much of the 'solutions' you see on the internet and online forums are either outdated, incomplete or just don't work. You will find some poster going technical with their solutions to impress upon people, and it tends to draw attention because it gives the impression that the person knows the stuff. The fact, however, is such explanations, theories and suggestions are highly limited in their scope and completely based on certain assumptions, which almost always turn out to be untrue. Result? Everything you try either doesn't work, or works just initially or temporarily before everything goes back to square one.

FACTS
Understand this:

Every hardware has technological limitations and come with a certain number of hours/ cycles of useful life. This includes the battery, CPU, GPU, and every single piece of hardware on the device. This is universally true, even if I stick with smartphones for our discussion since this is a forum primarily for smartphones.

You MUST setup and use your phone in a way that consumes least CPU cycles, least impact on RAM, battery, network radios, etc. to prolong the lives of the hardware and to maximize their efficiency to give you best user experience.

An easy way to explain this is Cache! Probably the most misunderstood feature. Cache is there to speed up your device. Do you know how you get speed? When you don't have to redo (or rebuild) something! Everytime you delete cache, your phone (via the OS and apps) has to recreate them to provide the experience it is designed for. And everytime Cache is rebuilt, it consumes CPU cycles, drains battery, uses RAM, uses network (if it has to re-download stuff), etc. All these also generate heat, which is the biggest hardware killer. Now you have spent a lot of resources and taken away the useful life of your hardware just for RE-DOING something that was completely AVOIDABLE!

MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR UNDER YOUR CONTROL
The most important factor, which is in your hands, that affect your smartphone experience is your choice of apps. Only a few apps are excellent and you have to find them (via trial and error or by seeking help) for the problem you are trying to solve. A vast majority of apps are badly coded, run background services, display ads, keep polling the system for events, or pure evil. Your smartphone experience is directly proportional to the quality and number of apps you have installed, quality being more important.

ANOMALY
While the Operating System (OS) is identical, your device isn't! There are a range of factors that affect hardware and no two piece of hardware are identical. Thats why people using the same software don't have identical experience since their hardware is not identical. But they eventually end up blaming the software because often problems crop up after an update, and they forget the fact that it is the hardware that is different and responding differently to the update. In addition to the hardware, external factors like location, network connection, mobile signal strength, etc. too play a major role on your overall experience with the device.

I have explained the common factors that affect battery life here:

Battery Facts... - OnePlus Community

The software as such plays a much smaller role compared to the hardware and external factors.

TIPS
I will tell you how I set up my device. Hope this will help you too.

1. For most apps, I use the PRO version, wherever available. Buying the PRO version or making in-app purchase supports development and is an appreciation for the developer for his/ her efforts and good work done.

2. I use ad-blocker, so have no idea about ads on free versions. This is not to block revenue to developers, but only to safeguard my own privacy and security online.

AFTER INSTALLING BUT BEFORE OPENING ANY APP:

3. I disable internet access to all apps that should not require it for core functionality. For apps that should work offline, go to Settings/ Apps & Notifications/ All Apps and for each app, disable both WiFi and Mobile Data. You can also access this under Settings/ Apps and Notifications/ Data Usage Control: For each app, change it to 'Forbidden'.

Do remember, that this will block ads too which is a bad thing as the developer depends on ad revenue. It would be nice if you could buy the ad-free version (either a separate app or in-app purchase) to support development. DON'T BE CHEAP!

4. I DENY all unnecessary permissions to apps. Go to Settings/ Apps & Notifications/ Special App Access: Deny all unnecessary permissions. Some apps in this section are automatically granted some permissions like 'Modify System Settings', 'WiFi Control', etc. Deny these permissions.

5. Go to Settings/ Privacy/ Permissions Manager: Deny all unnecessary permissions. You will also find this under Settings/ Apps and Notifications/ App Permissions.

