Tag: battery

Apple Replaced 11 Million iPhone Batteries In 2018 Up From 1-2 Million In The Past

Last year Apple apologized to customers for purposely slowing older iPhones via a software update. Angry iPhone users accused Apple of deliberately slowing down older iPhones that would force them to upgrade to a new device. However, the company later explained it was done in an effort to prolong the battery life of ageing devices. To make peace with anguished users, Apple offered battery replacement for the affected devices at highly discounted prices.

Before the battery replacement program, it would cost US $ 79 to replace the battery on an iPhone 6 or later which was later brought down to US $ 29. A notable Apple blogger, John Gruber in a post reported that during the battery replacement program Apple swapped batteries on 11 million iPhones which are several folds compared to 1-2 million in previous years. However, Apple is yet to confirm the actual figures. The replacement program was kicked off in December 2017 and it concluded on 31 December 2018.

Also Read: Samsung S10 Launch Billboards Suggest Galaxy Fold Will Launch In February

Battery replacement on affected devices prior to the program would cost Rs 6,500 in India which later came down to only Rs 1995. This exchange program has hugely affected the revenue forecast for Apple. Analysts originally forecasted revenue of $ 91 Billion which fell sharply to $ 84 Billion for the first fiscal quarter of 2019.

January 16, 2019
Apple Releases iOS 11.2.6 To Fix Telugu Character Bug
Apple has rolled out a new software update for iOS devices. The new iOS 11.2.6 update fixes the Telugu character bug, that we reported a few days before. The software update patches the vulnerability of iOS devices, which crashed upon using a specific character combination. The update comes with a size of 163.2 MB and the users have to connect their devices to a Wifi network to download and install the update.

The new software update also patches connection of third-party apps with the external accessories. This is a critical software update and all the iOS users are prompted to install the latest patch as soon as possible to prevent crashing of certain apps.

The company is also expected to roll out iOS 11.3 soon, which brings in new animoji and support for AR. The iOS 11.3 will also enable users to toggle the performance of the device on older iPhones. With this update, the user can switch between performance or balanced mode depending on one’s requirement. This will also enable a transparent layer to check the health of the battery on iPhones.

How to install iOS 11.2.6?
- Plug your device into power socket
- Connect to a wireless Wifi network
- Go to setting > General > Software update
- Tap download and install
- If it prompts for password, then enter your password
- Do not turn off your device at the time of installation at any cost
- After successful software installing, the device will reboot itself
- Vila, you have updated your iPhone or iPad to the latest available software
February 20, 2018
Motorola is Confident That They Would have Caught The Note 7 Battery Flaw

Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 held the better half of 2016’s news headlines thanks to faulty batteries and a large outcry from the consumers and the media. However, not all companies feel that the battery issues that Samsung dealt with would have been something of an issue in their production.

During the launch of the HTC U11, the company showed off it’s extensive testing around each and every aspect of production, in which batteries were one of the biggest under scrutiny.

Motorola’s Battery engineer,Russ Gyenes, with 25 years of experience at the company under his belt claims that the 8 point check is something that all battery manufacturers and users should have already had.

“I looked at that eight-point check,” he said. “Why wasn’t this being done by them in the past” .

Motorola has been making smartphones for many years, including the first smartphone which used a battery. The company talked about it’s many battery protocols and how it ensures not only at the testing stage but at each stage of production, including design and manufacture that the batteries comply with the outcome expected from the finished product.

The company’s 118 question audit with each manufacturer of their batteries ensures that the batteries comply to standards set not only by various battery regulatory authorities around the world but with Motorola’s own strict compliance rules. If any of those fail the whole process is stopped at a very early stage so it can be rectified. “It is a showstopper” claimed Russ, “Batteries simply should not fail any audits”.

Russ Gyenes, has been trying to convince Motorola to talk about their battery technology to the consumer, but clearly the interest to do the same was not there prior to the Samsung incident.

