How to extend your iPhone battery health and use it for many years

Not everyone upgrades to a new iPhone every year. Your current iPhone is likely good for three or four years, thanks to Apple supporting every model for up to five years of iOS updates. However, its battery is a consumable component that degrades over time, and if its power degrades significantly, you won’t be able to use your iPhone comfortably.

To help, here are 11 tips that will extend the battery longevity of your iPhone.
1. Don’t turn off Optimized Battery Charging

Overcharging your battery isn’t good. Optimized Battery Charging learns from your daily charging routine and uses AI to understand your charging patterns. Using that, it holds the charging and waits to charge past 80% until you need to use your iPhone.
For example, let’s say you go to sleep every day at 10 PM and wake up at 6 AM. Before going to bed, you plug in your iPhone every night at 10 PM to charge. Now, your iPhone will normally charge up to 80% Then, around 4 or 5 AM, your iPhone will automatically resume charging and go to 100% before you wake up at 6 AM.
Optimized Battery Charging is turned on by default on iPhone. You can access it from Settings app > Battery > Battery Health & Charging. From here, make sure you don’t switch it off.
Optimized Battery Charging enabled on iPhone

2. Take precautions not to overheat your iPhoneHeat, water, and dust are the biggest enemies of any electronic device. And your iPhone’s lithium-ion battery is no exception. Too much heat can negatively affect it and cause its lifespan to reduce greatly if you often overheat your iPhone.
So, during everyday use, ensure your iPhone doesn’t get extremely hot. You can control this by removing the case, refraining from using too many intensive apps for prolonged times, not leaving your iPhone in a locked car on a sunny day, and so on.


3. Avoid charging to 100% and completely discharging

Charging the battery to both extremes isn’t good for its health. So, for an increased lifespan of your iPhone battery, try not to charge it entirely up to 100% and discharge it to 0 to 5%.
Important: Don’t overthink this too much. Keep the above fact in mind but charge your iPhone as you normally would at your convenience. If you ask me, I often charge my iPhone up to 80% or 90% and plug it back when the battery falls to around 30%.


4. Don’t leave your iPhone plugged into charging for hours or overnight

Optimized Battery Charging helps tackle the overcharging problem. Still, it’s better if you take precautions and do not leave your phone plugged into charging for several hours or overnight.


5. Use wired instead of wireless charging

Wireless charging can be convenient. However, it may generate a lot of heat which can affect your iPhone battery.


6. Fast charge only when needed

With fast charging, the battery is forced to take in a lot of power in a short span. This is great for quick top-ups but isn’t good for long-term battery health.
I have a 61W MacBook charger that can rapidly charge my iPhone. I use this in rare cases. For everyday use, I use a 10W Apple adapter (or sometimes my 20W iPad adapter) which slowly fills my iPhone battery, maintaining its battery health.


7. Use Apple or MFi-certified chargers and cables

Almost all adapters can charge your iPhone, and due to Apple not providing a charger in the box, you may be tempted to go for a cheaper option.
However, for best results, use an Apple adapter or one that’s MFi-certified. Chargers from other reputed manufacturers like Samsung should also have all safety checks and may not harm your iPhone. .
Besides that, also limit yourself to using a proper Apple or MFi-certified Lightning cable.


Related: How to make sure your iPhone accessory is really Apple MFi Certified


8. Disable features you don’t use

One more tip to prolong your iPhone’s lifespan is to reduce the load on it. And one of the best ways to do that is by disabling certain iPhone features you may not need. This includes things like turning off Background App Refresh, disabling automatic updates, keeping Automatic Brightness enabled, having cellular settings to Auto 5G, and such.

9. Restart your iPhone regularly

To keep your iPhone in perfect condition, you should make it a habit of turning it off and on regularly. This will fix a lot of minor problems and keep your device fast and responsive.

10. Keep your iPhone updated

Apple introduces new improvements with software updates. Sometimes, unnecessary batterydrain and other similar problems can be fixed by iOS updates. So, for the best results, keep your device updated by going to Settings > General > Software Update.

10 Tricks To Make Your iPhone Run Faster

Most longtimeiPhoneusers are familiar with that sinking feeling you get when you realize that your device is on its last legs . Apps take longer to open and close, your device powers on and off at random, and the entire iPhone begins to feel clunky and Of course , while replacing your phone every now and again may be a necessity, there are things you can do to keep your phone running quickly and efficiently for as long as possible before you have to resort to buying a new iPhone altogether.

than normal can often be symptomatic of other issues and isn’t always a result of the device’s age. 
At the end of the day, an iPhone is a powerful and complicated device that has just as much ability to make your life easier as it does to make your life harder. Your device’s intricacies can be difficult to manage, particularly when you’re trying to make your iPhone run as fast as it possibly can for as long as it can.Luckily, there are solutions you can implement to help troubleshoot a slow iPhone and help you extend your device’s lifespan for as long as possible.These 10 tips and tricks will help whether your phone is slowing down with age, or if your brand-new device has mysteriously soured on you.

Check network conditions

Gabo_Arts/ShutterstockSometimes, a slow-running iPhone isn’t necessarily a result of something internal within the device itself. A user’s issues with their device can often be connected back to extraneous issues, like network connectivity and Wi-Fi. Problems with your home Wi- Fi, or even the Wi-Fi you’re connecting to while you’re out and about, can cause a massive slowdown for your iPhone. These problems can range from slow connectivity to network traffic and clutter. switching Wi-Fi networks if you ‘re on the road or in the car, this can also be a sore spot for your device’s overall speed. -savvy person out there. 


All you have to do to check if your home network or another network you frequently use is causing problems is download a network speed and connectivity test app like Meteor or SpeedTest Master. Many of these apps will tell you if your network is running slower than normal While troubleshooting your home network speed is another issue entirely, your iPhone’s slow running speed can be a good indicator of more significant network or Wi-Fi issues. 


