Your iPhone utilises a lithium-ion battery that declines over time, but there is very little reasons to be concerned about the battery health of such a brand-new gadget. Here is all you need to know about the battery in your iPhone and how to extend iPhone battery life.
The batteries that power your iPhone are not mysterious black boxes; in fact, they are pretty simple things in comparison to the complex silicon they are powering. The nature of lithium batteries suggests that they will eventually degrade and become less effective with time, but gadget owners need not be concerned.
Understanding a small amount of battery science can go a long way toward wisely regulating the longevity of your gadget.
So, How Do We Extend iPhone Battery Life?
Lithium-ion Battery Fundamentals
Before understanding how to extend iPhone battery life, let’s learn some basics about Lithium-ion Battery which your iPhone is using.
A battery consists of an anode (+) and a cathode (-) separated by an electrolyte that is typically combustible. When a device pulls power from a battery, lithium ions flow through the electrolyte from the anode to the cathode, releasing electrons.
These released electrons provide electricity to the gadget and return to the cathode, completing the circuit. When charging the gadget, electrons are transferred into the anode and moved to the cathode.
Without getting too technical, these two chemical reactions are imperfect and cause the battery to experience heat loss and wear. The lithium material depletes gradually, oxidation diminishes the useable surface area, and filaments sprout from the battery plates. This causes cell deterioration and eventual battery depletion.
There is no way for a user to completely halt this procedure. As with the use of gasoline to power a vehicle, it eventually runs out. However, depletion of a lithium battery requires some time and can be controlled to some extent by user and programme behaviour.
Therefore, when a new iPhone’s battery rating is 100%, it has all of the specified milliampere-hours of power when completely charged. It also indicates that the battery can give sufficient power to the CPU at peak current demand.
Apple claims that their batteries are designed to retain up to 80% of their initial capacity after 500 charge cycles. A charge cycle consists of a total discharge of the battery to zero, followed by a total charge to 100 percent.
This estimated battery life varies between users. Regular use is predicted to keep the battery health of the average user’s device over 80% for the first two years.
Others who continuously use their iPhone and charge it from near-dead to 100% numerous times each day will notice their battery decline more rapidly.
When the battery falls below 80% of its original capacity, the operating system will activate safeguards to prevent the device from unexpectedly shutting down. This can be prevented by having the battery replaced by an Apple-authorized service provider.
After the first time the iPhone throttles the processor to prevent a shutdown, a new switch will emerge under the battery settings. This allows users to disable the throttling function, allowing the processor to draw maximum current.
However, the device will shut down if the current consumption exceeds the battery’s capacity. Turning off the throttling feature is not recommended and can cause battery harm.
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Managing your iPhone battery health is not rocket science
There are numerous discussions concerning battery maintenance and how consumers should charge their devices. Some suggest avoiding all forms of wireless charging for optimal battery health, but this is not the complete story.
The chemistry of batteries is influenced by heat, charging rate, and the environment. In an ideal situation, a person’s battery would have the longest shelf life if the room temperature remained constant at 65 degrees, the iPhone was only charged from 20% to 80% at roughly 10W, and the processor never grew hot during operation.
Numerous factors render this fantasy scenario unfeasible, if not impossible. Moreover, the theoretical improvements in battery health could never match the effort required to maximise cell life.
Therefore, Apple has built many techniques that are invisible to the user to ensure that battery health is maintained for as long as possible. For instance, a specialised power management CPU ensures that power consumption is regulated for optimal charging rates at all times.
The iPhone will also learn your charging patterns and modify its charging method accordingly. So, it may fast charge to 80% while plugged in, but it will maintain a trickle charge until closer to your daily wake-up time before bringing the battery to 100%.
These built-in technologies protect the iPhone’s battery far more effectively than human involvement, thus, improving and will be able to extend iPhone Battery health. Therefore, customers simply need to determine how and when to charge their iPhone, leaving the rest to the power management software.
Wired Charging Or Wireless Charging Is Better?
iPhones can be charged via wired cord, wireless charging and thru Magsafe charger. But, can using a wireless charging extend iPhone battery?
Wired Charging Your iPhone
Will wireless charging extend iPhone battery health or reduce iPhone Battery health? Wire-based charging is the quickest and most efficient method of supplying power to a device. The maximum charge rate for the iPhone 13 is approximately 22 watts, while the iPhone 13 Pro Max can charge at approximately 27 watts for thirty minutes.
