For all the technological advances that have been made in the consumer electronic space, batteries are still the biggest limitation. Allowing a device to charge without needing a plug is a huge advantage, but things like personal solar chargers and other technologies haven’t matured as fast as we’d have liked. A new research effort has …
The International Space Station is a high-tech laboratory and high-flying living space. It’s an incredible structure that has been keeping astronauts safe and helping them carry out scientific objectives for nearly two decades now. But, like any decades-old piece of machinery, the old girl needs a bit of maintenance every now and again, and that’s …
There are few things in this world more panic-inducing than realizing your smartphone battery is about to die in the middle of a long flight. Being left with nothing but an in-flight movie to occupy yourself is a fate worse than just about anything, which is why backup batteries and external chargers have become common …
I remember introducing the rest of my family to rechargeable battery packs about seven years ago, just as everyone was migrating from Blackberries onto a mixture of Android and Palm Pre (!) devices. At the time, a 2,000mAh device that fit in a backpack and gave you 60 percent more battery life was the most …
Apple is offering a $50 credit to any customers who paid Apple $79 for a battery replacement in 2017, according to a report from 9to5Mac. The company is apparently sending emails to customers who are eligible for the credit, which brings the effective price of a battery replacement down from the $79 that Apple typically charges …
Battery packs are as ubiquitous as they are cheap. The top-rated battery pack section on Amazon is one of the most hotly-contested on the entire website, and companies have risen and fallen on the strength of their portable chargers. Design has evolved significantly over the years, mostly recently with the widespread adoption of USB-C as …
We carry devices with us every day that have built-in rechargeable batteries, and whether it’s smartphone, tablet, or even an electronic cigarette, the lithium-ion batteries inside of them can be volatile if and when they fail. You don’t need to look far to find videos of cell phones, laptops, and vapes blowing up in people’s …
Amazon has issued a voluntary recall of six AmazonBasics portable battery chargers due to overheating, The Verge reports. The power banks, sold between December 2014 and July 2017, have a risk of overheating, causing them to melt, which could cause a fire hazard. The report says the recall is being done in partnership with the US Consumer Product …
One of the biggest stories in consumer electronics right now is Apple’s secret throttling of older iPhone models with aging batteries. The company misled customers for years as “conspiracy theorists” claimed Apple was intentionally slowing down older iPhone models in order to force people to upgrade. While Apple contends that the reason behind the throttling …
In a statement this afternoon, Apple addressed the consumer outrage about deliberately slowing down old iPhones with bad batteries. In its statement, Apple briefly explained why performance limitations are needed, apologized for the “misunderstanding,” and cut the price of a battery replacement (which fixes performance issues) by $50, from $79 to $29. But the brief …