Close a non-responding app

fizkes/ShutterstockNot to play the blame game, but sometimes one pesky application really ruins it for the rest of us! More often than not, an iPhone that’s not running nearly as fast as it should can be traced back to an issue with one app that’s non- Apps that are constantly running in the background can also consume a lot of data and memory, and this can slow down your iPhone significantly. 
Luckily this is one of the simplified more solutions for improving your iPhone’s running speed. Simply scroll through your open apps on your device, and see if any of them are not working as they should. If an app takes a long time to open, is crashing repeatedly, or running slow in general, this app might be the cause of a slow iPhone if you tend to leave the app running for long periods of time. Though more sophisticated models of the iPhone are better at managing multiple background apps at once, this can be a particular problem for older phones. 

Reset your phone

Mdisk/ShutterstockThis one may seem obvious, but it’s still worth suggesting the tried and true method of “turning it off and turning it back on again.” In other words, resetting your iPhone can be imperative to clearing up any traffic within the device and getting the device back to its normal working condition.The reason a reset can really help with a slow iPhone is that resetting your device can help clear up the device’s RAM.Additionally, resetting your phone to varying degrees can also help clear up any glitches that may have wormed their way into your iPhone. 


There are two ways to reset your iPhone. First, you can do a soft reset. On an iPhone X or later, all you have to do is press down on the power button along with one of the volume buttons. Slide the phone to “power off.” Then, wait for about 30 seconds before turning your phone on again. Additionally, you can do more of a “hard reset” and restore your phone to its factory settings. ” section of settings. Once in your settings, click on “Erase All Content & Settings” to restore your phone to its default, factory setup. Before doing either of these, make sure you also back up your phone just in case! 

Clear Safari cookies and data

Primakov/ShutterstockLet’s face it, we spend way too much time looking up random things on our phones. earches, along with password information, cookies, and other forms of cellular data can really bog down an otherwise mint-condition iPhone. uses Safari (which often has bugs of its own) or Chrome on their iPhone a lot , it might be worth considering if your internet habits and data are the cause of a slow device. 
While this may come at the expense of some saved/remembered passwords, you can easily clear up your Safari cookies and data cache in your settings.

This helps keep your iPhone’s memory clear, and will generally make the device run significantly faster . All you have to do is go to your settings, click on “Safari” and scroll down to the button that says “Clear History and Website Data.” history, cookies, and other browsing data. Simply click “Clear History and Data” Again, and your phone may be working significantly faster afterward. 


Turn off automatic downloads and refreshes

nikkimeel/ShutterstockSmartphones, particularly iPhones, are often running multiple background processes simultaneously without the user even knowing. While these default settings can be super helpful for multitasking work or enjoying things like music alongside a game or other app, they can drain your battery life and slow down Furthermore, many apps tend to update themselves automatically and refresh automatically without you even knowing.Ultimately, updates to your iPhone’s software or apps can be overwhelming processes for your device.While this can be helpful, these automatic processes can slow down an iPhone, particularly if you’ve got a lot of apps on your device that are all demanding equal attention. 


However, you can go into your settings and stop this automation and even tailor it to your liking. Go into the general tab within your settings menu. Then, scroll down to the tab labeled “Background App Refresh.” Within this menu, you can toggle this automated process to either never occur or only occur when you’re connected to Wi-Fi. Automatic downloads and refreshes on data can be a significant cause of iPhone

backup, so even toggling this process to Wi-Fi can help immensely with a slow device. 
Delete image-heavy messages and picturesKaspars Grinvalds/ShutterstockOne of the biggest anchors for an iPhone’s running speed can actually boil down to just one app: Messages, which has had no shortage of problems of its own. If you’re someone who texts a lot and uses tons of GIFs, pictures, videos , or other types of media to communicate, this is one tip that you’re going to want to pay close attention to. Image-heavy messages, in addition to unneeded photos and GIFs that are saved to your device, can take up a significant chunk of your iPhone’s memory, and slow down the phone overall. 


While you can, of course, manually delete some of these image-heavy conversations in Messages, as well as delete these types of media from your phone’s photo library, there are also some automated functions you can put into place to help clear these out for In your Message app’s settings, you can adjust how long your phone keeps conversations.Many people have set this to “Forever,” meaning that every time you receive a large GIF or image, your device is trying to keep it in your phone’s memory in perpetuity, slowing the device down overall. Adjusting this setting to something slightly more reasonable may speed up your device significantly. 


Check your storage

Tada Images/ShutterstockGenerally speaking, your iPhone’s overall storage can be an enormous sore spot for your device’s performance. If you’re trying to download something new on your iPhone but your storage is nearly full, the device will automatically try to un-download unused memory in the process. 
Apple itself actually recommends keeping up to 1 GB of storage free on your iPhone to prevent this process and help maintain a more consistent running speed. By checking your storage in your settings, your device will often automatically recommend certain apps or other memory files that you can delete in order to free up space on your device. You can find this menu in settings under “General,” and subsequently clicking on “Storage.” 


Turn off Low Power ModeYalcin Sonat/ShutterstockIf you find youriPhone has suddenly started running slower than normal, seemingly out of nowhere, Low Power Mode is more often than not the culprit. You may have enabled this setting on a long car trip, a day at a theme park, or another excursion where you didn’t know when you would be able to find a charger, and then forgotten to flip your iPhone back to its default settings. And, while this function is great for sa

Here’s How Much It Costs To Replace An iPhone Battery

The battery is among the most crucial components of any device. Typically, our tech doesn’t last long enough for batteries to degrade to an unusable status, but lithium-ion batteries do lose performance over time.


iPhone remains a titan of the smartphone world. According to Statista, Q2 ’23 saw iPhone sales worth $51.33 billion. A new iPhone represents a significant outlay, though: The latest model, the iPhone 14 Pro, costs around $999. Quite rightly, then Apple Support notes that chemical aging is an issue facing all lithium-ion batteries and that the Battery settings of later iPhone models include “new features to show battery health and recommend if you need to replace the battery.”


