Battery life obsession

[WilliamBateman]

Where does this come from? Im just curious what people aren't around electrical outlets to charge their phone if needed thru the course of a day or in a car to charge it on the way home. If you say something like "Im at work all day and can't charge my phone", you must not have a tough job if you can chew thru your phones battery life in that 8 hours at work and an easy job should let you charge your phone there Just curious...

 

[3bs]

Where does this come from? Im just curious what people aren't around electrical outlets to charge their phone if needed thru the course of a day or in a car to charge it on the way home. If you say something like "Im at work all day and can't charge my phone", you must not have a tough job if you can chew thru your phones battery life in that 8 hours at work and an easy job should let you charge your phone there Just curious...

I'm out and about throughout the day and often not near an outlet. Even if I was, why would I want to use my phone while it's plugged in? It's annoying.

All other specs on phones seem to be surpassing what we can discernibly tell a difference between but that can't be said about battery life.

 

[WilliamBateman]

I'm out and about throughout the day and often not near an outlet. Even if I was, why would I want to use my phone while it's plugged in? It's annoying.

All other specs on phones seem to be surpassing what we can discernibly tell a difference between but that can't be said about battery life.

I use my phone while it's plugged in every night, doesn't annoy me. You don't charge your phone in your car while you are out if it needs it?

 

[zbarvian]

What kind of question is that? Nobody wants to remember to bring a charger everywhere they go, lounge near wall outlets, use a phone with a cord plugged in, or glance obsessively at their percentage indicator. Plugging it in for a partial charge in the car 2-3 times a day is a great way to burn out your battery and get shoddy longevity out of it. I'd rather not be a slave to my phone.

 

[pdqgp]

What kind of question is that? Nobody wants to remember to bring a charger everywhere they go, lounge near wall outlets, use a phone with a cord plugged in, or glance obsessively at their percentage indicator. Plugging it in for a partial charge in the car 2-3 times a day is a great way to burn out your battery and get shoddy longevity out of it. I'd rather not be a slave to my phone.

I agree. It's sad that with today's technology all phones can't be used and last for at least 24hrs. Thankfully I was able to get very good life out of my 4s and now the Note 3 is truly a dream with it's huge power capability.

 

[rezenclowd3]

What kind of question is that? Nobody wants to remember to bring a charger everywhere they go, lounge near wall outlets, use a phone with a cord plugged in, or glance obsessively at their percentage indicator. Plugging it in for a partial charge in the car 2-3 times a day is a great way to burn out your battery and get shoddy longevity out of it. I'd rather not be a slave to my phone.

Not true with current battery chemistry.

OP: I am out and about rarely near a charger long enough to make a difference. However I feel if I am on my phone, depending on job, I am wasting company time, something I would let my staff leave over. I did have a previous job where email/SMS and used the phone for work where battery life became number 1 priority in phone choice.

 

[Technarchy]

Where does this come from? Im just curious what people aren't around electrical outlets to charge their phone if needed thru the course of a day or in a car to charge it on the way home. If you say something like "Im at work all day and can't charge my phone", you must not have a tough job if you can chew thru your phones battery life in that 8 hours at work and an easy job should let you charge your phone there Just curious...

I've been at work since 8am. It's 10:09PM and I'm still here finishing up some budget and compliance stuff for next year because it's easier than working at home.

My phone is charging because it was down to 17%...

What's the big deal exactly?

 

[vormhat]

Actually lithium ion batteries prefer short, shallow charges. Its when you run your battery all the way down and then charge all the way back up that shortens its life.

 

[3bs]

I use my phone while it's plugged in every night, doesn't annoy me. You don't charge your phone in your car while you are out if it needs it?

I don't don't know it annoys me.

I don't own a car since I live in the city centre where I'm close to everything and traffic is a b***h here.

 

[IFRIT]

I've found I care less about battery life since I've gotten a phone with wireless charging.

 

[zbarvian]

Actually lithium ion batteries prefer short, shallow charges. Its when you run your battery all the way down and then charge all the way back up that shortens its life.

This can't be right.

 

[The Game 161]

I was with my iPhone.. Since moving to Samsung who cares about battery life. I now carry a spare battery whenever I run out of juice. One of many reasons Note 3 is better for me than iPhone

 

[Tig Bitties]

Where does this come from? Im just curious what people aren't around electrical outlets to charge their phone if needed thru the course of a day or in a car to charge it on the way home. If you say something like "Im at work all day and can't charge my phone", you must not have a tough job if you can chew thru your phones battery life in that 8 hours at work and an easy job should let you charge your phone there Just curious...

