BatteryLife
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Test shows dark mode really can save battery life on OLED iPhones
Dark mode is a key feature on iOS 13, but can it really extend your iPhone's battery life? If it's an OLED model, the answer seems to be a firm yes, according to tests done by PhoneBuff. They used robotic devices to perform identical tasks on two iPhone XS test devices, one in light and one in dark mode. That included watching a YouTube video, using Twitter, navigating with Google Maps and chatting on the Messages app.
Google's next Wear OS update does even more to extend battery life
A major update for Google's wearable Android platform only just arrived and now we're hearing about the next Wear OS version. Today Google announced that "System Version: H" will include a slew of updates when it rolls out in the "next few months."
'Flying battery' drone can apparently hover non-stop for two hours
A startup called Impossible Aerospace claims its "flying battery" drone has a flight time of up to two hours. If that holds true, the US-1 will be able to stay in the air almost five times longer than many other drone makers' devices before you have to recharge the battery system.
Samsung teases improved battery life for the Galaxy Note 9
Samsung is releasing a series of teasers leading up to its Galaxy Note 9 unpacked event on August 9th, and the first appears to confirm rumors that the new smartphone will have improved battery life. The idea with the teasers, said Samsung, is to show how painful it can be when technology lets you down, and that change, in the form of the Galaxy Note 9, will save the day.
Intel aims to fix battery woes with low power LCD tech
Running out of juice continues to be one of the biggest frustrations of our generation, and the tech industry keeps trying to come up with ways to extend battery life. Intel's latest solution is something it's calling "Low Power Display Technology," which targets the most power-sucking part of most devices.
Xiaomi's Mi Band 3 is water resistant to 50 meters
Xiaomi's latest tranche of releases, which includes the transparent Mi 8 phone, also features the Mi Band 3, a one-up on the super popular Mi Band 2 that helped propel the company to the top of the wearables market. The new device comes with a bigger, higher resolution OLED screen, the same 20 days of battery life and a water resistance upgrade to 50 meters. The company claims it's a more comfortable wear, too. It's available in red, black and blue, and launches in China initially at 169 yuan, or about $26.
Apple offers $50 credit if you paid for a new iPhone battery last year
After admitting that it was sometimes slowing processor speeds on older iPhones, Apple discounted its out-of-warranty battery replacement from $50 to $30 starting at the tail end of last year. But for anyone who bought one at any point in 2017 for iPhone 6 or later devices, the tech giant is offering a $50 credit.
Android P taps AI to help save your battery life
Today at the Google I/O keynote, the search giant took the opportunity to showcase all the new ways artificial intelligence will revolutionize its phone OS with the upcoming Android P. One of the least sexy AI applications might benefit the most users. Adaptive Battery, as it's called, takes note of user behavior to cunningly switch off apps when it predicts you'll need them least -- and will result in a 30 percent reduction in CPU app wake-ups, which should save you some juice.
Google Pixel 2 users report warming phones and shortened battery life
If you've noticed your Pixel 2 running warm lately or found its battery life to suddenly be shortened, you're not alone. As 9to5Google points out, Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL users are reporting on Reddit and Google's Pixel User Community that their phones are having some issues since they installed Google's February security update. 9to5Google's Ben Schoon reports that his own Pixel 2 XL has been running warm while in standby mode since the update and that its battery life is noticeably reduced.
Google Maps may let you share your battery life status
Ever wanted to know if someone made it home safely, but didn't know if they had enough battery life to stay in touch along the way? You might not fret quite so much about it in the future. Android Police has spotted code in a Google Maps beta for Android that hints at sharing your remaining battery life alongside your location. You'd only get a generic range (likely because charge levels can change minute-to-minute), but this could be helpful if a friend's phone is running low on their way home from a night out.
Spire's health tracker sticks on clothes and never needs charging
Wearable fitness monitors promise a lot but research shows that nearly a third are abandoned in junk drawers because they're too fiddly, require too much maintenance or users are simply forgetting to put them on. Health monitoring company Spire thinks it's found the answer to these woes with the Spire Health Tag, the smallest ever fitness tracker that doesn't need to be charged and never has to be taken off.
