Danie van der Merwe

Realme launches smartphone that can charge to 20% in 80 seconds (@240W) but I'd rather see longer battery life or cycles

Fri, 10 Feb 2023 14:20:45 -0300

Danie van der Merwe

gadgeteer@hub.netzgemeinde.eu

Critical observers might be concerned that this staggering charging speed would generate a lot of heat and potentially degrade long-term battery life. But Realme said the battery’s total capacity would not drop lower than 80% after 1,600 cycles, which works out to over four years of use if the phone is charged daily.

The big caveat is that you will need a proprietary high-current USB-C cable with 20V/12A power and dual gallium nitride (GaN) charging adapter to achieve the 240W speed.

I generally slow charge (I disable fast charge) my phone overnight, so personally the last thing I need is ultra-fast charging. I'd much rather see a battery that can run longer, or can last a lot more charge cycles. The battery is generally the weak spot with most phones, and is usually the first thing to wear out. That was not an issue when we could just buy another one and pop it in ourselves, but today it has become quite an issue with swapping out a battery.

See Realme launches smartphone that can charge to 20% in 80 seconds

#technology #battery #Realme

The Realme GT Neo 5 boasts a staggering 240W wired charging which allows it to go from zero to 100% in nine and a half minutes.

technology battery Realme

Stop charging your iPhone every night: You can now believe it, as TikTok shows it to be 'true'

Sun, 23 Oct 2022 07:30:21 -0300

Danie van der Merwe

gadgeteer@hub.netzgemeinde.eu

The irony is we have all known this for a long time, and I've posted more than once showing the results from Battery University demonstrating the evidence. But with it finally just having some anecdotal evidence shown on TikTok, looks like many are now ready to believe it.

So many things appear on TikTok which are not true and are often quite dangerous (requiring the main media and governments to issue warnings to citizens).

So when I heard about this one it just brought a smile to my face. Yes maybe scientists too need to start presenting their evidence and rebuttals on mediums like TikTok instead of in scientific journals and papers! Just imagine scientists dancing around and showing all sorts of neat "magic" tricks etc

See You should really stop charging your iPhone every night

#technology #TikTok #battery #charging

Most of us are guilty of it, but charging your iPhone overnight could seriously reduce your overall battery life as one TikToker shows.

technology battery charging tiktok

US Researchers discover new charging method for EVs — 90% charge in 10 minutes without lithium plating or cathode cracking

Mon, 29 Aug 2022 08:44:12 -0300

Danie van der Merwe

gadgeteer@hub.netzgemeinde.eu

While the technology could be as much as five years away from being introduced to the market, the breakthrough could make electric vehicles (EVs) more appealing to those who are sceptical of changing from internal combustion engines.

Another problem with fast charging is that battery capacity often degrades over charging cycles.

One solution to this conundrum is to tailor the charging protocol in a way that optimizes speed while avoiding damage for the many different types of battery designs currently used in vehicles. But developing optimal protocols requires a huge amount of data on how various methods affect these devices’ lifetimes, efficiencies and safety. To combat this issue, Dufek’s team developed a machine learning algorithm to analyze between 20,000 and 30,000 fast charging data points to see how batteries age when charging quickly.

“We’ve significantly increased the amount of energy that can go into a battery cell in a short amount of time,” says Dufek. “Currently, we’re seeing batteries charge to over 90% in 10 minutes without lithium plating or cathode cracking.”

See Researchers discover new charging method for EVs — 90% charge in 10 minutes

#technology #environment #EV #batteries #batterycharging

The technology can still be improved and is around five years away from being introduced to market.

technology battery EV batterycharging environment

Lithium-Ion 1.5V Rechargeable Cells in AA and AAA Are Probably Best Now For Most Use Cases Over Ni-Mh 1.2V Cells, Or Alkaline Cells

Tue, 09 Aug 2022 09:10:36 -0300

Danie van der Merwe

gadgeteer@hub.netzgemeinde.eu

I just started using some of these Lithium-Ion 1.5V AA cells, and must say I can see many benefits with them. It's a pity most articles about them date back two or more years with comments such as they only come in odd sizes, produce 3.7V, lower capacity than Ni-Mh, etc. As of 2022 the Lithium-Ion cells should be seriously considered as a first option, as they come in AAA and AA sizes now at 1.5V.

