The smarter your phone, the quicker it will drain its battery! — Someone actually said that.
Today there is hardly anyone worth mentioning around us who does not own a smartphone. As technology is spurting out new gadgets, we humans are going along with it with great vigour. No new model of a smartphone can rest once it is released in the market — we immediately huddle to buy it.
Now, with great smartphones come greater responsibilities! Which cover should I buy? Which colour suits it best? What brand of charger should I use? Or should I use a removable battery? Which OS (operating system) is the latest? Does the background picture look cool enough?
Worrying about batteries is one of the most common causes of distress among smartphone users. Let us see what exactly is there to worry about.
- What a lot of us smartphone users regularly worry about is what the optimum percentage of battery is that we should maintain.
For lithium-ion batteries, it is best to keep them charged between 50 to 80 percent. “This allows for the charged ions to continue to work and protect the life of your battery,” says Shane Broesky, co- founder of Farbe Technik, a company that makes charging accessories.
Following the same line of thought — remember the salesman saying something about discharging the battery completely from time to time? Sometimes they say that when they are selling the thing, but sometimes they do not…
Well, that is one thing you should not pay attention to. “The major threat to your battery is charge cycles,” Shane explains. “A charge cycle is where your battery goes from empty or near-empty to full.” So, if you let the battery level drop to its lowest and then charge it again until it is full, your battery will eventually run of its charge cycles. Result? After a few days, that battery simply will not turn on!
Another thing smartphone-wielders think incessantly about is whether they are doing right keeping the phone plugged in all night. We all tend to do that once and twice, do we not?
In Shane’s words, again, “Leaving your phone plugged in overnight is okay to do, it will not drastically harm your device.” Smartphones are called smart for a reason. When they are fully charged, they just stop. So, after your precious phone shows a 100% battery sign, it will not make any difference whether it is plugged in or not.
But of course, some might ask: “What if I plug it in and forget about it and it ends up being left plugged in all night?”
Nothing to fear, in that case, as long as the cover of the phone lets heat escape properly. Otherwise, the phone will become heated too much, which is not at all good for its health. The best option is to remove any cover or casing you use on your phone before you leave it to for the night.
Last, but not the least, concern turns out to be for the charger itself. What if you remember to disconnect your phone from the charger but forget to unplug the charger itself? Will it continue taking in current and, for the lack of a phone to channel the current, blow up eventually?
Not quite. Although technically the charger will be working, practically it will as well as be turned off. The energy drain will be so little that it will make no difference if you plug in a carrot! Still, it is suggested that you do not keep a charger plugged in without a phone.
Taking care of a smartphone is not easy — but not hard either, if you know what to do and what to avoid. Try to follow these tips and you will definitely have the best experience out of your precious gadget.
One last thing: It is always advised that you use whatever charger you got with the phone itself. Using just any, which was not made by a reputed brand, will only harm the phone.
