The PlayStation Vita has decent battery life when you consider the graphical horsepower, but four or five hours are still not a lot if you go on a road trip without a power outlet. All is not lost, though, as there are simple things that you can do to extend the life of your trusty handheld. You could easily add an extra hour of battery life by following these quick and easy steps:
Adjust the Screen Brightness: This one is a no-brainer. Screen brightness contributes more towards battery depletion than any other single function of the system. Go to Settings, tap on “Sound and Display”, and then adjust the screen brightness. Believe me, it helps a lot!
Turn off Wi-Fi: The PS Vita doesn’t have a Wi-Fi button like the Nintendo 3DS, but if you go to Settings and click on “Flight Mode” it will turn off all network features for the system. Alternatively, you can leave the Wi-Fi settings alone and simply push cancel in-game when the system tries to connect with PlayStation Network.
Power Save Settings: Also in the Settings menu is the “Power Save Settings”. This puts the PS Vita in auto standby after you go 1, 3, 5 or 10 minutes without using the system. Put it on 1 or 3 minutes if you want the most power savings (although having your system go dark after only a minute can sometimes be annoying).
Adjust the Audio: You may not think about it, but turning down the sound (or off completely) will conserve power. No one needs the sound turned up at full blast and if you find the in-game music annoying anyway, why bother draining your battery in the first place?
Shut off the System: Instead of putting the Vita into sleep mode, consider turning it off. It may be extremely convenient to tap the power button and put it into sleep mode, but it will still use battery even when you are not playing. Most Vita games have auto-save features anyway, so it is not like you will lose game data (check the game manual to be sure). It is especially useful to turn your system off if you do not plan to use it for an extended period of time, such as when you go to sleep at night.