For years, there have been quite a few myths floating around about various settings and actions that can harm a battery's lifespan, or worse, cause dangerous overheating or even explosions. Thankfully - aside from the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco - we've seen next to zero danger of smartphones spontaneously exploding, but there are certain behaviors that can have detrimental effects, although they do take a long time to actually manifest. First off, here's what's not true. It's not possible to "overcharge" a phone; once it's at 100%, the circuit stops the charging process and won't provide any more power to the device than is necessary for its standard operation. Second, in 2020, there's no pressing need to disable location services such as GPS or local Bluetooth scanning, as those protocols have been optimized to significantly reduce their power drain. Furthermore, it doesn't really help and can possibly waste electricity to constantly close background apps when you're not using them, especially if you're likely to open those apps again in the near future. The fact is that takes more electricity for your phone to close and then reopen apps than it does for them to remain in the background occupying a minimal amount of RAM. Finally, it's not hugely important - as far as actual battery health is concerned - to use converters and cables made by your phone's manufacturers, although it can affect fast charging speeds in some cases. Some protocols work slightly better with an OEM-branded cable, while some won't fast charge and will revert to traditional wattages, but there's no actual risk when mixing reputable brands of chargers, cables, and phones. So what difference does it make whether or not you even pay attention to long-term battery health? Most obviously is the fact that battery capacity degrades over time simply due to the nature of the physics involved. You may well remember the relatively massive outcry when iOS was found to slow devices as the battery life decreased. Apple appears to have backed off that stance after offering discounted battery replacements for affected devices. For most, if not all electronics on the market today, though, the biggest drawback of careless battery management is an increasingly lower capacity. As far as actual risks to battery lifespan go, heat is one of the main agitators. Excess heat is the bane of almost all electronics, and batteries are no exception. Keeping a phone under your pillow at night as it charges, for example, is one behavior that is definitely a terrible idea (yes, people do this). Additionally, lithium ion cells have only a finite number of charging cycles. This number is, admittedly, quite high, and average users shouldn't have to worry a whole lot about using them up in the course of the one to three years they own their smartphone. If, however, you typically use your mobile device for high-drain activities such as a mobile hot spot or video streaming device, it's worth considering plugging it in while you're using it so as to offload the power drain to a wall outlet or more easily replaceable battery pack. |