May 25, 2017
Samsung India Denies Galaxy Note 7 Recall, Claims Stock Shortage

Update : Samsung India has issued a statement about the recall, which is attached at the bottom of post.

In a typical Samsung India move, the company is denying that there is a recall of the Galaxy Note 7 trying to not lose the goodwill gathered at the time of launch.

Samsung has cancelled or delayed all the pre orders indefinitely and sent apologies to consumers claiming stock shortages.

Samsung India does not believe that news of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 recall will reach its consumers, apparently people live under a rock according to Samsung.

The message below has been sent to people who pre-ordered

Thank you for pre-booking Galaxy Note7. We regret to inform that delivery of your Galaxy Note7 is being delayed. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience. You can be assured that we are working hard to deliver your Galaxy Note7 to you as soon as possible. Thank You for your understanding.

Samsung India distributers have been strictly told to not speculate on the recall and tell the consumers that the shipments are delayed due to stock shortages

Samsung India tells the consumers that the shipments are delayed due to stock shortages Click to Share
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In countries like the US, the law requires companies to announce recalls and post information in the media. Since India is void of any such laws, people depend on getting the news online.

If you are buying a Galaxy Note 7 or interested in buying one, we recommend you do not until there is official word that the problem of the battery exploding has been solved.

Please also avoid buying a Galaxy Note 7 from the Black/Grey markets to avoid any injury via the problem.

Samsung Formal Statement :

Samsung is committed to producing the highest quality products and we take every incident report from our valued customers very seriously. In response to recently reported cases of the new Galaxy Note 7, we conducted a thorough investigation and found a battery cell issue. To date (as of September 1) there have been 35 cases that have been reported globally and we are currently conducting a thorough inspection with our suppliers to identify possible affected batteries in the market. However, because our customers’ safety is an absolute priority at Samsung, we have delayed sales of the Galaxy Note 7 in India. We acknowledge the inconvenience this may cause in the market but this is to ensure that Samsung continues to deliver the highest quality products to our customers.

September 2, 2016
Samsung Recalls the Galaxy Note 7 Due To Battery Explosions

Before the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 could hit India, the South Korean company has issued a global recall of the handset. Several reports of the Galaxy Note 7 batteries exploding have surfaced since the launch of the Galaxy Note 7 in several markets.

The Note series has been in trouble since last year. The Note 5 which was 2015’s Note phone suffered the Pen-gate where the S-Pen would get stuck upside down in the Note body and cause the Note 5 to stop working.

This year it seems safety is a bigger concern and Samsung has decided to pull its products from shelves before any other injury can happen.

Samsung said that 35 cases of the fault have been reported to date, and it estimates the problem affects only 24 in a million devices, which equates to roughly one for every 42,000 sold. Which by itself is a small number, but in a case like this you wouldn’t want to be the owner of that one device.

In comparison to recalls this will be the highest-profile consumer tech recall, companies like Fitbit and beats have done tech recalls in the past. Samsung will need to recall and replace batteries in over 2 Million Galaxy Note 7 handsets , along with a complete change of the manufacturing process, before the company can re-introduce the product to market.

Samsung has stopped sales effective immediately and has requested customers with exiting Note 7 devices to contact their customer care centres/ phone numbers to request a replacement.

The recall will be an expensive one for Samsung and may completely hurt the reputation and hype the company was trying to build, by launching the Note 7 over a month prior to any Apple announcement. Read the full report below:

Samsung is committed to producing the highest quality products and we take every incident report from our valued customers very seriously. In response to recently reported cases of the new Galaxy Note 7, we conducted a thorough investigation and found a battery cell issue.

To date (as of September 1) there have been 35 cases that have been reported globally and we are currently conducting a thorough inspection with our suppliers to identify possible affected batteries in the market. However, because our customers’ safety is an absolute priority at Samsung, we have stopped sales of the Galaxy Note 7.

For customers who already have Galaxy Note 7 devices, we will voluntarily replace their current device with a new one over the coming weeks.