Outright Pros for Li-Ion:
* Charge way quicker than Ni-Mh
* More energy density than Ni-Mh
* Similar voltage to Alkaline cells
* About double or more lifecycle charges (lasts longer)
* Very low self-discharge rate (on the shelf) at about 1% per month vs 1% per day for Ni-Mh
* As environmentally friendly as Ni-Mh with regard to not being single-use only
* Better performance at varying temperature ranges than Ni-Mh
* Safer to charge than Ni-Mh as they have built-in protection circuits and plates
* Often no separate charger required as many come with a USB-C socket built-in

Cons for Li-Ion:
* Not as safe for delivery / couriers
* More expensive up front (but not when considering cost per lifetime use)

One thing I'm not sure about is the heavy discharge use. Alkalines for example are not so good in camera flashes as they cannot produce that quick heavy discharge for prolonged periods like Ni-Mh can. I'm thinking though that Li-Ion cells can also handle this if I consider how quickly they charge. This was a particular strength of Ni-Mh over Alkalines.

One thing to note about voltages though, and this was especially true for Ni-Mh. Ni-Mh cells are often reported to be "flat" in consumer devices, but it is because they produce a constant 1.2V, unlike Alkalines which start at 1.5V and constantly show a measurable discharge. I have been using Ni-Mh cells for ages in devices which say the cells are flat, and I've done a post about this before. Li-Ion cells act similarly with a flat discharge curve, so will likely report as being "full" for ages, until they suddenly stop working. Most consumer devices measure for Alkaline discharge curves. A plus is with Li-Ion cells though that you can keep a spare set fully charged, and they'll stay that way with very little self-discharge.

See Which rechargeable aa batteries should I choose?

#technology #environment #battery #rechargeable

Which rechargeable aa batteries should I choose? The Best lithium ion battery suppliers | lithium ion battery Manufacturers - TYCORUN ENERGY

technology battery rechargeable environment

Lithium Carbon Battery From Allotrope Energy Can Recharge Electric Scooter In 90 Seconds

Fri, 05 Aug 2022 10:09:32 -0300

Danie van der Merwe

gadgeteer@hub.netzgemeinde.eu

Lithium carbon is well suited to electric mopeds and scooters because the vehicles and their charging requirements are relatively simple, Wilson explains. It is quite easy to build a lithium carbon battery to replace the ferrous phosphate or lead acid products used today.

In theory, the battery could be fully charged in just 60 seconds. The 90-second charging time is due to the limitations of charging infrastructure rather than the battery. “The reason why it’s a 90-second charging concept is because Mahle designed a prototype buffered charge point. The charger has a battery inside it and the battery dumps its energy into the moped,” Wilson explained.

For the larger batteries used in electric cars, there simply isn’t enough grid capacity to cope with lithium carbon batteries. That’s why it’s unlikely the chemistry will be scaled up for larger vehicles any time soon. Wilson thinks it would make more sense for electric cars to use hybrid lithium-ion battery and ultracapacitor systems that can be charged within five minutes using 350 kilowatt charge points.

This is not some pie in the sky laboratory experiment. Lithium carbon batteries from Allotrope Energy are expected to be available in production vehicles before the end of this year.

See Lithium Carbon Battery From Allotrope Energy Can Recharge In 90 Seconds

#environment #EV #e-scooter #battery

A lithium carbon battery from Allotrope Energy can charge in 90 seconds and will be available in an electric scooter this year.

environment EV e-scooter battery

Android 13 will alert you when an app is draining your phone's battery in the background

Fri, 18 Mar 2022 09:43:47 -0300

Danie van der Merwe

gadgeteer@hub.netzgemeinde.eu

The upcoming version of the OS will display a notification whenever an app drains excessive battery within 24 hours (via 9to5Google), irrespective of whether it targets the Android 13 SDK. Google notes the warning will not be shown when an app's foreground service is consuming a lot of battery until it is finished running or the user dismisses the notification — it will only be displayed if the high power consumption continues in the background after that. After the initial message, the warning won't be shown again until at least 24 hours later.

This is good news as sometimes a rogue app can really deplete the battery and that is only spotted when the battery is near dead.

See Android 13 will alert you when an app is draining your phone's battery in the background

#technology #android #battery #batterylife

Name and shame

technology android batterylife battery

Fri, 18 Mar 2022 09:53:34 -0300

Farhad A

faab64@diasp.org

Like Chrome does?

PowerToYou and Cloud Battery (amongst others) both display battery levels of your other Apple devices

Mon, 07 Mar 2022 16:06:11 -0300

Danie van der Merwe

gadgeteer@hub.netzgemeinde.eu

I was looking for an app to alert me to low battery levels across  various of my iOS devices. Although coconutBattery looked good, it is  macOS only, and I only power my Macbook up occasionally. So I looked at a  good four iOS app options, and there is no perfect one that does  everything perfectly. I also discarded anything that was updated more  than a year ago. I installed across my iPhone, iPad and Watch. You can  view the battery levels from any device’s app, for all the devices.

