Latest news with #battery
The Sun
15 hours ago
- The Sun
Drivers warned to remove all gadgets from their cars this weekend or risk losing £1,000s
BRITS need to take extra care with their gadgets this weekend – and definitely don't leave any in your car. All motorists risk a costly bill alongside a tech headache if they make a common mistake. 3 This weekend will see hot weather all weekend across the UK – and that's bad news for your expensive gadgets. It turns out that heat doesn't just make your gadgets run more slowly and shut them down, but causes permanent damage too. In fact, too much heat can permanently shorten the battery life of your phones, tablets, laptops, and even wireless headphones. And one of the worst things you can do is leave them in your car, where temperatures can quickly rise to damaging levels. OFFICIAL APPLE WARNING Most rechargeable gadgets that you have at home or in your car use lithium-ion batteries. These batteries degrade over time as you use them – leading to shorter battery life (and in some cases, slower performance as your device tries to protect the battery). When your iPhone gets too cold or hot, the battery struggles to perform effectively, which can lead to problems and even total shut-downs. But with heat, you also risk causing permanent damage to the battery cell. An official Apple warning explains: "Use iOS and iPadOS devices where the ambient temperature is between 0° and 35°C (32° to 95°F). "Low- or high-temperature conditions may cause your device to change its behaviour to regulate its temperature. Apple interview with Greg Joz Joswiak on new artificial intelligence, screening, hold assist, carplay, liquid glass and ios updates "Using an iOS or iPadOS device in very hot conditions can permanently shorten battery life." It's not likely to break 35C this weekend, but you're still at risk. That's because your car temperature can go well above the outside temperature. So if you're leaving your phone in your car while you're swimming at the beach, that's a big mistake. 3 And the same goes for tablets, laptops, and your Apple AirPods too. You're looking at gadgets worth thousands of pounds. "Store your device where the temperature is between -20° and 45°C (-4° to 113°F)," Apple warns. "Don't leave your device in your car because temperatures in parked cars can exceed this range." Apple says you must always avoid "leaving your device in a car on a hot day" – and certainly don't let it linger in direct sunlight. Why does heat damage batteries? Here's what you need to know... Hot temperatures can cause permanent damage to batteries That's because batteries contain fluids, and work through chemical reactions When heat is applied to a battery, the fluid inside starts to evaporate This damages the internal structure of the battery Components like the voltage indicator can be affected by heat This can allow batteries to charge at too high a rate, which can lead to a loss of electrolytes This can reduce battery life over time As batteries heat up, chemical reactions inside will also occur faster Excessive chemical reactions can reduce long-term battery life Similarly, you want to avoid using your iPhone for navigation in a car when it's very hot or in direct sunlight too, unless you've got air conditioning. If your iPhone gets too hot, you might notice some of these changes: Charging slows or stops Display dims brightness or goes totally black Signal gets worse as mobile radio in phone enters low-power state Camera flash disables Apps have lower frame rate or longer loading times Navigation switches off or goes audio-only Your iPhone might also switch off entirely if it gets too hot. At this point, you'll need to make sure you get your iPhone to somewhere cool as soon as possible to avoid permanent damage. In extremely high-temperature situations where you leave gadgets in direct sunlight, there's even a fire risk – and that could result in staggeringly huge bills. HOW TO FIX YOUR IPHONE BATTERY If your iPhone does get serious heat damage, the battery will degrade. And if that happens too often, you'll find yourself with a worn down battery on a phone that holds increasingly less charge. You can check your phone's battery capacity compared to when it was new by going into Settings > Batter > Battery Health. 