We acknowledge the inconvenience this may cause in the market but this is to ensure that Samsung continues to deliver the highest quality products to our customers. We are working closely with our partners to ensure the replacement experience is as convenient and efficient as possible.

September 2, 2016
Samsung Galaxy S7 to Last Two Days on Single Charge

Samsung S7 launch is right around the corner, and it seems that the rumour mill has decided that its about time it goes into overdrive mode.The last couple of days have seen a number of leaks and rumours about the phone surface, but today’s probably the most interesting we have come across for a while.

Russian blogger Eldar Murtazin has made an interesting revelation about battery life of the S7. He says that the phone might last up to two days of continuous use on a single charge.

Murtazin, who previously claimed in an extensive pre-release review of the handsets that the Galaxy S7’s battery lasts for 17 hours while playing video with the screen at 100% brightness, today posted new screenshots from a dual-SIM version of the Galaxy S7. Murtazin has claimed today that the phone can last upto 2 days with a single charge with the battery draining 4G LTE on, and the phone’s brightness set at 75%.

????? ????????? Samsung ???????? ????? ????? ? ?????? (??????? 75%), lte ?????? (3gb) ? ??? ????? pic.twitter.com/dZBfKhqNdn

— Eldar Murtazin (@eldarmurtazin) February 3, 2016

The new Galaxy S7 phones are said to come in packing bigger battery packs of over 3500 mAh. Along with this, the phone is expected to also come with a better-optimized OS for improving battery life and the switch to Qualcomm 820 with better thermal, and power management is also expected to do well for the Galaxy S7 when it comes to providing good battery life.

February 6, 2016
Asus Zenfone Max with 5000mAh Battery Goes on Sale

Asus India’s latest enterant to the already crowded market is a phone that sets itsellf apart from the crowd. The new Zenfone handset promises what its buddies couldn’t offer, a long battery life. The Selfie, and Lazer range phones albeit good, still did lack in stamina, and that is where this phone excels.

The Max, with it’s enormous 5000mAh battery, not only offers a phone that won’t die on you mid way through the day, but surprise surprise, it can also double up as a portable charger for other power hungry devices that might need some assistance. Well, that my friends, is an offer that even Don Corleone can’t refuse.

On the specifications front, the phone holds out its own in the crowded budget phone segment. ZenFone Max features a 5.5-inch HD (720×1280 pixels) IPS display which has 10 finger touch support and comes with anti-fingerprint coating. The phone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 quad-core processor which is paired with 2GB RAM, Android 5.0 Lollipop operating system and Adreno 306 graphics processor.

On the photography front, the phone integrates a 13-MegaPixel rear and 5-MegaPixel front PixelMaster camera with an f/2.0 aperture lens and laser auto-focus. It also comes along with a low-light mode that claims to capture up to 400 percent brighter photos at night or low light condition without utilizing the flash.

The Asus Zenfone Maxx has started retailing for Rs 9,999 , which to be honest is decent pricing for a phone with nice specs, and outstanding battery life, as such making it highly recommended.

January 15, 2016
Oukitel K4000 Pro with 4,600mAh Battery Can Power Your Phone for 6 Days

Back in December, we heard that a Chinese company by the name Oukitel was setting out to launch a smartphone with a 10,000mAh battery that could power the device for unto 10 days. The device, named K10000 Pro will start shipping from January 21st.

But that’s not the only device Oukitel is pushing out. Word is that the company also has a smaller K4000 Pro, which, as the name suggests, comes with a 4600mAh battery that promises to give you enough juice for up to 6 days of “normal use” (according to the manufacturer’s standards), and up to 80.5 hours of talk time.

While the main attraction of the device is the massive battery pack, the device also comes with decent specs for a low-priced phone. The K4000 Pro sports a 5-inch, 720p-resolution LCD screen. It is powered by a MediaTek 6735P chipset with a quad-core CPU running at 1GHz. Other features include 2GB of RAM and 16GB of expandable storage memory, which isn’t going to do well under graphic intense games, but that’s also one of the reasons behind the long-lasting battery.

