batteries - page 2

Thanks to batterygate, the good news is that Apple will now switch out the battery in your old iPhone for $29 instead of $79, a price so cheap it would be crazy not to do it. But how do you take care of that new battery to stop it going bad? The truth is, the lithium ion batteries in phones and notebook computers have a finite life. But you can prolong that life with a few easy tricks.

Does your iPhone seem to get slower and slower as it grows older? Well, according to Apple, that is exactly what’s supposed to happen.

Many iPhone users have long suspected that Apple throttles performance of aging iPhones. The popular theory is that Apple does so to entice users to upgrade. However, Apple says there are really good performance reasons behind the practice.

With all the fuss about depleted old batteries slowing down iPhones, it might be a good idea to at least check the health of your iPhone’s battery. To do this, you can use a free tool called coconutBattery. This handy app digs into your iOS and Mac devices to tell you how old they are, and how strong your battery is compared to when it was new.

Even the giant plus-sized iPhones run out of juice eventually, and that goes for the new iPhone 8 as much as any iPhone before it. You could carry a charger with you and spend the day hunting for available wall-sockets, but these days that’s as lame as using dodgy free Wi-Fi instead of reliable and fast LTE. Instead, you should take some backup power with you. There are two options: battery cases, great for really heavy phone users who always run out of power before lunch, and a spare battery with a USB cable that can charge your iPhone, or any device, but stays in the bottom of your bag until it’s needed.

Let’s take a look at the options. There’s also one very cool surprise feature in one of our picks that “wireless” charging fans are going to love.

Apple might team up with “expert technologists in batteries” from South Korea to create hollow lithium-ion power cells that will fuel the upcoming Apple Car, according to a new report.

While the name of the South Korean company hasn’t been revealed due to a nondisclosure agreement with Apple, it’s supposedly comprised of just 20 people. The South Korean team reportedly joined Apple’s secretive Project Titan automotive effort earlier this year, and the battery innovations could help the Apple Car stand out from the competition.

Cult of Mac has some fine deals on offer this week, offering discounts on a lifetime of WordPress themes and secure mobile connections, an exclusive 3Doodler bundle, and plenty more.

How many of us have said “I really should start a journal,” only to find that even the simple task of sitting and writing for a few minutes is too hard to fit into our daily schedule? With Penzu, there aren’t any more excuses — it turns anything with a screen into a synced, secure journal. And right now a Penzu Pro Digital Journal Lifetime Subscription is just $39, a full 58% off the normal price.

You don’t have to have had your iPhone die at an inopportune time to conclude that current generation batteries kind of suck.

Unlike most of us, however, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has the resources to do something about it.

In a press conference late on Thursday, Musk unveiled Tesla Energy: a line of new 7-10 kwh lithium-ion batteries aimed at homes, companies and utilities.

LAS VEGAS — Companies are throwing sensors into everything this year. Toothbrushes, cookie jars, mouth guards … you name it, and someone is trying to cram some sort of sensor into it. Next up is your backpack.

AMPL Labs’ upcoming SmartBackpack promises to keep your tech items safe and charged for days by combining “smartsensors” with battery packs woven into the fabric. The end result is a supercharging backpack that can tackle anything from an iPhone to a MacBook, allowing wearers to charge multiple devices on the go.

“We found that 85 percent of consumers worry about their devices running out of power at least once a week,” said AMPL’s David Migdal. “So we developed our SmartBackpack to address all their power needs.”

I kinda like the little Modulo. It’s a set of battery packs for charging your gadgets, with the gimmick that they are stackable and work on concert, letting your tune the weight/power ratio depending on which gadgets you’re using, and how long you’ll be away from mains power.

They also look cool, like little game carts from the 1980s.

Prong’s PWR promises to provide your phone with power, preventing all problems. It’s a slim-ish case with a built-in battery along with a pair of flip-out power prongs that can be thrust directly into a wall outlet.

Remember when the coolest brag for a gadget was that it was “credit card size”? Those times are back. The Revi Charger is a credit card-size iPhone charger with a built-in backup battery, and could really be just the thing in an emergency.