PowerToYou covers iPhone, iPad (and iPencil found under Bluetooth  devices), Watch, AirPods (added as a Bluetooth device). What I like is  that it has a good widget layout, clearly showing the percentages and  time last updated for each device. You can set notifications globally  for any device falling below, or going above (to prevent full cycle  charging), a percentage charged. Adding the AirPods on my iPhone, made  them show up on the iPad’s app just fine. The widget expanded to show  the AirPods. It also has some choices for Watch complications. The app  was last updated Feb 2022, and has an active Discord support community.  Download from https://apps.apple.com/us/app/powertoyou/id1558154409.

Cloud Battery covers the same devices as PowerToYou (but says AirPods  can no longer be monitored this way, and did not detect them), but it  also detected and showed my Apple Pencil battery level. Its widgets fall  a bit short though as they are nice but fail to show any percentage  level or time last updated. However, a quick press on the widget opens  the app, which shows the percentages. Another quick press on an  individual device, shows when the charge level was last updated, rename  the device, and set a device specific  alert fop passing below or above a certain percentage level. Cloud  Battery also allows you to customise the colours of widget text and  icons. App was last updated Jan 2022. Download from https://apps.apple.com/us/app/cloud-battery/id1480648069.

“Charged?” is a small app that allows you to check the charge level  of your iOS and macOS devices via iCloud. I did briefly use it, and it  shows battery percentages with last updated, for iPhone, iPad and macOS.  It does lack some of the extra features the apps above have, and was  last updated in March 2021.

Battery Status Overview does not work with macOS, but works on iPad,  iPhone and Watch. It also has a lot fewer settings and more basic  graphics, but does include a charge history log. They only mention  alerts for the battery charge level reaching 100%. The app was last  updated in Dec 2021, and only has one review rating, though.

Apple’s built-in battery widget is great, but it ONLY shows local devices, so no overview of all your other devices.

So I am a bit torn between PowerToYou and Cloud Battery. I’m leaning  more towards PowerToYou as the widget has everything clearly shown.  Cloud Battery’s plus is its ability to set a different minimum and  maximum battery percentage for each device separately.

I’ll post any updates about this topic at my blog post at PowerToYou and Cloud Battery (amongst other apps) both display battery levels of your other Apple devices

#technology #apple #chargelevels #battery #monitoring

I was looking for an app to alert me to low battery levels across various of my iOS devices. Although coconutBattery looked good, it is macOS only, and I only power my Macbook up occasionally. So I looked at a good four iOS app options, and there is no perfect one that does everything perfectly....

technology apple battery chargelevels monitoring

The Chargie is now available for iOS too, to limit battery charging to 80% or whatever you want to set it too

Mon, 10 May 2021 16:03:13 -0300

Danie van der Merwe

gadgeteer@hub.netzgemeinde.eu

I've been using a Chargie for the last two years on my Android phone (my wife is now using it) and loved that it is a hardware device that shuts off the charging at a user set percentage. It does this by monitoring the battery and temperature via the app running on the phone.

This type of battery charge limiting was exclusively the reserve of rooted phones before the Chargie came along.
Yes iOS 14.5 has optimised charging, but that still charges the battery up to 100% which is a full charge cycle. So finally the Chargie is now available for iOS devices, and I've just ordered mine.

With the glued in non-replaceable batteries of today this device at $35 plus shipping is just worth it to me. The manufacturing has improved the quality further to prevent corrosion on the PCB inside which just means the device should be a once-only purchase.

See ‎Chargie - phone charge limiter

#technology #ios #batterycharging #chargecycles #chargie

‎Charging your phone every night to 100% and keeping the battery like this for 8 hours is one of the main culprits behind early battery failure. We're here to change that.

Chargie is an app+hardware phone charge limiting solution that makes your battery last for much longer than if you had charged i…

technology ios iphone battery

Google’s Adaptive Charging feature only works during certain hours and does not optimise automatically

Wed, 30 Dec 2020 04:49:38 -0300

Danie van der Merwe

gadgeteer@hub.netzgemeinde.eu

The point is to charge your phone over a period of time rather than topping it off as fast as possible, as this can degrade your device’s battery more quickly. But the way the feature is set up could be a little restrictive for certain users.

Google's new feature seems to be rigidly time based instead of learning from how and when you charge your phone (supposedly like Apple's does). I imagine it will "adapt" over time to get some AI.

Personally I'd like to see a charge limiter feature like many Asus laptops have, or my rooted Android phone has. It's another reason I may not have to root my phone if I can stop charging at 80%.

See Google's Adaptive Charging feature only works during certain hours

#technology #mobile #battery

Google recently added an Adaptive Charging feature to newer Pixel devices, and it turns out the feature is weirdly restrictive.

technology mobile battery