In terms of looks, the K4000 Pro comes with a machined metal frame whose four angles are reinforced to improve its endurance under drops. A 0.4-inch thick tempered glass gives the display device an added protection and durability, so much so that the device substitutes for a hammer, according to the company’s video.

The device will run on Android 5.1 Lollipop and Ouktitel says that it will be upgradable to Android 6.0 Marshmallow later on. The handset supports dual-SIM and comes with basic connectivity features like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, and USB OTG.

Oukitel is having a pre-sale event between January 19 to February 1, where it will sell the device for $120. Furthermore, a limited batch of the K4000 Pro will be up for grabs for $90 on Tuesdays.

January 14, 2016
Researchers Develop a Lithium Battery That Won’t Explode

Battery is one of the major concerns of the tech world these days. Developers have to ensure that batteries are not only efficient and capable of providing sufficient support to gadgets, but most important of all, they can withstand high temperatures without exploding.

The explosion-scare in batteries is even though not very high when it comes to phones, but exploding hoverboard batteries have made everyone sit up and listen. Fires caused by malfunctioning hoverboards actually forced retailer websites to take the product off and stop selling them for a while.

An exploded hoverboard.

But it looks like a team of scientists at Stanford University have found a cure for these lithium-ion batteries in hoverboards that are the culprit behind all these fires. The team of researchers have developed a lithium battery that has a plastic over-lay filled with nickel particles. If this battery gets over-heated, it shuts down and cuts all power-supply. The supply is resumed only once the temperature has dropped to a safe level. This will ensure that the battery’s electrolyte never catches fire.

The same tech of self-shut down has been seen in batteries previously as well if they sense an explosion threat. However once they shut down, the battery is not functional again. This is primarily what this new battery will be able to take care of, among other things. Though these explosion-proof lithium batteries seem to hold great potential, there are still several years before they can be produced and used in smartphones and other gadgets on a mass scale. We wouldn’t advise you to get your hopes high about them hoverboards just yet.

January 13, 2016
Self-Charging Batteries to End Smartphone Battery-Life Woes

We have seen some incredible breakthroughs in technology lately but one issue that still needs to be solved is that of battery trouble. No matter how fancy a gadget gets, it is almost always limited by its battery life. The next big thing the world of tech requires is never-ending batteries, and looks like MIT is paying attention.

A group of researchers at the university are working on self-charging batteries, which in turn means never-ending battery life. The idea is to produce electrical energy out of the mechanical energy of locomotion. The mechanical energy produced as a result of walking can be used to charge electronic devices.

The procedure involves two thin sheets of lithium alloys to serve as electrodes with a porous sheet of polymer, after it has been soaked in liquid electrolyte, placed in between. This design is efficient at moving lithium ions, while at the same time being attached to sensors on the joints on the body like knees or wrists. The sensors would absorb mechanical energy of locomotion and convert it to electrical energy.

This tech could also be used to charge wearables like smartwatches, along with phones. However there is still a long way to go. Right now, the use of this technique can achieve 15% efficiency for a gadget at best. The research team hopes to increase this efficiency to a 100% soon.

January 7, 2016
Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge to be Waterproof and Have Bigger Batteries

The latest update in the series of rumours regarding the Samsung Galaxy S7 flagship devices says the devices will be waterproof. They are also expected to arrive with an IP67 rating which makes them dustproof as well.

Additionally, they will also have larger batteries that would make them last longer than their predecessors. The S7 will come equipped with a 3,000 mAh battery while the S7 Edge will be marked at 3,600 mAh. The S6 and S6 Edge have 2,550 mAh and 2,600 mAh battery capacities respectively. While the S7 batteries are the best Samsung has offered so far in its flagship, they would not be user-replaceable. But you can still expect the S7 to charge wirelessly in 2 hours and S7 Edge in 2.2 hours.