Users facing such a situation, or perhaps dreading it from a financial point of view, will be anxious to know how much it costs to replace the battery.
Costs for Apple’s own iPhone battery replacement options
Often, when replacing sensitive components like batteries, users trust only experts for the job. It’s crucial to be careful with iPhones (here are some things users shouldn’t do). With this in mind, how much do Apple’s battery replacement options cost?


Newer and pricier iPhone models, unsurprisingly, incur higher costs. Apple’s iPhone Battery Service allows users to input their model and receive an estimated price for in-store and mail-away battery replacement (depending on the device’s warranty). For iPhone 14, Plus , Pro, and Pro Max, this cost is $99. For all iPhone X, 11, 12, and 13 models, the same service costs $89. Owners of any device in the iPhone SE, 6, 7, and 8 range will pay $69 The final models covered by the service are the iPhone 5s, also $69, and the iPhone 5, which is the cheapest at $49.


With some devices, the difficulty of procuring parts and the work involved can make buying a replacement device more cost-effective than repairing a current one. In the case of an iPhone, though, it’s generally far cheaper to have an official, professional job done by Apple. With third-party battery replacements, prices and results will vary, and the user can decide whether they’d like to go with a particular service.

The costs (and lack thereof) of AppleCare+Kaspars Grinvalds/ShutterstockFor AppleCare+ users, this service is free for all applicable models if theiPhone battery in question is working at below 80% performance. Given the cost of an iPhone, consumers who have the means can easily be tempted to spring for this protection, but is this the best approach?

In the world of Apple devices, AppleCare is simply a brand-friendly term for a warranty. It typically amounts to one year’s protection from the date of purchase and three months’ support should your new device develop any issues. AppleCare+ allows users to lengthen this period and protect their product from potential accidents, too: Cut-price screen repairs and the like are included.


The price of AppleCare+ for iPhones ranges from $79 for two years/$3.99 monthly for the iPhone SE on the standard AppleCare+ plan to $269 for two years/$13.49 monthly for AppleCare+ Theft and Loss for iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. Again, for the user to decide how comprehensive they’d like their coverage to be and how much they can spend on it. Keeping your devices in quality cases is highly recommended, though.

How to charge your Surface laptop to 100%: Solving the smart charging mystery

Microsoft has included a new “smart charging” feature in some new Surface devices, including the Surface LaptopStudio and Surface Pro 8, that prevents them being fully charged. This is a feature, not a bug—but it can also be frustrating if you don’t understand what’s going on or how to control it.


Batteries wear out over time. One way to extend a battery’s longevity is to keep it partially charged as much as possible—never fully charged, never fully depleted. A laptop that’s constantly plugged in is often fully charged, stressing the battery unnecessarily. On the other hand, smart charging prevents the battery from being totally filled, meaning you get less than the maximum amount of battery when you are out and away from a power outlet.


You can see smart charging turned on in the Windows 11 Taskbar.Mark Hachman/IDG
In Windows 11, Microsoft will tell you if Surface smart charging is enabled with a small “heart” icon below the partially filled battery meter. By default, it won’t charge over 80 percent.


Here’s why you’re probably reading this article. Clicking the battery icon brings you to the Windows 11 Settings menu (System > Power and battery), which informs you that smart charging is on and provides a hyperlink to a support page that offers more information The problem is, the support page is written generically. You’ll learn why smart charging is important and that the feature is common to many laptops—but not how to toggle it off within the Microsoft Surface lineup.Microsoft Windows 11 Surface smart charging menuThe Windows 11 Settings menu, though well-organized, isn’t any help in controlling smart charging.

Mark Hachman/IDGFor that, you’ll need to load an entirely different app: the Surface app. (Open the Start menu, and type Surface in the search box.)
The Surface app is a fairly simple, well-organized little app, displaying the status of your Surface and any connected devices, like the Surface Slim Pen 2, in a box at the bottom of the screen. drop-down entry under Device information.

Microsoft thinks you should leave it on indefinitely, but you can “pause” or shut it off right here. Done! (Ironically, Microsoft also includes a link to a Surface-specific explanation of what you’ ve just accomplished.)

Remember, you’ll still need to leave your Surface on the charger while it fills up that last 20 percent of its battery.
As Microsoft explains, leaving smart charging on makes sense if you typically work from your desk. that extra hour or two ofbattery lifecan be crucial.

Recent Developments in Mobile Phone Battery Technology

The importance of mobile phones in the daily lives of human beings can’t be denied. Their prevalence is primarily due to their efficient utility and portability, which is enabled by a compact and strong battery. battery technology is continuously evolving. In recent years, there have been numerous advancements in rechargeable batteries for mobile phones leading to increased battery life and efficiency. 


A Brief History of Mobile Phone Battery TechnologyMobile phone battery

 technology has evolved tremendously throughout the years. A research article published in InfoMat (Willey) has presented a thorough overview of the technological evolutions of the battery. As per the research, 1983 was a significant year as it saw the release of Motorola’s DynaTac 8000X, which employed a Ni-Cd battery with a modest 500mAh capacity.
Nickel-Metal Hydride (NiMH) batteries substituted NiCd batteries in the 1990s. NiMH batteries had an improved power density and were more environmentally friendly than NiCd batteries. Nevertheless, NiMH batteries were susceptible to the memory effect, which diminished their efficiency over time.


The transition period between 1998 and 2000 led to the substitution of NiMH batteries with Lithium Ion batteries. The energy density of Li-ion batteries was significantly greater than that of NiMH batteries, and they were immune to the memory effect. Li-ion batteries are the most common form of battery used in mobile phones today.

Solid State Batteries – A Novel Battery Innovation

Solid-state batteries have been viewed as prospective future technologies for energy storage mainly due to their improved energy density and enhanced safety when contrasted to commercial operations lithium-ion batteries with liquid electrolytes.
Toyota, Samsung, and BMW are among the businesses that are developing solid-state batteries for cell phones. A United States startup Solid Power is among the top-notch manufacturers of solid-state batteries as well as Sulfide solid electrolytes for smartphones and electric vehicles Their batteries outperform traditional lithium-ion batteries due to the utilization of better-performing electrodes such as high-content silicon and lithium metal, so consumers may expect a 15-35% cost savings at the pack level.


