A lie that makes your smartphone's battery last longer. Verify 5 established theories

In the last few years, smartphone batteries have undergone major evolution. As a result, some techniques that have previously been shown to help extend battery life are not as effective as they used to be. Even so, the current situation is that old information is circulating like Kinkatamajo. Before we show off our outdated knowledge of turning off Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, let's examine these old dogma.

Hypothesis 1: Charging is done after the battery level is zero

Sure, previous batteries weren't very smart. Older model batteries "forget" their full capacity, so they usually can't be fully charged, so they should be fully discharged until the battery capacity reaches 0% and then recharged. Was considered good. But this is no longer the case now, or rather long ago.

Unlike the nickel-cadmium batteries and nickel-metal hydride batteries that were used before, the lithium-ion batteries installed in modern smartphones are not affected by the memory effect described earlier. Similarly, lithium-ion batteries do not need to be fully discharged each time because they count different charge cycles than previous generation batteries. Read Apple's description quoted below. This is limited to Apple batteries, but it applies to all lithium-ion batteries.

However, many manufacturers still recommend "calibrating" the battery. This means that every 1 to 3 months, it is necessary to fully discharge and then fully charge. As the full capacity of the battery decreases over time, the usable time when fully charged decreases little by little each time it is completely discharged. In short, each time you discharge, the battery life will be slightly reduced. Once a month, if the battery is discharged to 0%, the operating system will adjust to the stage of the life cycle of the battery, and it will be possible to accurately grasp the capacity decrease due to aging. ..

However, more and more batteries now have built-in tools for digital calibration. With these "smart batteries", there is almost no need to manually calibrate. However, if the battery behaves strangely, you may want to give it a try. If the battery level changes frequently and suddenly (for example, if it was displayed as 100% but suddenly reaches 20%), it is time to calibrate manually. However, it is not recommended to do it more than necessary. In fact, repeated full discharges have a negative effect on lithium-ion batteries. Each time it is fully discharged, the charge cycle is increased by one, which shortens the battery life.

Hypothesis # 2: Battery life is shortened when charging every night

This is the same story as battery calibration, but in the past, if the terminal was left charged, "overcharging" could damage the battery. When left on for long periods of time, older lithium-ion batteries overheat (or, in rare cases, can explode), reducing their charge capacity and long-term battery life (heat). This can still happen if you're using a case that isn't designed to escape).

But lately, chargers and smartphones have become much smarter, and measures are being taken to prevent this from happening. The article on the information site "Popular Mechanics" also has the following description, following the story of Andrew Goldberg, a technical writer for the repair site "iFixit".

However, if you keep your smartphone connected to a power source, it may cause some deterioration. However, it is a problem that users do not notice. As I've pointed out earlier in Lifehacker's article, it's best to keep the battery level between 40-80% at all times if you want to use it for as long as possible. That's true in theory, but it's ridiculous that humans living in this modern society have to pay attention to the battery charge level. Fortunately, with today's devices, even when they're nearly fully charged, leaving them plugged in all night doesn't damage the battery as much as it used to.

Incidentally, managing the battery of a smartphone is a little different from the battery of a laptop computer. The reason is that most smartphones are replaced at least once every two years. In this way, the life cycle of the battery is not as important as it used to be because the smartphone terminal itself has been used for a short period of time. Of course, some people may say that they are the type who will continue to use one terminal forever. But if you're the type of person who buys a new device on a regular basis, you don't have to worry too much about battery life. Regardless of how you use it, the battery will eventually deteriorate and reach the end of its life. So you shouldn't be too particular about this.

Hypothesis # 3: Battery life improves when you quit unnecessary apps

We users tend to think of smartphones as small computers and treat them as if they were computers. For laptops, launching multiple apps (especially those that communicate with the Internet) consumes more battery power, so don't you think the same reasoning holds for smartphones? That is a mistake. Smartphones do not have such a mechanism.

In the case of iOS, unlike a computer, an app that has been started once does not stay open. When you switch apps, the apps you were using will be paused, doing nothing and consuming no resources. Closing these apps has no benefit to the battery. On the contrary, the "close" operation itself uses the CPU and consumes the battery. Let's ask Scotty Loveless, a former Genius Bar technical staff member, to explain the situation.