The phones will also have a microSD card slot, a feature that was not present in the preceding S6 series. It has been speculated for a while that Samsung is looking to improve its camera quality rather than upgrade its pixels. So a 12 MP camera for the S7 series wouldn’t be all that surprising. Reportedly, the S7 phones will be unveiled on the 21st of February. Watch this space for all the latest updates.

January 5, 2016
A Smartphone With 10,000 mAh Battery That Will Last You 10-15 Days

Oukitel is reportedly working on a phone that comes equipped with 10,000 mAh battery. Could this mean gone are the days of power-banks and bulky battery cases? The company’s new smartphone K10000 will last 10-15 days per charge under ‘normal’ usage.

Yes, this does seem a little too good to be true, and your doubts are not unfounded. The phone has a modest quad-core 1GHz MediaTek processor, 720p screen, 8-megapixel rear camera, 2-megapixel front cam and only 16GB of expandable storage.

Basically, the device is more like a power bank which has a basic phone attached to it. Don’t be surprised if there is not 3G or LTE support on the K10000. The phone is priced at a $240 (about Rs. 16,000) and begins shipping on January 21st.

This won’t be the first of its kind device though. Recently, a Chinese company too launched a phone with 9,000 mAh battery. However, once again that was the only highlight of the device, with its low end specs and bulky design. There seems to be still a long way to go before companies start combining decent specs with a long-lasting battery in their smartphones.

December 14, 2015
Would You Buy a Phone With 9000 mAh Battery?

Chinese maker MACOOX has come out with its new phone powered by a 9000 mAh battery. The phone is called EX1 and comes equipped with 1 GB of RAM, 8 GB of internal storage and an undisclosed quad-core processor. On the display front, the phone measures a 4.5 inch, and has a main camera of 8 MP and a selfie camera of 2 MP.

However all is not perfect in paradise -the EX1 comes with a bulky body of 14-15 mm in thickness. Unless you are planning to wear trousers with huge pockets, carrying this device might be a little bit of a bother.

According to sources, the phone appears to be a handset glued to a power-bank. Why not just carry your stylish, sleek smartphone along with a power-bank instead, right? We have the same question. Let us know if you come up with an answer for that one.

November 19, 2015
Battery Management Lessons for iPhone users

It is a well known fact that we consider the iPhone as an amazing development made in technology, but it often becomes a slab of glass and metal once it’s drained out of battery.

And as irritating as it gets when we run out of battery, there are some easy ways of extending its battery for a while longer.

Here are some simple tricks and tips for iPhone users fed up with their phone’s battery:

Low Power Mode

The recent introduction of iOS 9 came with a special feature of a power saving mode. This update warns you with a message when your battery drops down to 20% and offers Low Power Mode. Activating Low Power Mode reduces animations throughout the system. It also decreases the time before the screen darkens and makes every effort to save your battery for a little longer. When power saving mode is activated, the battery indicator turns from either green or red, to yellow.

Also, Low Power Mode can be activated at other times: look for the option in the new Battery section of Settings once you’ve upgraded to iOS 9.

Toning down on visual effects in iOS 7 and iOS 8

The parallax effect introduced in iOS 7, which makes your icons and notifications appear to be floating, might be pretty and cool. But at the same time, it drains the battery of your phone like a vampire, by constantly using your phone’s graphics processor. So, when you’re` in a place where charging your phone would not be possible, you could save your battery by disabling this feature.

You can switch to static rather than dynamic wallpaper – the iOS 7-style wallpaper that moves around as you tilt your phone. This will cut down the power drain a little. When you set a new Wallpaper, tap where it says ‘Perspective Zoom: On’ to turn it off.

You can also go to Settings > General > Accessibility > and switch on Reduce Motion to temporarily turn off all the parallax effects.