Graphene-Based Batteries for Mobile Phones

Graphene is the 2-dimensional framework of graphite, in which one layer of planar carbon atoms is organized in the form of a honeycomb lattice. Even at absolute zero, graphene is regarded as a semi-metallic material. Graphene has four times the tensile strength of steel, is extremely adaptable, transparent, and an exceptional conductor of heat and electricity due to its bonds. These attributes of graphene make it a suitable material for both mobile phone batteries and supercapacitors.
Huawei, Samsung, and Graphene Flagship, a research project funded by the European Union, are among the corporations working on the development of graphene battery packs for cell phones.


Hydrogen Fuel Cells Based Batteries

The utilization of hydrogen fuel cells presents a novel technological advancement with the potential to significantly transform the mobile phone battery landscape. fuel cells an environmentally friendly and proficient energy source.
Various corporations are currently involved in the research and development of hydrogen fuel cells for mobile phones, including Intelligent Energy, a UK-based enterprise that has engineered a fuel cell that can power an iPhone for up to a week without necessitating a recharge. is presently in the process of creating a commercial version of the fuel cell to cater to the mobile phone industry.

Sodium Ion Mobile Batteries

Sodium-ion batteries represent an alternative to conventional lithium-ion batteries for energy storage and release, utilizing sodium ions instead. -ion ​​batteries demonstrate a higher energy density in comparison to NiMH batteries.
A research article published in the Journal of Physics: Energy has presented an overview of sodium ion mobile batteries. As per the research, Titanium-based oxides are regarded as highly potential and versatile anode materials for sodium batteries, given their affordability, facile processing, and lack of toxicity. These materials exhibit greater safety in comparison to carbon-based anodes due to their elevated operating voltage, which helps prevent the formation of metallic sodium plating.
Notably, a select number of corporations, including Faradion (UK), Tiamat (Europe), Altris AB (Europe), HiNa (China), and Natron Energy (USA), are currently dedicated to the development of sodium batteries.


Novel Thin Film Battery – A Game Changer for Mobile Phones

A company based in Rzeszów is aiming to revolutionize the global market with its latest thin-film battery, which is expected to have a lifespan of up to 68 years. Developed by The Batteries, this cutting-edge technology has already earned the label of ” a game changer” from the industry press, and the company plans to commence large-scale production once construction of their “pilot factory” is complete.


Polish scientists have created a battery that can charge from 0 percent to 100 percent in merely eight minutes, offering an alternative to the conventional lithium-ion batteries which have dominated the market for the past 25 years. The new technology developed in Poland obviates the requirement for supplementary chemical compounds, and as a result, the energy density of the battery has increased by almost twofold to 1,200 Wh/l.

Market Analysis and Future Perspective

Allied Market Research has published a thorough report focusing on the market analysis and industry forecast of mobile phone batteries. According to the report, the global market for mobile batteries had a value of $21.2 billion in 2020, and it is anticipated to grow to $38.6 billion by 2030, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.3% between 2021 and 2030.


The report highlights that the Asia-Pacific region is projected to hold the largest market share, with China, India, and Japan emerging as major players in the mobile battery market. Nevertheless, North America and Europe are also predicted to experience substantial growth, owing to a surge in demand for superior battery technology fueled by the growing popularity of smartphones and other mobile devices.
The future of mobile phone batteries appears bright, with various promising new technologies currently under development. Notably, the advancement of flexible and stretchable batteries is an area of ​​active exploration. Such batteries can be easily integrated into wearable devices and possess the ability to bend and stretch without compromising their functionality. This will facilitate the creation of novel types of wearable devices that are presently unfeasible.


In short, the recent technological innovations in mobile phone batteries will play a crucial role in the further commercialization of smartphones and modern industrial infrastructure.

Best laptops for music production 2023: Best overall, best battery life, and more

Calling all musical artists! Whether you plan on creating the sickest bass drops or just some chill lo-fi jams, you’re going to need a solid high-quality laptop to get the job done. Processor is absolutely vital for smooth recording performance, and a decent amount of RAM will allow you to juggle multiple plugins and tracks simultaneously. Portability is a huge factor, too—if you’re taking your show on the road to a local wedding or all the way to Ibiza, you’ll need something that is easy to carry around.
If you’re not sure which laptop is right for you, don’t worry. The experts here at PCWorld have tested a ton of laptops and we have rounded up the best picks specifically for music production.


Also, check out our best laptops roundup, where you will find an even bigger selection of models at a range of prices and for a variety of needs!
We’ve added the HP Dragonfly Pro as our choice for the best MacBook alternative. Read more about this new pick in the summary below.

Asus VivoBook Pro 16X OLED – Best overall

If you’re looking for a good all-arounder, the Asus VivoBook Pro 16X OLED is a good bet, as it ticks a lot of boxes. For one, the 4K OLED display is superb. from eye strain and tension headaches. If you spend endless hours looking at a screen as you edit and mix tracks, you might as well invest in one with a crystal-clear picture.
The Ryzen 9 5900HX CPU is plenty fast enough for basic music production needs and everyday use. This laptop is also packing 32GB of memory and a whopping 1TB of PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD storage. That’s plenty for firing up multiple applications and storing audio files There are a couple drawbacks you should be aware of: The webcam isn’t great (not surprising) and the fingerprint reader can have a mind of its own. Overall, however, the VivoBook Pro is a fantastic machine that any musician or DJ would love.

If you’re working with a limited budget, the Acer Swift 3 is a great option. It has an Intel Core i7-11370H with four cores, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD. to use, and the display delivers “rich, lifelike color.” The one knock we have against this machine is the battery life. Unfortunately, the laptop died after about five hours That’s the type of result we’d expect from a gaming laptop, which drains easily due to the power-sucking components. That said, if you don’t mind sticking close to an outlet, than this a good budget buy for most musicians .