The same is true for Android devices. You may have heard that you are using a "task killer" app to close the app and have a battery. But the problem is that not only are these apps ineffective, but they also have more disadvantages than advantages. As with iOS, if you finish a task on Android, you will have to restart it for later use. Then, the CPU is still used and the battery is wasted. Completing a task, whether manually or via Task Killer, consumes extra resources, which also negatively impacts battery life.

Turning off background data updates is more effective for battery life than closing the app each time. On iOS, this feature is named "App Background Updates". The app that is being updated here is still reading the data even after switching to another app. Since the CPU is used to update the data, it consumes the battery. If you want to turn off this feature, tap Settings> General> App Background Updates and turn off the toggle button for apps that don't need to be updated.

For Android devices, start the "Settings" app, go to [Wireless & networks]> [Data usage], tap the menu icon, and if background update is allowed, [Background data] You can tap it to turn off background updates. However, keep in mind that some apps, such as the Google Play Store, will not work well if you limit background data.

That doesn't mean there are cases where the app itself has a problem. Some software, such as the messaging app, consumes a lot of battery capacity. So turn off background updates and turn off notifications for apps you don't need. If you haven't used the app at all, you can delete it. Apps that have program problems or require a great deal of resources are also natural enemies of the battery. Recent smartphones also have excellent measurement functions, so it is possible to identify such apps. For Android, you can easily see which app is consuming the most power by selecting the [Battery] menu from the "Settings" app. For iOS, tap Settings> Battery to see similar information.

Hypothesis # 4: Only the "genuine" charger that comes with your device should be used

Smartphone makers want you to use only the genuine charger that comes with your device. Most of the boxes and manuals that contain the product should say "strongly recommend" not to use a non-genuine charger. Sure, it's best not to use cheap chargers, such as dubious imitations and counterfeits, but there are products that are good enough for affordable unbranded products.

Recent USB chargers are becoming more standardized, so even though different products take different charging times, they don't damage the battery itself. When blogger Ken Shirriff tested different chargers a few years ago, different products took different amounts of time to charge, but using a third-party charger wouldn't affect the battery itself. The result is that there is no such thing.

Even if the current supplied by the charger was different from the amperage value expected by the mobile device, there was no problem. The batteries of modern smartphones are smart and are designed to use the maximum amount of electricity they can handle, regardless of the current supplied. Therefore, there is no danger of overheating as long as the charger supplies the current according to the specifications. However, in the case of cheap chargers, there are many cases where the output exceeds (or less than) the original performance (and there are also products whose output fluctuates significantly during charging), which causes trouble. If you have a decent product, even if it is unbranded, these problems will not occur.

Hypothesis # 5: Turning off Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and location services can save a lot of battery power

Whether it's iOS's "App Background Updates" or Android's "Google Now On Tap," all the new features added to smartphones seem to be battery-intensive. That's certainly true, but that doesn't mean you have to "turn off" all toggle switches looking for new features, and basics like Bluetooth and Wi-Fi just to save battery power. It is not a good idea to turn off system services.

For example, in an article about how much system services consume iPhone battery from Apple's product and software website MacWorld, even if you turn on location services for apps you don't use often, The results show that there is almost no effect on the usable time of the battery. Similarly, switching to airplane mode and turning off mobile data, Bluetooth, GPS, and location services all increased the usable time by only 30 minutes. All in all, you can only say that it doesn't save much electricity (and since this study was done two years ago, the difference should be even smaller now).

In the past, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth consumed a lot of power, but now that the power is being saved considerably, even if it is turned on and off frequently, the effect on the remaining battery power is negligible. For location services, it's okay to allow your app to use this information only when it's needed. However, it is important to be careful not to set to use location information "always" unless there are special circumstances. If you always use location information, the battery level will be reduced in a blink of an eye. Fortunately, you should usually have the option to limit your use of location services to your app only. Of course, if you don't use Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, you can turn it off from the beginning, but you don't have to be nervous if you have to.

Above all, it is the LCD screen that consumes the battery. So, if you really care about the battery level, it's best to turn off the screen and keep your smartphone in your pocket until you really have to use it.

Thorin Klosowski (Original / Translated by Mutsumi Hase / Galileo)