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AppleCare+ Now Covers Batteries That Drop To 80%
Mark Wilson writes with news that Apple's AppleCare+ plan has been updated to address one of the biggest worries that people have about products with non-removeable batteries, and that become very expensive paperweights when the juice runs out. From BetaNews: "Previously, the extended warranty only covered batteries that would hold 50 percent charge or less. Now this has been updated so that you can request a free replacement within the coverage period if your device's battery is only able to hold 80 percent of full charge. The new terms to no apply to everyone — it all depends on when you bought your Apple device. If you bought your iPhone, iPad, iPod or Apple Watch before April 10, 2015, you're stuck with the old terms. I wish this change applied to my MacBook Air, with which I'm lucky to get 90 minutes of battery power.
Of the major phones sold:
1st place: Huawei Ascend Mate 2 (14:43)
2nd OnePlus One (13:16)
3rd iPhone 6 Plus (10:00)
I'd say it is pretty inaccurate to say Apple phones have terrible battery life.
especially since
4th Samsung Galaxy S5 (9:42)
I agree - Apple products are unseemly.
I'm curious how people are finding that a battery pack is the solution, when:
1) Usually the battery dies when you are using the phone, so you can't just put it aside at that point and charge it. I can use my phone while it is on a battery back but then it hardly charges and i'm stuck with the pack.
2) A battery back is physically bigger than a phone battery and most require an extra cable. How is that ever going to be more convienent then just carrying another charged battery?
Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
You think when they put the battery in at the factory they are just going to inject pure battery 'juice' into the phone??
Have a look on Apple's website at the design of the batteries in newer MacBooks. It's not quite "battery juice", but the batteries do come in shapes that fill the smallest gap, something that would be impossible with a removable battery.
That's actually a situation where you *wouldn't* use a smartphone at all.
Wilderness applications like backpacking, camping, climbing, hiking, or whatever, (Not just jogging in the park.) really call for a dedicated GPS unit. Smartphone GPS chipsets have severe limitations that limit their utility when they have no data connection. Specifically, they use aGPS (Assisted GPS) to "cheat" in order to get and maintain their fix quickly and with less power consumption. And they tend to be utterly terrible at getting a "pure" GPS fix. I've also never seen a app that's really full-featured enough to use outside civilization. There could be one I've missed, of course, but that still wouldn't correct the deficiencies of the hardware.
On the other hand, my second-from-their-lowest-end Garmin (Etrex 20) uses GPS, GLONASS, and WaaS with no data connection required to cheat the fix. It's rugged and waterproof to 2 meters. The software is specifically designed for real outdoors applications and not just driving directions. It's lightweight and designed to be both held and operated in a one hand... no mucking about with a touchscreen. There's a huge variety of maps, both free and paid, I can load on it either vis USB or MicroSD card. And it will run continuously for better than 24 hours on a pair of AAs.
(Also, if you're smart, you'll still bring a paper map and compass as a backup.)
Imagine all the people...
When the Retina Macbook Pros came out, these were the ones with the integrated battery, one of their key differences over their predecessors is that they felt a good deal more sturdy. If you lifted it without folding it up it felt like it had a good deal more structural integrity. This is partly because it's lighter and you're moving less mass around and partly because the case is just plain more rigid.
That's why the lack of seams matters.
"I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)