Read our full Acer Swift 3 SF316-51 reviewSamsung Galaxy Book2 Pro 360 – Best battery lifeIf you’re an on-the-go musician, the Samsung Galaxy Book2 Pro 360 offers incredible battery life as well as a versatile 2-in-1 design. When we put this laptop through our battery rundown test, it lasted a total of 14 hours. That’s pretty rad, right? In addition to the awesome battery life, you’re also getting a high-contrast 15.6-inch OLED screen and zippy performance thanks to its 12th-gen Intel Core i7-1260P processor. with 16GB of RAM and 1TB of SSD storage. That’s plenty sufficient for running multiple applications and working with uncompressed audio files. Although we weren’t super impressed with the keyboard or webcam, we feel the pros far outweigh the cons, especially where performance and Battery life is concerned.


Lenovo Yoga 9i 14 (2022) – Best 2-in-1 design
If you prefer the portability and versatility of a convertible laptop, you may want to pick up the Lenovo Yoga 9i 14. You can prop it up like a painter’s easel or swing the screen around and use the laptop like a tablet. RAM, 1TB of SSD storage, and strong battery life. You can also expect reliable performance thanks to the 12th-gen Intel Core i7 processor.
The 74 watt-hour battery is also surprisingly large for such a slim machine. It lasted 12 hours during our battery rundown benchmark, which is more than a full work day. Editing a song and aren’t able to plug into external speakers. this convertible laptop has a lot to offer, we had a few nitpicks with it.
The display’s 16:9 aspect ratio may be a problem, as it makes for a squashed-looking picture. It’s not a deal breaker, but we tend to prefer taller displays. The trackpad is also smaller than we  like, which takes time getting used to. The port selection is a bit limited as well. That said, if you don’t mind those small factors, then the Yoga 9i is A fabulous machine worth considering.

Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2022) – Most Portable
If you’re looking for a laptop that’s both portable and powerful, the Asus ROG Zephyrus G15 will surely fit the bill. It weighs a little over three pounds, which puts it in the ultraportable category. The AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS processor delivers zippy exceptional Plus, you’re getting 32GB of DDR5 RAM and 1TB of PCIe 4.0 SSD storage. laptop that delivers reliable performance, you really can’t go wrong with the Zephyrus G14.Windows laptopsPCMark 10: PCMark 10 is how we determine how well the laptop handles lighter tasks like web browsing, word processing, spreadsheets, and so on.HandBrake: HandBrake is more intensive than PCMark 10. It measures how long a laptop’s CPU takes to encode a beefy 30GB file.

Think of it as a CPU stress test.Cinebench: Cinebench is a brief stress test of the CPU cores.3DMark: 3DMark checks if 3D performance remains consistent over time by running graphic-intensive clips.Video rundown test: To gaugebattery life, we loop a 4K video using Windows 10’s Movies & TV app until the laptop dies. If you travel a bunch, you’ll want a battery that can last longer than a full work day.

Your laptop’s battery life may be dropping faster than you think

Most laptop and CPU makers encourage you to upgrade your PC because its performance can’t keep up with the latest hardware. But there’s another, more compelling reason that’s largely ignored: Your laptop’s battery life will become significantly worse as time goes by.


How much your laptop’s battery life will diminish depends on a number of factors. But here’s my anecdotal report, based on my day-to-day use: In just a year’s time, my laptop’s battery capacity has dropped by a whopping 16 percent.
That’s a real-life number, based on real-world use. Though I swap back and forth between a number of test laptops for various uses, I typically leave a Surface Laptop Studio plugged in during the day; it’s also the test bed for powering my evaluations of the best Thunderbolt docks. As our Surface Laptop Studio review indicates, it’s an excellent (though pricey) laptop, and perhaps Microsoft’s best.
At the end of a typical workday, I flip off the power strip to save power, and the Surface Laptop Studio discharges.
By now, you should hopefully be aware that charging and discharging your laptop’s battery reduces its lifespan—but, realistically, preventing that is not always possible. to 100 percent, either.


More manufacturers are including applications to at least prevent you from charging your PC to 100 percent, and the Surface Laptop Studio should do that, too, via the Surface app. If you don’t own a Surface, check the system utilities that ship with your laptop —chances are you’ll find a relevant control. It’s a good idea, especially if you’re always close to a desk, to make sure you have that functionality turned on.

In my case, I discovered that I had either flipped that setting off and forgot about it, or, more likely, the feature stopped working. At some point the Windows 11 Taskbar began showing a small exclamation point next to the battery, which also appeared in the battery submenu in the Windows 11 Settings. I couldn’t find anything wrong with the battery, but after checking the Surface app I was unable to turn on smart charging. Clicking the button simply wouldn’t work.
Surface Laptop Studio battery lifeMicrosoft has several tools to learn about battery life: The Surface app is specific to Microsoft Surface devices, but the Windows 11 Settings menu can be used by all Windows 11 PCs.

So that’s not that big a deal, right? Well, no. We use the excellent, though hidden, Windows battery report tool to learn more about how much battery power is available to a PC, and it’s a quick and effective reference. story for details and how to use it.)

Essentially, I was interested in a few numbers: how the actual (full charge) battery life compared to the designed battery life, and how the actual battery life diminished over time. Fortunately, Windows keeps detailed records of just that.
On October 13, 2021, the design capacity was 56.3 watt-hours, while the actual capacity was larger: 58.4Wh. But over a year’s time (135 complete cycles of charging and discharging, according to Windows), my fully charged battery capacity dropped to 48.6 watt-hours, a 16 percent drop.

PULSR LAUNCHES WEB3’s FIRST AI SEARCH ENGINE FOR NFTs AFTER CLOSING 2M PRE-SEED ROUND.Sponsored by Pulsr FoundationSurface Laptop Studio battery life historyThe Windows battery capacity history (split into two images, for brevity’s sake) reveals the sharp drop in battery life over time.