3 Normally you'd expect to hit 80% at around 500 charge cycles (charging up and down), which typically takes a person about two years. So if yours is well below that, you'll want to take action or you'll be constantly stuck looking for a charger – and your phone may run more slowly too. One option is to just replace the device entirely, but this is very costly. A cheaper alternative is to pay for a battery replacement from Apple, which typically costs less than £100. IPHONE BATTERY SWAP – HOW MUCH WILL IT COST? Here's how much you'll pay for iPhone battery replacements in the UK and the US.. iPhone 5 Series iPhone 5S: £N/A / $69 iPhone SE Series iPhone SE (1st gen) – £N/A / $69 iPhone SE (2nd gen) – £65 / $69 iPhone SE (3rd gen) – £65 / $69 iPhone 6 Series iPhone 6 – £N/A / $69 iPhone 6s – £N/A / $69 iPhone 6s Plus – £N/A / $69 iPhone 7 Series iPhone 7 – £65 / $69 iPhone 7 Plus – £65 / $69 iPhone 8 Series iPhone 8 – £65 / $69 iPhone 8 Plus – £65 / $69 iPhone X Series iPhone X – £N/A / $89 iPhone XR/XS Series iPhone XR – £85 / $89 iPhone XS – £85 / $89 iPhone XS Max – £85 / $89 iPhone 11 Series iPhone 11 – £85 / $89 iPhone 11 Pro – £85 / $89 iPhone 11 Pro Max – £85 / $89 iPhone 12 Series iPhone 12 mini – £85 / $89 iPhone 12 – £85 / $89 iPhone 12 Pro – £85 / $89 iPhone 12 Pro Max – £85 / $89 iPhone 13 Series iPhone 13 mini – £85 / $89 iPhone 13 – £85 / $89 iPhone 13 Pro – £85 / $89 iPhone 13 Pro Max – £85 / $89 iPhone 14 Series iPhone 14 – £95 / $99 iPhone 14 Plus – £95 / $99 iPhone 14 Pro – £95 / $99 iPhone 14 Pro Max – £95 / $99 iPhone 15 Series iPhone 15 – £95 / $99 iPhone 15 Plus – £95 / $99 iPhone 15 Pro – £95 / $99 iPhone 15 Pro Max – £95 / $99 iPhone 16 Series iPhone 16 – £95 / $99 iPhone 16 Plus – £95 / $99 iPhone 16 Pro – £109 / $119 iPhone 16 Pro Max – £109 / $ 119 This will give your iPhone like-new battery life, and can even boost its performance too. But to avoid big bills, it's best to simply avoid letting your gadgets get too hot in the first place. That way, you'll have to replace your mobile less often.
WIRED
20 hours ago
- WIRED
Review: Nintendo Switch 2 Is Recognizably Amazing
Incidentally, the kickstand itself is disappointing. It's now a narrow, U-shaped leg running half the circumference of the console. It's sturdy enough once extended, keeping the Switch 2 upright at any angle, but it always feels a bit flimsy when you're pulling it out, slightly bending in a way that makes me worry about future snappage. It's leagues ahead of the tiny nub of a kickstand on the original Switch but doesn't feel as secure as the OLED model's full-panel approach. Without being plugged in, play time on the Switch 2 can be highly variable. On demanding games like Cyberpunk 2077 or Hitman: World of Assassination , the battery would drain from full to empty in about two hours. On signature launch title Mario Kart World , expect closer to four hours between charges. Nintendo claims the 5,220-mAh battery can deliver up to 6.5 hours of juice, but in my experience nothing hit that milestone. Nintendo is aiming for battery longevity, though with the Switch 2 intentionally not using fast charging, while the maximum charge can be capped at around 90 percent, both features helping prevent degradation. Taking Control Upscaled in line with the console, the Joy-Con 2s feel far more substantial than their predecessors thanks to some smart design choices. The spacing and depth of the face buttons are tailored to the new size; shoulder buttons are longer; and there's a smoother curve to the casing where each one sits in your palm. Meanwhile, the SL and SR buttons—the integrated shoulder buttons on the inner ridges for when a Joy-Con is being used as a single controller—are actually prominent enough to be useful now. When attached to the central Switch 2 console, the magnetic connection feels far more robust than I'd expected. There's a tiny bit of give by design, mere micrometers of movement that reduce leverage and help prevent damage or accidental detachment. There seems to be little chance of tearing a Joy-Con 2 off by mistake. Instead, a new trigger must be deliberately squeezed to force the controller away from the console. This is cleverly positioned to be easily accessible from above but almost impossible to snag in the middle of a game. Like the original Joy-Cons, there's an array of miniature technical marvels crammed into both grips, although most features are, like so much of the Switch 2 as a whole, largely iterating on what came before. Motion tracking controls remain solid, while the haptic feedback—dubbed HD Rumble 2—is significantly enhanced. It responds quicker to prompts from a game and is capable of more nuanced sensations. They can even vibrate fast enough to become ersatz speakers, able to pump out high pitched sound effects from the controllers themselves. Practical utility? Near zero. Tech flex points? Infinite. The biggest change to the Joy-Con 2s is, of course, the ability to use each as a mouse. Undoubtedly, it's impressive on a technical level, especially given the sensors accurately tracked movement on just about every surface I tried, from tabletops and sofa arms to jeans and even carpet (just). However, I'm still not sold—and after a week with the console at this point, I'm not sure Nintendo really is, either.
