Sony To Boost Smartphone Batteries Because People Aren't Replacing Phones (theguardian.com)

Not too long ago, people would replace their phone every 18 months. But that isn't the case with most people now. According to new estimates, more people are now changing their phones after at least three years. The problem with this is that by the end of two-three years, the battery on the phone reaches a stage where it gets really annoying. Sony has a solution, or so it says. From The Guardian:Sony is trying to fix that, but not by fixing the battery. That's because the lithium ion cells within smartphones don't exactly need fixing -- they will continue to work for years -- but their ability to hold their original amount of charge rapidly diminishes with repeated recharging cycles. Everyone who finds themselves with a chunky battery pack for their new smartphone or desperately searching for a charger by mid-afternoon knows battery capacity is a never-ending headache that only gets worse as a smartphone, and its battery ages. Rather than fixing the battery, Sony wants to do something about the recharging. Jun Makino, Sony mobile's senior product marketing manager, said; "We've started learning your charging cycles so that our new Xperia X smartphones only complete charging to 100% when they estimate you're about to start using them, so that the damage caused by maintaining a battery at 100% is negated. This is important, a battery that's usually kept at a charge between 20% and 80% of its capacity is much healthier -- it's going to the extremes that wears it out at a faster rate. This is important, a battery that's usually kept at a charge between 20% and 80% of its capacity is much healthier - it's going to the extremes that wears it out at a faster rate. The Japanese electronics firm has partnered with Californian adaptive charging company Qnovo to put technology into its Xperia smartphones. This includes the new top-end Xperia XZ and Xperia X Compact, which Sony reckons will double the life of the battery to around four years.

Comments

Softare and wording problem

[gurps_npc]

The phones should be setup to charge to 80% and stop there.

Then offer a special "overcharge" feature that charges it to 100%.

But label the 80% charge "100" and the 100% level as 120 (no percentages)

People would like the 'new' feature. Everyone would instinctively understand that charging past "100" would be bad.

Re:Softare and wording problem

[Anonymous Coward]

But this battery goes to 11.

Re:Softare and wording problem

[Ichijo]

But label the 80% charge "100" and the 100% level as 120 (no percentages)

Or 125, because 100 is 25% more than 80.

It would also be good to have a "storage charge" feature which keeps it charged at 40-50%, for battery powered devices that you leave plugged in most of the time, like laptop workstations.

Re:Softare and wording problem

[ShanghaiBill]

The phones should be setup to charge to 80% and stop there.

This is the way that Teslas work. By default, they charge to 80%. You can boost it to 100%, but they recommend you only do that just before you leave for a long trip. It is especially bad to fully charge the battery and then park it in the hot sun. Heat+overcharge=Battery abuse.

Re:Softare and wording problem

[fizzup]

If the 80% level is labelled 100, then the 100% level should be labelled 125.

Re:Softare and wording problem

[arglebargle_xiv]

If the 80% level is labelled 100, then the 100% level should be labelled 125.

Nah, the 80% level should be labelled 10 and the 100% level 11. You see, most batteries, you know, will be charging to ten. You're on ten here, all the way up, all the way up, all the way up, you're on ten on your battery. Where can you go from there? Where? What we do is, if we need that extra push over the cliff, you know what we do? Charge it up to eleven.

My old phone had a replaceable battery

[QuietLagoon]

That also worked well, and didn't require some hopefully-accurate battery-watching algorithm.

Re:My old phone had a replaceable battery

[Entrope]

People complained about the bulk and weight of having a removable cover and another layer of hard plastic around the battery. Reporters making comparison charts and designers decided that thin and light were more important than a replaceable battery. OEM upper managers approved when they realized people could be convinced to replace the whole phone instead of replacing just a battery.

Re:My old phone had a replaceable battery

[mcmonkey]

People complained about the bulk and weight of having a removable cover and another layer of hard plastic around the battery.

No, they didn't. I've never heard one actual person using a cell phone in the real world make that complaint. It's strictly an issue for the gadget review press. And besides, what are you talking about? Extra plastic? A non-removable battery is still covered by the phone case. There's no extra layer of hard plastic, just the small tabs or whatever mechanism keeps the cover attached.

Not too long ago, people would replace their phone every 18 months.

Again, who are these people? I've never met them. When phones were tied to mobile plan subsidies, most (all?) were tied to 2-year plans. I've never heard of subsidized replacements on a regular 18-month schedule. The hardcore gadget folks paying full price would upgrade more on 12-month rotations. If you've waited 18 months, you might as well wait 6 more and get it subsidized when you renew your contract.