Windows helpfully also estimates actual battery life times. This isn’t as accurate as you might think, because how you use the laptop may evolve over time. But, as a whole, it’s still generally meaningful, and what Windows told me wasn’t encouraging: From an active battery life of 9 hours 56 minutes in October 2021, Windows’ current estimate was just 7 hours 31 minutes for the Surface Laptop Studio’s battery life. Put another way, the laptop’s battery had fallen by nearly 2 hours and 30 minutes in a year’s time, an estimated 24 percent decrease in actual battery life.Surface Laptop Studio battery life timeIt’s the “curren” t estimate of battery life” that’s concerning. Not shown: the original estimate of 9:56, based upon the battery configuration that arrived as our review unit. The longer time of 216 hours, 14 minutes, and 56 seconds represents the estimated time in which the laptop can remain in idle mode before running out of battery.

Is this entirely accurate? It’s hard to check, but the basic point holds true: With Windows applying consistent metrics to arrive at its result, it’s a good indicator that the laptop’s real-world battery life indeed decreased by that amount.

What can we learn from this?

First, learn how to use the Windows battery report tool. The Windows 11 Settings control (System > Power & battery) will only show the battery state of your laptop for, at most, the last seven days, and without the details that we’ re talking about here. Using the battery report tool requires opening the Command Line, typing in a line of code, then opening the resulting HTML file in a browser—a bit of a pain, but nothing too scary for an ordinary user.


Second, discover how to turn on smart charging on your PC to prevent it from fully charging, and thus wearing out your battery. Unfortunately, this isn’t something I can show, as it varies by manufacturer. .) HP’s Adaptive Battery is on by default on the laptops it supports, for example.
Remember that smart charging is different than what’s known as the “ battery saver ”—the latter is designed to preserve your laptop’s battery life and prevent it from running out of power while on the go, primarily by reducing its power consumption.

Third, it might be time to buy a new laptop this holiday season. If you have, say, an older 8th-generation Core chip inside your laptop, it might not be as fast as a new 12th-gen “Alder Lake” laptop. But your PC isn’t actually slowing down; it’s just become slower relative to the latest PCs.

The lesson here is that your battery is actively degrading, and doing so perhaps faster than you think. We’re already on the lookout for both early Black Friday laptop deals as well as the best daily sales on laptops. If you agree with us that it’s time to start looking for a new PC, we’ve got you covered.

How to maximize battery life: Charging habits and other tips

Need some battery life tips? These are the facts and habits you need to maximize your phone battery’s longevity.


Most of us — casual users and enthusiasts alike — are forever searching for smartphones with the longest battery life. And while fast charging keeps us topped up every day, the absence of replaceable batteries means eventually, the lithium-ion cells enclosed in our phones are going to age and deteriorate, making it harder to maximize battery life.


If you’ve held onto a phone for a couple of years, you’ve probably noticed the battery doesn’t seem to last as long as it did when your handset was brand new. Four or five years down the line, many phones struggle to make it through the day on a single charge. Holding onto a phone even longer can even spell trouble for reliability too as you may face sudden shutdowns.
Unfortunately, battery capacity inevitably declines with age. But that doesn’t mean you can’t do anything to prolong the lifespan of your smartphone’s battery. If you’ve ever wondered what the best way to charge your battery is, here are some scientifically proven tips to maximize battery life.

If you’re in a hurry, here’s a quick summary of the best battery life-maximizing tips you should keep in mind:
Avoid full charge cycles (0-100%) and overnight charging. Instead, top up your phone more regularly with partial charges.Limiting your smartphone’s maximum charge to 80-90% is better for the battery’s health than topping up to completely full every time.Use fast charging technologies sparingly and when your device is cool.Heat has the potential to accelerate battery health degradation. Don’t cover your phone when charging, and keep it out of warmer places.Don’t play intensive games, stream videos, or run other intensive workloads while charging to avoid heat and stressing the battery.Keep reading for a more detailed explanation of what factors will prolong your battery life


Partial charging is a healthy habitGoogle Pixel Stand wireless charging Galaxy S21 UltraOne particularly persistent battery myth is that you need to occasionally fully discharge and recharge to erase “battery memory.” This couldn’t be more wrong for lithium-ion batteries. It’s a leftover myth from lead-acid cells, and it’s pretty undesirable to charge your modern smartphone in this way.


Partial charging is just fine for lithium-ion batteries and can have some positive benefits for cell longevity. To understand why it’s important to appreciate how a battery charges. Li-ion batteries draw constant current and operate at a lower voltage when closer to empty. This voltage gradually increases as the cell charges up, leveling off at around a 70% charge before the current begins to fall until the capacity is full.
Partial charging is just fine for lithium-ion batteries and even has some positive benefits

.Notably, operating at a low voltage is good for a battery’s lifespan, increasing the number of available charging cycles before you’ll start to see a significant reduction in capacity. Roughly speaking, every 0.1V decrease in cell voltage doubles the cycle life, according to Battery University. Therefore, charging up your phone in that 30% to 80% range keeps the voltage lower and might slightly prolong the battery’s lifespan.

Avoid idle chargingGoogle Pixel 7a charging plug and wireless dockCharging overnight or in a cradle during the day is a very common habit, but it’s not recommended for several reasons (the old “overcharging” myth isn’t one of them). First, continuous trickle charging of a full battery can cause plating of the metallic lithium, which reduces stability in the long term and can, in rare cases, lead to system-wide malfunctions and reboots. Secondly, as we just mentioned above, it leaves the battery at a higher stress voltage when at 100%. , and most important, it creates excess heat caused by wasted power dissipation.
Some phones disable or slow down charging when nearing full capacity.Ideally, a device should stop charging when it reaches 100% battery capacity, only turning the charging circuit back on to top up the battery now and again — or at the very least reducing the charging current to very small amounts.
While some phones disable charging once full, many continue to pull up to half an amp and sometimes more from the wall outlet. Turning smartphones off doesn’t make a difference in many cases either. While this isn’t a massive amount of power, it’s going to stop your phone from cooling down as quickly and will continue to cycle through a small part of the battery, resulting in a mini-cycle.