GSM Arena
a day ago
- GSM Arena
Google will reduce the Pixel 6a's battery capacity with an upcoming update
Earlier this year, Google released a Battery Performance Program update for the Pixel 4a which cut the phone's battery life as a precautionary measure. The reason – Pixel 4a batteries were overheating and posing a fire hazard. Well, another Pixel a-series phone is getting similar treatment soon as the Pixel 6a will also get a battery voltage decrease to prevent it from overheating. There are several reports online of Pixel 6a units spontaneously catching fire while charging and Google is taking the precautionary route once again. The update will only affect Pixel 6a units with over 400 charging cycles. A string in the latest Android 16 QPR 1 beta release confirms these upcoming changes, and Google also issued an official statement. A subset of Pixel 6a phones will require a mandatory software update to reduce the risk of potential battery overheating. The update will enable battery management features that will reduce capacity and charging performance after the battery reaches 400 charge cycles. We'll contact impacted customers next month, with all the information they need to address the issue. – Google official statement In the Pixel 4a case, Google reduced the battery's maximum voltage down to 3.95V from the original 4.45V value. The result meant a 56% drop in charging capacity. The Pixel 6a will probably get similar treatment. Burnt Pixel 6a unit (images: AndroidAuthority) In the meantime, if you are a Pixel 6a user, you can check your battery health by going to Settings > Battery > Battery health. If the phone shows an alert, you should probably look into getting your phone's battery swapped, preferably at a licensed service center. Google is also offering free replacements for Pixel 7a units with swollen batteries. Via
TechCrunch
2 days ago
- Business
- TechCrunch
Battery manufacturer Powin files for bankruptcy months after landing $200M loan
Battery manufacturer Powin filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday. The Oregon-based company said it has more than $300 million in debt. The Chapter 11 filing will let the company continue operating while it restructures its debt. Powin manufactured grid-scale batteries using lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) cells from China. Powin had been searching for alternative domestic suppliers, but the supply chain wasn't sufficiently mature, Jeff Waters, the company's former CEO, told Bloomberg in April. The company laid off nearly 250 employees earlier this month, and just 85 remain, less than a fifth of what it started the year with. Alongside the bankruptcy filing, Waters was replaced by Brian Krane, Powin's chief projects officer. Powin was a survivor of the first clean tech boom over a decade ago. The company was taken private in 2018, and it received $135 million in growth equity in 2022 from investors including Energy Impact Partners, GIC, and Trilantic Energy Partners. More recently, it secured a $200 million revolving credit facility from KKR. In recent years, Powin had grown alongside the boom in grid-scale battery storage, ranked third in the U.S. in terms of installed capacity and fourth worldwide. The company did not say what spurred the sudden rise in debt, though given its reliance on Chinese LFP cells, tariffs may have played a roll.