So how about this...get off the thinner, less features treadmill that seems to impress the reviewers, but is being requested by no actual real person who uses a phone as a tool and not a profession. Instead of shaving off every last mm, just give us a bigger battery.

This is important, a battery that's usually kept at a charge between 20% and 80% of its capacity is much healthier -- it's going to the extremes that wears it out at a faster rate. This is important, a battery that's usually kept at a charge between 20% and 80% of its capacity is much healthier - it's going to the extremes that wears it out at a faster rate.

Okay, Jimmy Two-times. Just give us a bigger battery or the ability to easily replace the battery.

Re:My old phone had a replaceable battery

[gaiageek]

People complained about the bulk and weight of having a removable cover and another layer of hard plastic around the battery.

No, they didn't. I've never heard one actual person using a cell phone in the real world make that complaint. It's strictly an issue for the gadget review press. And besides, what are you talking about? Extra plastic? A non-removable battery is still covered by the phone case. There's no extra layer of hard plastic, just the small tabs or whatever mechanism keeps the cover attached.

Mod parent up. And I'd like to add: A non-removable battery is an issue, or shall we say plan, for the manufacturers who want to ensure obsolescence.

Re:My old phone had a replaceable battery

[Webmoth]

People complained about the bulk and weight of having a removable cover and another layer of hard plastic around the battery. Reporters making comparison charts and designers decided that thin and light were more important than a replaceable battery. OEM upper managers approved when they realized people could be convinced to replace the whole phone instead of replacing just a battery.

The only people who complained were reviewers on tech sites. Everyone else added weight and bulk by wrapping "protective" shells around their phones.

Baloney

[110010001000]

I'm typing this on my 6 year old iPhone and the battery works just fi

This is important!

[Anonymous Coward]

So much so, they said it twice!

Batteries going to 11?

[MiniMike]

a battery that's usually kept at a charge between 20% and 80% of its capacity is much healthier

If longevity is a higher priority, then why don't they build batteries with a higher actual capacity but only let them charge to 80% (calling that the new 100%)? People would be willing to pay more for a 'premium long-life' battery.

Of course building phones that let you replace the battery is a better and simpler option.

Re:Batteries going to 11?

[Grishnakh]

Who are these people "clamoring" for thinner and lighter? The only people I've seen like that are Apple buyers.

This is like claiming that "the public is clamoring for bare-bones utilitarian off-road vehicles" just because there's a small but vocal crowd of Jeep fanatics.

"Removable batteries"

[rlp]

Here's a thought - instead of soldering batteries onto the phones circuit board, build in a battery holder and a door so that users can replace them. I call this idea "removable batteries" and may patent it.

Eh?

[TechyImmigrant]

This:
>This is important, a battery that's usually kept at a charge between 20% and 80% of its capacity is much healthier - it's going to the extremes that wears it out at a faster rate.

Is contradicted by the story a few weeks ago regarding the results of research showing it was the act of charging that degraded batteries not the level of charge of the battery.

So which is it? Given I'm not completely naive here (I spent a time developing Li-poly, NiMH and Li-Ion chargers and did a ton of testing) I saw nothing to support the 20-80 hypothesis. If anything can be improved it's probably avoiding unnecessary trickle charge current and minimizing the idle current of the phone to minimize the area under the charging current curve as phones are plugged in overnight.

 

Re:One thing to fix this

[CastrTroy]

I didn't really want to get into a phone OS war, so I didn't mention it before, but I have a Windows phone, and I have to say, the experience is so much better than what I've seen from iOS and Android. The battery just lasts so much longer. Before anybody chimes in about the phone not running any apps, I would have to say I disagree. This phone runs all the stuff in the background I used to run on my Android phone, including email fetching, reddit client, Facebook Messenger, Skype, and can do anything that I did with my Android phone. I don't have many games, but I never really did enjoy gaming on a touch screen anyway.

I'm not saying that everybody should get a Windows phone, it's definitely not for most people, but I think that my experience has mad me realize that Android and iOS are doing a terrible job in terms of making their phones efficient. Just about everybody I know complains that their phone doesn't last through the day, and many Android users have lots of problem with instability and crashes.

Simpler Solution

[Roger W Moore]

There is an even simpler solution which does not put a limit on the lifetime at all: make the battery replaceable and sell replacements. You know, like everyone used to do 5+ years ago.