A charging dongle shows the amount of current passing to a fully charged smartphoneAt 100 percent charge, this phone still draws 200mA to keep the battery topped up.
A charging dongle shows the amount of current passing to a fully charged smartphoneUsing the phone increases the current draw, inducing a mini cycle in the battery.A final point worth mentioning is parasitic load. This occurs when the battery is being drained significantly at the same time as being charged, such as watching a video or gaming while charging.


Parasitic loads are bad for batteries because they distort the charging cycle and induce mini-cycles — where part of the battery continues cycles and deteriorates faster than the rest of the cell. Voltage stress and heat on the battery.
Gaming or videos while watching charging is bad because it distorts charging cycles.The best way to avoid parasitic loads is to turn your device off while charging. But that’s not really realistic. Instead, it’s best to keep the workload light while the device is plugged in, leaving it idle most of the time. Browsing the web is probably fine. Also, remember to unplug it once the battery is topped up enough.
Heat is the enemy of long battery lifeASUS ROG Phone 5 product shot of the battery and charging logos up closeAlong with all of the above, temperature is an equally key contributor to longevity and maximizing battery life. In fact, it’s arguably the biggest killer of long-term battery health. Like high voltages, high temperatures stress the battery and make it lose capacity far more quickly than when kept at lower temperatures.


A cell kept between 25 – 40 degrees Celsius (77 – 86 degrees Fahrenheit) should retain around 85% to 96% of its capacity after the first year with sensible charging cycles. Raising the temperature regularly above 40°C (104°F) and charging to 100% sees this fall to just 65% capacity after the first year, and a 60°C (140°F) battery temperature will hit this marker in as little as three months.

The ideal temperature to maximize battery cycle life is below 40°CA battery dwelling in a full state-of-charge exposed to a high temperature is the worst of all worlds and the number one thing to avoid when charging your phone. So no leaving your phone under your pillow to charge at night or plugged in on the dashboard of your car on a hot day. And if you use it, wireless charging can impact battery health if you don’t keep the phone cool.


Fast charging technologies are a contentious issue here, as the higher current and voltages lead to a hotter device. With capabilities exceeding 60W and pushing to 100W even in smartphones, device longevity quickly becomes an issue. Fast charging is fine for a small top-up , but numerous standards we’ve tested regularly exceed 40°C when charging for more than a few minutes. As you can see in the graph below.

Leaving your phone to fast charge up for 5 to 15 minutes won’t lead to major overheating problems, but I certainly don’t recommend using them for a full charge. Instead, you’d be better off using a temperature-aware fast charging solution or switching to a slower charger, especially if you plan to plug your phone in overnight.
How to maximize smartphone battery health long-termmotorola edge plus charging indicatorLithium-ion battery technology is well understood these days, and smartphones are built around our use cases, but bad habits and myths still permeate the public consciousness.

While most of these habits won’t severely negatively impact your phone’s battery life in the medium term , the decline in removable phone batteries means we should take extra precautions to maximize battery life and thus our smartphone’s longevity.
Broadly speaking, smaller regular charge cycles and keeping your phone cool are the key things to remember. Although I should point out that different phone batteries will always age differently depending on how we treat them.

Android Adaptive Battery: Everything you need to know

Learn how your Android can optimize the battery life based on your usage.
As phones have become more capable of performing various tasks, allocating battery power has become crucial to maximizing its lifespan, especially if your smartphone is draining fast. Today, our phone’s SoC significantly regulates power consumption between the apps and features we use daily. you don’t have one of the Android phones with the best battery life, you can still extend your device’s lifespan with this feature. Let’s look at how Android’s Adaptive Battery works and how you can ensure it’s turned on.

Adaptive Battery is an Android feature that extends the battery life based on your phone usage and habits
When you are using your phone, it isn’t just the app you have open that is eating up your battery life. Even when you put your phone down and aren’t touching it, many background processes run behind the scenes. many apps actively retrieve information from other apps, such as contacts or location data, not to mention all the external cellular and Wi-Fi connections.

All of these processes and more need varying amounts of energy to function. Without anything to coordinate power consumption, you would notice a big difference between an optimized battery and a device without one. An Adaptive battery is how your Android phone makes it through an entire day of usage or more. Here are a few essential system tools that Adaptive Battery uses.


Limiting background appsThe most common way Adaptive Battery saves minutes to hours of battery life is by restricting how apps run in the background.As mentioned earlier, some apps can consume a lot of power without you knowing it.When Adaptive Battery is turned on and an app is running too heavily, you will get a notification with the option to put it to sleep.


Over time, Adaptive Battery will learn which apps take up the most background usage and limit some of their functions.This doesn’t really affect your phone performance, but it means the battery won’t drain drastically when your phone is idle.

Another way Adaptive Battery lives up to its name is by learning the patterns of how you use your phone. After having Adaptive Battery enabled for some time, your phone will keep track of what apps you use the most, how long you use them, and How quickly your battery drains when not optimized.


Eventually, your Android phone will utilize this data to fine-tune how it expends a full battery so that it can last throughout your daily usage. A crucial piece of information in this equation is learning your charging habits. Android will start stretching your battery life to when it anticipates you will plug in your phone to charge.
reducing performanceOne of the subtler ways Adaptive Battery improves battery life is by slightly reducing performance. Chips take a lot of power, and your battery can last much longer if that power is reduced to match your current needs.


On Samsung Galaxy phones, a complimentary feature to Adaptive Battery in the settings lets you change your device’s processing speed. This tool can save you more battery life than Android’s Adaptive Battery does. The Exynos processor in the flagship S-series devices barely lags in the “optimized” state, either. However, the difference in performance can be more noticeable in other Android devices, but if you are out and about without a charger, that might not be a concern.