Cool not Hot Phone

There is no other way to say this – heat is really bad for batteries. It would be wise not to leave your phone lying in direct sunlight. The ideal comfort zone claimed for its best performance is between 16° to 22° C (62° to 72° F). Exposing it to a temperature higher than 35° C (95° F) can permanently damage battery capacity, so battery won’t power your device for long on a given charge. Also, it is advised that the cases should be removed while charging, as certain cases tend to generate excess heat that can affect battery capacity.

Reduce Screen Brightness, Turn Off Vibration and AirDrop

A simple way of saving battery is by reducing the brightness level of your iPhone screen. The brighter the default setting for the screen, the more power it consumes.There are a number of ‘Beep’ and songs to choose from for message and call notifications. Leaving out the rattling of your phone when a call or a message comes can save a little of your battery.

Also, turning off bluetooth and AirDrop whenever it is not in use can help in retaining battery life. Next time you are done transferring photos and files to and from other phones, make sure your bluetooth and AirDrop is turned off immediately after.

Disable Siri Shortcut

Yes, even Siri can be a bit of a drain on battery life. You’ll find the ‘Raise to Speak’ option in Settings > General > Siri -if you aren’t using it, make sure to turn it off. That sensor is active whenever your phone is unlocked. If it detects you holding your phone next to your face, it will make Siri listen automatically.

Update manually, Avoid Background Refresh App

Although updating your phone automatically seems to be the easiest way of updating, it is best to update manually. As it is handled automatically within the device it eats up tremendous amount of battery.

Go to Settings> iTunes & App Store> In the Automatic Downloads section, find Updates> Move slider to off/white.

It is also advisable to not use background app Refresh. We know how convenient it is when your device automatically updates the most used apps for you -but for the love of battery- it is better if this is disabled.

Go to Settings> General> Handoff & Suggested Apps> Move the My Apps and App Store sliders to Off.

High-Impact Games

This comes as no surprise that games and apps with high-end graphics and quality tends to consume more battery. So when you are playing games with 3D image quality or apps like the GPS chip for maps, and location-based apps it consumes more battery than when you are reading a book on Kindle.

Follow these simple steps to prevent your iPhone from draining out of juice. Next time you land yourself in a dystopic world which lacks all forms of charging options, you’d know what to do.

October 19, 2015
iPhone 6s Users Facing Battery Problems Due to Faulty Samsung Chips

If you’ve got your money ready for the new iPhone 6s that is due to hit Indian stores on the 16^th of this month, you may want to make sure you buy the right one. The internet is buzzing with news of some iPhones 6s units having shorter battery life than others. The reason behind this is that there are two producers of the A9 processor – Samsung and TSMC.

Apparently, the chips from the two firms are not identical. Chipworks, a site that specializes in teardowns, noted that Samsung’s A9 processors use a 14-nanometer processor while TSMC uses 16-nanometer. Early testing revealed that Samsung’s A9 chip fares poorly on battery performance when compared to TSMC’s chip.

Apple’s partner-cum-rival Samsung has produced nearly half of the A9 chipset found in the latest iPhone 6s, while around 70% of iPhone 6s Plus phones have a TSMC processor. A Redditor recently posted tests of a pair of iPhone 6s Plus phones, one having Samsung’s A9 processor and the other having TSMC’s. It was found that TSMC gives an extra two hours of battery life compared to Samsung’s processor under identical conditions.

TSMC A9 Processor

Samsung A9 Processor

“Ran this test a couple times and results were consistent,” wrote Raydizzle on Reddit. “Always about a 2 hour difference in duration. Both phones were tested using the same backup, same settings. Also tried testing them as new phones and results were similar.”

Furthermore, you won’t be able to tell which processor you’re buying when you purchase the iPhone 6s. However, there is an app called Lirum Device Info Lite that can detect whether the new iPhone has a Samsung A9 processor or a TMSC one along with every other information regarding the specs of your device. Once you download the app, click on ‘Model’. If your model is N66MAP or N71MAP, you’ve got a TSMC chip. If it says N66AP and N71AP you got the Samsung one.

October 8, 2015