We’re in the midst of a holiday weekend, and Cult of Mac Deals has some great offers that are worth exploring while you’ve got time to spare!

The BookMark by Vorson is one of the thinnest backup battery solution on the market. We’ve got this backup battery solution for just $38.99 for a limited time. And MONOCLE, a high quality speaker that lets you listen to music and calls on the go, is available for only $34.99!

Hot on the heels of this morning’s leak of the alleged front panel of the 4.7-inch iPhone 6, a new photo purportedly shows the battery of Apple’s next-gen smartphone. The image seems to support rumors of a larger iPhone, requiring a larger battery.

The little BOLT Charger Battery is as clever as it is good looking. The USB wall-charger packs a backup battery into its tiny body, as body that leads its maker to call it the “The World’s Smallest Wall Charger + Battery Backup.”

I’m not sure how true that it, but who cares? It fits in your pocket and it’ll juice your iPhone twice, even without a wall to shove it into.

There is nothing worse then being stranded with no charger and no battery power. Life gets dangerous without your lifeline to the digital world.

The TOCCs Ultra Slim 10 Hour Battery Case is a lightweight and seamless solution to the inevitable battery problems of the iPhone 5/5s. Snap it in and you’ll get to continuous use on your device, completely uninterrupted for up to 5 extra hours. And Cult of Mac Deals has it for 68% off the regular price…only $24.99!

Unu’s new Enerpak Extreme is an update to my favorite battery backup brick. In fact, I have one here on my desk ready to review, but I thought I’d tell you about it first.

The Enerpak Extreme is a 14,000mAh battery pack that can charge an iPhone or an iPad, or both at the same time. It has two full-sized USB ports, one 1-Amp and one 2.1-Amp, plus a microUSB port for charging the device itself.

At an RRP of $200, the Solarpad isn’t the cheapest solar charger for your iPhone, but it does aim to be the best. Every detail has been tweaked to squeeze the last drop of juice from the Sun’s photons, from the battery itself (the same kind as Tesla uses in its cars apparently), through the efficient charge controller (form Maxim) to the cables themselves (fatter, to let the current flow more easily, says the blurb).

What’s more, you can pitch in early on Kickstarter and get a full setup for just $158 (right now anyway – the campaign only just launched).

If I was trying to sell you this backup battery, I probably wouldn’t need to do much more than tell your its name: The Darth Vader Lightsaber Portable Battery Charger. Because really, who wouldn’t want to juice their iPhone with Vader’s laser sword?

I’m a great example of why backup iPhone batteries don’t really work. I have a stack of the things in all shapes and sizes, and yet where are they when I need them? At home in a gray felt cat house (don’t ask). I just never remember to take the things with me.

Photojojo’s new Power Boost Keychain aims to change that, putting a smallish battery pack and charing cable on a keychain. Now you’ll never leave the thing at home. Or if you do, you’ll be locked out, and you won’t be able to call a locksmith.

What if your iPhone charging cable could charge your phone even when it wasn’t plugged into a charger? It’d be pretty neat, right? Well, that’s what Native Union’s Jump does, and it does it all while being the best-looking Lightning cable yet.

It used to be OK to ask a stranger in a bar “do you have a Nokia charger?” and borrow said charger for a while to juice your phone. These days, though, you’ll mark yourself out as a Low-Charge Loser, the kind of person who goes to bed without plugging in his iPhone. Worse, you’re probably carrying more than just a phone. Are you really going to ask a stranger for adapters to charge your iPad and Kindle too?

You are not. What you need is a beefy backup battery. And at this time of year, it should be waterproof, too.

Juicy external battery packs are definitely the way to go for the globetrotting nerd – I have had my bacon saved a few times by the 12,000mAh battery pack I carry with me on trips – they’re not only good for the iPhone, but the iPad min, a Kindle, and even USB bike lights (this is the best unknown use for these chargers).

But you know what would be even better? A ruggedized, waterproof battery pack. And – surprise – that’s exactly what I’m just about to tell you about.