Clueless

How bout people that work out in the field all day, not in their car except in morning and night, or sitting comfortable in an office behind a computer, with their phone plugged in all day.

I know a ton of professional Project Mngrs. in the construction industry, that are on the go, non stop, from 6:00am to 6:00pm on big skyscraper job sites in Chicago, and have zero time to let their phone sit around while being charged. They need a phone that can be hammered on all day heavy use, without a charge

And these type of people, truly use a smartphone like a Note 3, to it's fullest. E-mails, Texts, Phone calls, GPS, Surf web for info, etc...

They need a battery that can last non stop, with heavy hard use.

 

[vormhat]

This can't be right.

Link below but here's a quote:

Similar to a mechanical device that wears out faster with heavy use, so also does the depth of discharge (DoD) determine the cycle count. The shorter the discharge (low DoD), the longer the battery will last. If at all possible, avoid full discharges and charge the battery more often between uses. Partial discharge on Li-ion is fine; there is no memory and the battery does not need periodic full discharge cycles to prolong life, other than to calibrate the fuel gauge on a smart battery once in a while. Read more about Battery Calibration.

http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_to_prolong_lithium_based_batteries

 

[zbarvian]

Link below but here's a quote:



http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_to_prolong_lithium_based_batteries

From what I read, it seems pretty obvious. The table indicates that the shorter the discharge, the more discharges you will get. If you only drain the battery by 10% of its capacity each time, you will get 10x the amount of discharges over its lifetime. Makes sense to me. I don't see anywhere where it says that partial charges are better.

 

[TacticalDesire]

I'm constantly on the go and don't have time to just sit down and charge my phone. I'm out taking calls, replying to emails and texts and don't have time to go into a shop and wait for my phone to charge. I'm lucky for a 12 hour day with light/moderate usage.

 

[vormhat]

From what I read, it seems pretty obvious. The table indicates that the shorter the discharge, the more discharges you will get. If you only drain the battery by 10% of its capacity each time, you will get 10x the amount of discharges over its lifetime. Makes sense to me. I don't see anywhere where it says that partial charges are better.

Where it says "The shorter the discharge (low DoD), the longer the battery will last. If at all possible, avoid full discharges and charge the battery more often between uses."

You'd be surprised how many people think you're supposed to follow nicad or nimh rules and think full discharges and charges are better because of memory issues.

 

[Markyboy81]

Clueless

How bout people that work out in the field all day, not in their car except in morning and night, or sitting comfortable in an office behind a computer, with their phone plugged in all day.

I know a ton of professional Project Mngrs. in the construction industry, that are on the go, non stop, from 6:00am to 6:00pm on big skyscraper job sites in Chicago, and have zero time to let their phone sit around while being charged. They need a phone that can be hammered on all day heavy use, without a charge

And these type of people, truly use a smartphone like a Note 3, to it's fullest. E-mails, Texts, Phone calls, GPS, Surf web for info, etc...

They need a battery that can last non stop, with heavy hard use.

Hmmm if these guys truly are on the go nonstop (working i presume) then where would they find the time to use their phones a lot?

 

[JoeG4]

For me, this definitely applies to my laptop as well, so here goes:

I hate having devices with low battery life because that means wherever I go, I have to carry something to charge it with me. Due to a bunch of reasons, the laptop before my Macbook Air was not made by Apple, instead it was a piece of junk Sony that got 1.5 hours battery life on a good day. Do you know how nerve wrecking it is when you're trying to get work done? It goes like this.

Open laptop that was charged last night before going to bed. 89% battery life remaining.

Work on something for 5 minutes, glance at clock: 84% battery life remaining.

*stare off contemplating things* *look back* 79% battery life remaining

*start typing for 30 minutes* 49% battery life remaining

*check email* *15 minutes later "Warning: Your battery is running low! Consider charging it soon!"

*Do some more important stuff* "You have less than 10% battery life remaiing!"

Honestly the same is true about phones. Phones with lousy standby life also have lousy use life, so if you only get 8 hours out of it idle, you'll be lucky if you get 2 out of it in a phone call.