Android Authority
2 days ago
- Android Authority
After all the Pixel battery issues, I don't think I can keep recommending Google's phones
Robert Triggs / Android Authority I love a good Pixel. I've owned several, defended them in heated group chats, and even converted a few friends to the cause. But lately? I'm hesitating — hard. The elephant in the room, if you haven't noticed, is batteries. Not in the 'oh, it doesn't last a full day' sense — we're talking swelling, melting, and potentially exploding. The kind of hardware horror that once tanked a Samsung generation is now infesting Google's own backyard. If you've missed the story, earlier this year, some Pixel 4a owners discovered their battery life went from fine to rubbish over the course of a single update. Google hastily rolled out the Pixel 4a Battery Performance Program to swap out problematic cells, but kept unnervingly quiet about exactly why all this was suddenly happening. Eventually, a local recall revealed the truth: the batteries could overheat and potentially cause burns or injuries. The issue is bad enough, but the lack of forthcoming explanation made it worse. Are battery concerns putting you off the Pixel? 1 votes Yes, I'm concerned. 100 % No, Pixels are still fine. 0 % I'm undecided. 0 % Now, just as that fire gets put out, here comes the Pixel 6a. Google appears poised to once again force an update to prevent some models from overheating. We've even seen photos of a melted Pixel 6a to hammer home that this isn't just a minor software patch — it's a very real issue. Even if only a small number of handsets are potentially at risk, exploding batteries are not a joke — they're a hazard to you and your home. If that wasn't enough cause for concern, in April, Google acknowledged that some Pixel 7a units are impacted by 'unexpected' battery swelling. Again, the solution is to offer replacement batteries or financial compensation and move on. That's all well and good, but only a small consolation to users who endured the inconvenience, not to mention danger, of a swollen battery, and yet another reason for the rest of us to think twice about picking up a Pixel. Suppose it were just one model — a fluke, perhaps. Two? Concerning. But three Pixel smartphones with battery issues, all identified within a few months of each other? That's a trend, and not the good kind. Once is bad luck, but three models is a pattern I can't ignore. The common denominator is that these issues affect Google's affordable Pixel A models — the very models I used to confidently recommend to friends and family for their balance of cost, convenience, and supposed longevity. But what good are years of updates when the batteries can't last? I don't know if Google is sourcing bargain-bin batteries to save costs, but this will undoubtedly cost the company considerable time and money to put right, and even worse, its reputation as well. Hard to trust, harder to recommend Ryan Haines / Android Authority OK, but surely Google's quality control has improved over the years? Well, the Pixel 9a stumbled out of the blocks a few weeks late due to a 'component quality issue,' as Google called it. Once again, it didn't take long for speculation to grow that overheating was once again at play, possibly the camera this time, maybe the processor… or yes, the battery. We can only hope it wasn't the battery — but whatever it was, it's yet another poorly explained Pixel problem. My inner fan wants to cut Google some slack and hopes the battery fiasco won't crop up with the latest models. I still love using Pixel phones; the software package remains one of the best in the business, the cameras are brilliant for the money, and Google's AI smarts give Pixels an edge over the competition at all their price points. It's for these reasons that Pixels, and particularly the affordable A series, have been my go-to picks for friends and family for the past few years. Increasingly robust update commitments had only strengthened their case, but now that effort looks seriously undermined. Pixels have been my go-to value pick, but how can I recommend them now? There's still value in the Pixel series, of course. A few bad apples don't spoil the bunch: there's no evidence that the broader range is affected, and Google has put options in place for those who are. Maybe this is the last we'll hear of it, maybe the Pixel 8a and 9a will be fine. But that's a lot of maybes, and when people ask me what phone to buy, they're trusting me not just with picking the right phone to do what they need — they're also trusting me with peace of mind. That trust matters. Google's losing mine, and I can't pass the risk on to someone else. I've always recommended Pixels in good faith. Right now, I just can't do that anymore.