How to turn on Android Adaptive Battery

Here’s how to turn on Adaptive Battery on a Google Pixel or Samsung Galaxy phone.
Google PixelNavigate to the settings by swiping down from the top screen and tapping the Settings cog. Then tap Battery. Select Adaptive Preferences, and lastly, hit the toggle on Adaptive Battery.

Pixel Settings Battery
Pixel battery usage
Pixel adaptive batterySamsung GalaxyNavigate to the settings by swiping down on the screen and tapping the Settings cog. Select Battery and device care. You can optimize your battery usage here. Tap the Battery readout near the top, then scroll down to select More battery settings. ‘ll find the Adaptive battery toggle.

samsung settings battery
samsung device care
samsung more battery settings
samsung adaptive battery toggleAs mentioned, you can adjust the Processing speed under the Adaptive battery option. There are three different speeds: Optimized, High, and Maximum.
samsung processing speedHow to manage battery usage for individual appsAdaptive Battery will treat all apps the same, but you can manually give certain apps exceptions or stricNavigate to your Settings and select Apps. From there, select the app you want to manage, scroll down to choose Battery, and select the desired battery usage for that app.

samsung app use detailsOverall, Adaptive Battery is a great feature to extend the life of your Android device. If you find your battery isn’t lasting long enough, try turning it on or limiting the usage of energy-hungry apps. Learn your usage habits and may not work immediately, but you should notice results soon enough.

7 Reasons to Switch from Android to iPhone

When buying a new phone, people usually have to choose between two of the most popular operating systems.Here are 7 reasons why switching from Android to iPhone is a good idea.


1.Information securityInformation security companies unanimously agree that Apple devices are more secure than Android devices. According to a report by Forbes, 97 percent of smartphone malware targets Android phones.


Android phones get malware and viruses particularly from app stores. Apple’s App Store has fewer apps to offer than the Android phones’ app store, but the number of available apps is not the most important element of app stores. app developers gain access to the so-called Apple ecosystem – a network of devices, apps and developers. Getting apps that contain malware into the App Store is practically impossible.


In comparison, Google’s app store, Google Play, is an ad-supported and free environment where anyone can put their apps on display. Android allows the user to install apps from outside the Google Play store as well – making it impossible to monitor apps possibly containing malware and viruses.
In addition to the app store, un-updated operating systems also cause security threats. Because several phone manufacturers use the operating system provided by Google, not all of them get the updates at the same time and are thus exposed to massive security threats. devices are made only by Apple, so the corresponding problem doesn’t exist.
2. The Apple ecosystemThe range of Apple products has grown notably in recent years. The company started out making computers and has since added music players, tablet computers and smart watches to their product selection. Today, Apple provides a wide range of products and services for various purposes.


The devices work seamlessly and effortlessly together. You don’t need to download or install separate applications to link them together, it’s enough when you sign in to the devices with the same Apple ID. Photos, emails, notes and calendars can be shared to You also don’t have to pay twice for apps, movies or books – they can be found on all your devices.


The closed ecosystem also guarantees the user safety. The operating environment is secure when devices, users, manufacturers and app developers are all in the same ecosystem.
The situation is different for Android phones. Several different manufacturers produce phones and tablets based on the same operating system, so a safe ecosystem and using the devices together seamlessly cannot be guaranteed.


3.Ease of useApple phones are known for their ease of use. Their usability comes from simple operating logic: all the apps are launched from the home screen. All the settings, for example, can be found under one menu. And even if you upgrade your iPhone to the newest model, the operating system still works the same way and taking it into use is easy.
An android phone can be modified and customized in various ways, but the basic features of its operating system are much more complicated and confusing than the iOS system. choice.


4. Get the best apps firstThe developers of the best and highest quality apps still favor Apple. Most apps use Apple’s App Store as their launch platform and release their apps there much earlier than they do in the Android phones’ Google Play store. the most popular apps of recent years, such as Super Mario Run and Snapchat.
Some apps may not be released at all for Android phones. It’s much harder for app developers to create games and apps for Android phones, as there is a wide range of them and many unique features of the phones should be taken into account in the development The App Store’s revenue model also serves the developers of high-quality apps better, which will guarantee safe and good apps for iPhone users in the future as well.


5.Apple Pay
Apple Pay is Apple’s payment service, which enables making credit and debit card payments using your phone. Paying works the same way as contactless payment with a plastic card, ie, by placing the phone by the card reader. , Touch ID or the phone’s passcode, which let you keep your payment information safe.
Apple Pay can also be used to make purchases in apps: reserving a hotel room, shopping for clothes or ordering a pizza couldn’t be easier. Google Pay is not yet available in many countries, so users in need of a simple and easy mobile payment method should opt for the Apple iPhone.


6.Family SharingThe Apple iPhone is a good choice for children, especially if the entire family is using Apple devices and phones. Phone use is safe because parents can easily keep track of what their children are doing with their phones. ve listed reasons why the iPhone is a great choice for a child’s first phone.
Apple’s Family Sharing makes family life easier. Up to six family members can make, for example, shared music, film or app purchases and share photo albums, calendars and reminders. There is no risk of children inappropriate or paid apps, as Family Sharing enables parental approval for their children’s apps.


And when children start to go to school by themselves, for example, parents can keep track of the journey with the Find My Friends feature.
7. iPhones hold their valueSince new smartphone models with attractive features are published often, people constantly want to upgrade their phones to newer models. When people stop using their phones and buy a new one, they often want to sell their still functional old phone at the best possible price.


Apple phones keep their resale value far better than Android phones. iPhones are made of high-quality materials, which goes a long way in helping them maintain their resale value. Apple phones also remain as flagship models and up-to-date longer, as there is only one manufacturer and new and better phones aren’t launched as often as Android phones.


Used iPhones can be sold to Swappie, for example, which buys and sells usediPhones.