5. If side-loading an app from outside Google Play Store, always upload the apk to VirusTotal and ensure no engine flags it. Install the apk only if it comes out completely clean.

6. For apps that you rarely use, best is to uninstall it after saving the apk. But if for some reason you would like to keep it installed, go to Settings/ Apps & Notifications/ All Apps and for each of those apps, go to Advanced/ Battery and choose 'Optimize'.

7. For apps that you frequently use, best is to go to Settings/ Apps & Notifications/ All Apps and for each of those apps, go to Advanced/ Battery and choose 'Do NOT Optimize'. This is best for apps that have a persistent notification, email, chat, sms, phone, Google Photos (or any app that backups up your stuff real-time), etc.

8. If the OS has a Autostart feature (not available in OOS), make use of it. Disable Autostart functionality for apps you don't want to start on its own.

HOW I CHOOSE MY APPS
I look forward to the following features:

1. Cross platform support - This helps me stay away from platform dependency (iOS/ Android). I can easily switch platforms because the app would be available.

2. Sync support - I prefer signing in with an account so the information can sync across devices, across platforms.

3. The app is under active development.

4. Simple and minimalistic, but fully functional.

5. Small size (compared to similar apps) - small app size indicates efficient coding and less possibility of unwanted bundling inside the app.

6. Least amount of ads/ trackers. You can check them here:

https://reports.exodus-privacy.eu.org/en/

Simply copy the Google Play Store link into the box on that site to see how many trackers are built into the app.

7. If an app is excellent, I try to see what other apps are available from the same developer.

8. Any app I download from outside Google Play Store, I always upload them to VirusTotal to scan for malware. I usually download apps only from the following sites:

1. Apkmirror https://www.apkmirror.com/
2. F-Droid https://www.f-droid.org/
3. XDA
4. GitHub

I will usually not sideload an app even if one antivirus engine on VirusTotal flags it as malware, with very very rare exceptions. It is a strict NO if multiple antivirus engines flag them.

APPS TO STAY AWAY FROM
Apps that must run in the background to improve your experience are the first ones you should stay away from. Examples of such apps would be those that have the following terms in their names or app descriptions:

1. Antivirus
2. CPU Cooler
3. Memory/ RAM booster
4. Battery Saver
5. Cache Cleaner
6. Memory/ RAM cleaner
7. Battery Recalibration
8. Others, you got the idea.

Far from doing what they 'claim' to do, they ALL are pure evil and completely counter-productive. Unless you are a researcher doing a specific research or analysing battery behaviour or something like that, STAY AWAY from GSAM, BetterBatteryStats, AccuBattery, and other similar apps.

There is absolutely no point in installing these as they run a background service, constantly polling system events (and therefore consuming CPU and other resources), constantly analysing other apps behaviour, etc and ultimately draining battery (which they are supposed to help conserve) and wasting precious CPU cycles, eventually reducing the life of hardware.

Stay away from apps that run background service and constantly keep polling for different types of events. These are the apps that cause lags, drain battery and contribute to poor experience on the device.

If possible, stay away from Facebook/ Instagram too. Use a mobile browser to access your accounts or use their Lite versions if possible. OOS has the significant advantage of being one of the very few (or probably the only one from an OEM) OS that doesn't bundle evil Facebook Services (different from Facebook app).

Same holds true for other social media apps that apy on you.

THE OPERATING SYSTEM (OS) KNOWS IT BEST
You really don't have to tinker with any of the system functions. The OS knows its job the best and can handle its requirements perfectly. Android has evolved significantly over the years. Suggestions like keeping the phone on charge overnight after an update, passing unnecessary commands (like forced optimization and others) over ADB, etc. are just myths. At best, their proclaimed benefits are miniscule and so insignificant, that you are better off not bothering about it. In some very limited cases, battery drain may be slightly higher after an update for a couple of charging cycles, but that is all there is to it. It doesn't require any user intervention. Just let the OS handle itself.

Hope this helps.