Actually, 8 hours for a phone idling is pathetic. If the phone can't go at least 12-15 hours idle on battery, I sure as hell don't want it.

 

[PollyK]

Where it says "The shorter the discharge (low DoD), the longer the battery will last. If at all possible, avoid full discharges and charge the battery more often between uses."

You'd be surprised how many people think you're supposed to follow nicad or nimh rules and think full discharges and charges are better because of memory issues.

I've always told people to stop killing your battery all the time. It's not good for the life of the battery. It's recommended to do so once every month. But it's really not needed. Charging more often does increase battery life. People who consider themselves tech heads still think draining your battery dead is best. Just look at a few responses in this thread.

 

[zbarvian]

For me, this definitely applies to my laptop as well, so here goes:

I hate having devices with low battery life because that means wherever I go, I have to carry something to charge it with me. Due to a bunch of reasons, the laptop before my Macbook Air was not made by Apple, instead it was a piece of junk Sony that got 1.5 hours battery life on a good day. Do you know how nerve wrecking it is when you're trying to get work done? It goes like this.

Open laptop that was charged last night before going to bed. 89% battery life remaining.

Work on something for 5 minutes, glance at clock: 84% battery life remaining.

*stare off contemplating things* *look back* 79% battery life remaining

*start typing for 30 minutes* 49% battery life remaining

*check email* *15 minutes later "Warning: Your battery is running low! Consider charging it soon!"

*Do some more important stuff* "You have less than 10% battery life remaiing!"

Image

Honestly the same is true about phones. Phones with lousy standby life also have lousy use life, so if you only get 8 hours out of it idle, you'll be lucky if you get 2 out of it in a phone call.

Actually, 8 hours for a phone idling is pathetic. If the phone can't go at least 12-15 hours idle on battery, I sure as hell don't want it.

What modern smartphone has issues going 8 hours idling? My iPhone 5 could probably go almost a week on idle if it's sitting at my place.

 

[Ragnarianrok]

A wireless charger really helps keep my Nexus 5's batteries topped off because instead of placing it on the table, I place it on my charging mat that's on the table instead.

The convenience of a wireless charger can't be overstated. It has more to do with the fact that it's charging nearly all the time than it does have to do with not needing to plug in a cable. If you have two charging pads (one at home and one at work) you're never really worrying or thinking about your batteries anymore. Every time you're not using it, it's charging. Before wireless chargers, you'd only ever bother with the cable if you knew you needed to charge. Now, you just plunk it down without a second thought and whenever it is you come back to it, your device is 10, 15, sometimes up to 20% more charged than before. Imagine that happening each time you put your device down.

The cable for the wireless charging pad itself is always tucked away. Never "loose" so to speak. You never have to actually deal with the cable or tug at it or fumble for the end. This essentially eliminates any type of cable management.

It's really great.

 

[WilliamBateman]

A wireless charger really helps keep my Nexus 5's batteries topped off because instead of placing it on the table, I place it on my charging mat that's on the table instead.

The convenience of a wireless charger can't be overstated. It has more to do with the fact that it's charging nearly all the time than it does have to do with not needing to plug in a cable. If you have two charging pads (one at home and one at work) you're never really worrying or thinking about your batteries anymore. Every time you're not using it, it's charging. Before wireless chargers, you'd only ever bother with the cable if you knew you needed to charge. Now, you just plunk it down without a second thought and whenever it is you come back to it, your device is 10, 15, sometimes up to 20% more charged than before. Imagine that happening each time you put your device down.

The cable for the wireless charging pad itself is always tucked away. Never "loose" so to speak. You never have to actually deal with the cable or tug at it or fumble for the end. This essentially eliminates any type of cable management.

It's really great.

You are going to kill your battery much quicker constantly charging it like that.

 

[Markyboy81]

You are going to kill your battery much quicker constantly charging it like that.

I would very much doubt it would do any harm charging like that

 

[Nabooly]

I rarely run out of battery on my note 2. I always just plug it into my car charger if I'm driving somewhere and it's low. I can't really use my phone much at work so that's not an issue. Plus my car charger seems to charge up my phone extremely fast; faster than an outlet.

I really only run out of battery at home when I am tethering to 4g...that plows my battery down quickly. I usually leave it plugged in though. So it's not a big deal to me but I can definitely understand why some people need longer battery lives. If I was in that situation I would just carry around a spare.