When utilising an 18W or larger adapter that supports Power Delivery, the iPhone will begin “rapid charging.” This function allows any iPhone 8 or later to reach 50 percent capacity in around 30 minutes. For rapid charging, the iPhone 12 and later require a charging adapter of 20W or above.
Because electrical conductors are physically touching, wired connections are the most efficient. Across the wire, power is delivered through conductive surfaces with maximum efficiency and minimum heat loss.
However, faster charging increases heat, heat loss, and overall inefficiency. Users that rely primarily on rapid charging will experience accelerated battery degradation.
Especially since the development of GaN, wall chargers are acquiring more wattages for less money. Consequently, it is likely that iPhones are being linked to fast chargers more frequently.
Even when attached to a fast charger, the iPhone manages the charging rate, so it’s not as if the battery is constantly being charged at full capacity. However, rapid charging is a tool, thus it should only be used when necessary. We’ll discuss optimal practises for charging later.
Invariably, convenience will necessitate the compromise of some aspect; in this example, faster charging results in accelerated electrode deterioration. The notion of convenience also applies to wireless charging.
Wireless Charging and Magsafe Charging
Wireless charging is an extremely handy method of charging that enables iPhone owners to charge their devices simply by placing them on a surface. MagSafe goes a step further by attaching the iPhone to a magnet and enhancing the charging speed and efficiency.
Using coils separated by a small air space, wireless charging transfers power from one set of coils to another. The closer the coils are to one another, the greater the efficiency and speed, hence MagSafe’s magnetic alignment makes things much more efficient.
On a wireless charging pad, the iPhone can charge at up to 7.5W, whereas MagSafe allows for up to 15W. Normal wireless charging pad is not only slower, but also less efficient and, in some cases, can heat the iPhone more than MagSafe.
No matter how small, the air gap between coils presents substantial efficiency issues. As power flows through the charging coils, a magnetic field is generated, which interacts with the iPhone’s coils to charge the battery. This magnetic field is inherently inefficient, as a significant portion of it is wasted to empty space.
As a result of tightly coiled wires and energy flowing through them, wireless charging mats are typically heated surfaces. During power transfer, the iPhone’s coils also heat up, adding still another heat source. Overall, wireless charging is an extremely heated method that can negatively impact the chemistry of the battery over time.
Due to poor alignment and the inclination of manufacturers to employ cheaper components, Qi chargers exacerbate these concerns. Even while the iPhone begins charging when placed on a Qi charger, this does not necessarily indicate that the coils are precisely aligned, which increases energy heat loss and slows charging speed. As we’ve already established, increased heat causes a battery to degrade more rapidly.
What is the best way to charge your iPhone?
Extend iPhone battery is no rocket science. But if we speak about wanting to extend iPhone Battery, planning ahead is the most crucial rule for charging your iPhone. Have chargers where you need them, understand their ratings, and know when to use them most effectively. This degree of comprehension should not need a great deal of time or effort beyond the initial setup.
Your battery will eventually degrade over time; there is no way to prevent this. Depending on the aforementioned variables, iPhone users can anticipate a 10% decline in battery health annually, on average.
What is Adjustable is the pace of battery degradation. Trusting the battery management software and employing certain fundamental best practises is the most efficient method to accomplish this with minimal effort.
For instance, avoid placing your iPhone in direct sunlight or exposing it to extreme heat when utilising a car vent mount. Never leave your iPhone in a vehicle or on a heated surface during the summer months. This will not extend iPhone Battery Health, but instead, it decreases the iPhone battery health.
Keep your iPhone’s battery from dying completely, but also avoid charging it unnecessarily. While getting ready to depart for a few hours, connecting your iPhone to a fast charger is a terrific way to top off the battery.
In addition, overnight charging is totally safe, as the iPhone automatically adjusts the charging rate based on your typical sleep routine. A cable charger with less than 18W at the bedside is optimal for battery health, although MagSafe or Qi charging overnight is not terribly damaging.
If you’re truly concerned about the health of your battery, prioritise wired slow charging, then rapid charging, then MagSafe, and avoid or minimise Qi charging. Obviously, all accessible charging methods are safe; however, they may result in the need for a new battery one or two months earlier than the predicted two-year period.
For most people, it is preferable to simply keep their iPhone charged and not worry much about battery health. Expect to pay a few hundred ringgit for a battery replacement if you plan to retain the device for more than two years (extend iPhone Battery longetivity), or if you plan to pass it on to someone else. If you need a iPhone battery replacement, feel free to contact us.