Apple Watch Series 3 can stream up to seven hours of music over LTE
Yesterday, Apple released watchOS 4.1, allowing Apple Watch Series 3 users to stream music from their entire iCloud Music Library or through Apple Music rather than limiting them to tunes from playlists synced from their iPhones. And for Watch owners opting into the models with built-in LTE connectivity, the update now allows them to take advantage of these capabilities without having to tote around their iPhones. Now, as MacRumors reports, Apple has released a breakdown of how the Watch Series 3 battery fares during music streaming.
Apple's AR efforts will only work if the battery can keep up
All of Apple's new iPhones are ready for augmented reality. The iPhone 8, 8 Plus and X are designed with AR capabilities built-in, a lot like ASUS's ZenFone AR and other Google Tango-powered devices. AR is being billed as the medium of the future, allowing users to seamlessly blend the real world with fantastical creatures, sprawling battlefields and cosmic adventures -- or to just see if that Ikea Billy bookcase will actually work in their living rooms. The promises of AR are vast. On-stage today during its 10th anniversary iPhone event, Apple showed off a competitive multiplayer game called The Machines that superimposed a gritty sci-fi war zone over a blank table. On the iPhone 8, tanks and soldiers blasted lasers into buildings and enemies, and a spaceship was eventually engulfed by a massive explosion. It looked like the future of gaming. And it might be -- for 30 minutes at a time, at least.
Jabra's latest wireless earphones promise 18 hours of sound
Wireless earphones are great until they run out of battery, which always seems to happen at the worst possible moment (like when the person next to you on the train pulls an apple out of their bag). But now you can listen for longer thanks to Jabra's Elite 25e headphones, which boast an impressive 18-hour battery life. This means that in theory, a single charge could be enough to see you through a whole week.
Lawsuit takes aim at Google, Huawei over Nexus 6P battery issues
A federal class action complaint has been filed accusing Google and Huawei of fraud, breaching warranty and improperly handling customer complaints after a number of Nexus 6P smartphones unexpectedly shut down and became trapped in "boot loop" cycles. The suit was filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, and it claims Google and Huawei have never publicly admitted there were issues with the Nexus 6P, even while they continued to sell the phone.
Windows 10 will throttle apps to improve battery life
If there's anything that will kill your laptop's battery quickly, it's running background apps. They'll often chew up a lot of processor power regardless of what they're doing. Microsoft wants to do something about that on Windows PCs. It just released an Insider preview build of Windows 10 whose Power Throttling feature should keep the amount of CPU work to a minimum. If you have a portable PC with at least a 6th-generation Intel Core processor inside (wider support is coming), Windows can switch the chip to a more energy-efficient state when background apps are active. Those background apps will still get their work done -- they just won't be as demanding as they would be if they were front and center.
Chrome 57 will throttle background tabs to save energy
If you use Chrome as a primary browser, you'll know that it can be a resource hog that eats up too much battery. The browser's latest version was designed to solve that issue by throttling background tabs using excessive power. According to the Chromium blog, background tabs are responsible for one-third of Chrome's power usage on computers, so keeping them in check will minimize the browser's impact.
LG's latest battery is also a phone
The problem with having a smartphone that you want to use all the damn time is that you'll spend a big chunk of your day wedded to an outlet. LG believes that nobody should have to suffer such an indignity, and has launched the X power2 as a remedy. The smartphone is designed to operate for an entire weekend on a single charge thanks to the 4,500mAh battery tucked inside. It'll also recharge nice and quick, too, taking just two hours to go from flat all the way back up to 100 percent.
A software update will solve those MacBook Pro battery issues
Apple's latest MacBook Pros got plenty of mixed reviews, but the bugs with the laptop's battery life estimates were a bad ending to a tough year for Cupertino. Although Apple figured the machines would get a respectable a 10 hour battery life, independent tests from Consumer Reports showed wildly different results ranging from less than four hours to almost 20 hours, causing the group to pull their recommendation for the first time. While Apple put some of the blame on Intel's Skylake-based chips, a new software update has apparently fixed the issue to Consumer Reports' satisfaction.
New battery tech lasts for days, charges in seconds
Scientists from the University of Central Florida (UCF) have created a supercapacitor battery prototype that works like new even after being recharged 30,000 times. The research could yield high-capacity, ultra-fast-charging batteries that last over 20 times longer than a conventional lithium-ion cell. "You could charge your mobile phone in a few seconds and you wouldn't need to charge it again for over a week," says UCF postdoctoral associate Nitin Choudhary.
