2019-05-21 at 11:36 PM UTC
Always wondered about this...
2019-05-21 at 11:56 PM UTC
I think you can only spike certain kinds of batteries.
2019-05-22 at 2:19 AM UTC
aldra
JIDF Controlled Opposition
as far as I know all modern phones use lithium polymer batteries which are fairly resistant to the 'memory effect' that reduces battery life - it doesn't make too much difference how you use it, the battery will eventually die.
normally lithium cells are rated for 'recharge cycles', ie. after 10,000 (or whatever it's rated) times being charged, discharged and recharged the battery life will be effectively reduced to zero. I'm not really sure if a charge from 75-100% is counted as a full cycle in that context.
the way lithium cells work is when they're fully charged, their output voltage is 4.2v and as it discharges, the voltage slowly drops. when almost fully discharged the voltage is 3.5v (from memory) and if it dips below that the cell fails and can no longer be recharged. most cells (all of the ones used in phones) are 'protected' in that they have a chip that stops them outputting power when the voltage drops too low, but the cells naturally discharge very slowly even when they're not in use. this means that if your phone completely discharges and you wait too long to recharge it (weeks), it's possible the battery will die permanently.
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2019-05-22 at 2:49 AM UTC
A recharge cycle is only counted when the battery dips below 30%. My laptop has built in software that gives you the option of setting the max charge at 60%, because the further the battery is from 50%, the more it degrades the battery over time, especially from 0-20% and 80-100%.
My phone has fast charge capability, and I didn't know it was worse for the battery until recently, but my phone is 2 years old and I don't notice much difference in battery life. Now that I use GPS all day when I'm working, I expect it to start tapering off more quickly after some time.
I saw a video showing a simulation of how lithium batteries wear down over time, and it's interesting because it shows the battery literally splintering away during cycles, especially during the last 20% on either end of the battery.
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2019-05-22 at 3:55 AM UTC
Thanks for the input, fellas. Very informative and well articulated responses.
2019-05-22 at 6:22 AM UTC
Sometimes emptying a lithium battery will recalibrate it, especially with cheap ones.
But that shouldn't affect the life too much.
