{"id":552079,"date":"2015-06-01T21:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-06-01T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.staging.ired.gr\/blog\/batteries-and-their-problems\/"},"modified":"2024-07-23T17:48:43","modified_gmt":"2024-07-23T14:48:43","slug":"batteries-and-their-problems","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ired.gr\/en\/blog\/batteries-and-their-problems\/","title":{"rendered":"Batteries and their problems."},"content":{"rendered":"

Why batteries have problems and what new technologies will fix them.<\/em><\/p>\n

The recent fashion and increased demand for external batteries shows how much the users of various electronic devices have been gadgets<\/strong> need their devices to stay charged for as long as possible and how great this need is. A survey conducted in 2012<\/strong>, showed that battery life was one of the most dissatisfying features among users. And this is unlikely to change given that the average smartphone lasts at most 8 hours<\/strong> browsing the internet before... dying a heroic death.<\/p>\n

\"ired<\/p>\n

At first, this looks like the fault of the manufacturers smartphone<\/strong>. You could say that they choose what batteries to put in their devices. But the truth is more complex: the fact is that the lithium batteries <\/strong>have changed very little since they first appeared more than 23 years<\/strong>. This long-term static situation has forced companies to compromise the size of batteries, devices or both. Either one will have a sleek phone, or a powerful battery.<\/p>\n

So, how exactly did we get to this point and where are we going? Improved batteries are on the way, but will they ever appear on the market? Are there new technologies<\/strong> that will liberate us from the old lithium batteries<\/strong> and there will be solutions in the meantime to make our lives easier with them. That's what we try to see in this article.<\/p>\n

See also: iOS 8 - Which apps are eating up your battery?<\/a><\/p>\n

How batteries work<\/h3>\n

The first rechargeable lithium batteries had ... explosive personalities (they literally blew up in your face). The companies Sony<\/strong> and Asashi<\/strong> Kasei<\/strong> (a chemical company) learned that the hard way when, the 1991<\/strong>, one of their first lithium batteries exploded and caused burns on the face of a mobile phone user.<\/p>\n

But that didn't stop the batteries lithium<\/strong> from becoming the only batteries in modern devices. The reason? They have a much larger capacity at their size than any other solution and are virtually maintenance-free. Unlike other technologies, they do not require discharging; they do not experience the \"memory<\/strong>\", have no oxidation and contain far fewer toxins than others. Simply put, they are our best solution for now.<\/p>\n

But when it comes to the size-to-capacity ratio, things are difficult. For example, the Nokia Lumia 1520<\/strong> Endures 107 hours<\/strong> with one charge and it has a size 6,4 inches<\/strong>. The same as the Huawei Ascend Mate2 4G<\/strong> with 6.34 inches. The only smaller smartphone<\/strong> that can withstand a similar duration of use (101 hours) is the Xperia Z3 Compact<\/strong> but which offers a screen resolution 720p<\/strong> to achieve this, which is unacceptable for a device of the 600\u20ac<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The really frustrating thing though is that even these big batteries don't last long. \u0397 Apple<\/strong> says that the battery of a iPhone<\/strong> will fall on the 80%<\/strong> of its capacity in the 500 charges<\/strong>, which means that if we charge the device once a day, this will happen in the year and a half of use.<\/p>\n

Beyond that, there is the issue of security. Today's lithium batteries may not be the dangerous batteries of yesterday, but still their inappropriate use can lead to short circuits, decomposition or the release of hazardous gases. Watch the video below that graphically illustrates the dangers.<\/p>\n