The fix, he told me, was temporary - he didn't have the right part and couldn't get it. This experience revealed a broader shift in how modern products are designed, sold, and owned - one that increasingly treats repair as optional and replacement as inevitable.
Lithium-ion batteries are used in so many of the tech items we own today - phones, laptops, tablets, wireless headphones, e-bikes and scooters, cameras, portable chargers, and vapes. Every American household has roughly 40 lithium-ion batteries inside, according to the United Fire Authority.
Whether you're going off-grid, need power during an outage, or are simply camping for the weekend, portable power stations are essential for keeping devices and appliances powered and ready to go.
One of the weird quirks of working from home and owning a lot of cars is that I might go a month or a few between driving a specific vehicle. This is especially true in the winter, when I just won't drive my favorite cars at all to keep them out of the road salt. Many of my vehicles don't have the privilege of sipping from a battery tender. Yet, when I'm ready, the cars fire up when it's time to drive.
When the battery starts discharging, the sulfur at the cathode starts losing electrons and forming sulfur tetrachloride (SCl 4), using chloride it stole from the electrolyte. As the electrons flow into the anode, they combine with the sodium, which plates onto the aluminum, forming a layer of sodium metal. Obviously, this wouldn't work with an aqueous electrolyte, given how powerfully sodium reacts with water.
Most of the screens that you encounter everyday is always fighting for your attention, always buzzing, glowing, pulsing with red notification badges designed to hijack your focus. The TRMNL X, a 10.3-inch e-ink smart display priced at $219, takes the opposite approach entirely. It just sits there, calm and papery, waiting for you to glance over when you're ready.
Battery degradation on high-mileage EVs is not as big a deal as some might make you believe. Real-world data shows that EVs with over 150,000 miles are still going strong, with minimal degradation. Older EVs are more affected by high mileage, but technology has made newer models more resilient. Battery degradation is inevitable, but new research shows that EV owners should just keep driving their cars without worrying about what happens with the thousands of cells that live in their cars' floors.
They do nothing to save you power Scam "power saving" devices are rampant online. These devices plug into an outlet and promise to "improve the use of energy," "extend the life of electrical equipment," and even "avoid illegal electrical waste." Sounds great, right? Also: This USB power meter I tested is shockingly accurate - especially for how cheap it is Well, despite the bold claims and the sticker on the front of the unit, they are too good to be true.
The OmniBook 5 series occupies the mid-range of HP's consumer laptops for everyday use and the office, punctuated by fantastic battery life. The fits that description perfectly, with a roomy keyboard, a diverse range of configurations, and a very attractive $649 starting price. I tested the OmniBook 5 16-inch with the Intel Core Ultra 7 255H processor, and found it to be a reliable, practical laptop with a very efficient battery, particularly for a 16-inch.
OnePlus unveiled its current flagship, the OnePlus 15, in October last year. Although the launch of its successor is still some time away, leaks have already begun to surface online. The latest leak hints at the phone's battery capacity. The OnePlus 16 will house a large 9,000mAh battery, according to a tipster. Notably, its predecessor, the 15, comes with a 7,300mAh unit with 120W fast charging support.
You can run a report to check your battery's overall health and if it's time to replace it. And no, you don't have to be a pro to access this feature. The fact is that batteries are, by their nature, consumable technology. All will inevitably degrade, regardless of how they're treated. That said, if your battery is a shadow of its former self, it may be nearing the end of its lifespan.
There was a time not too long ago when buying a power bank was as easy as choosing the cheapest portable battery that could charge your phone and quickly slip into your pocket, purse, or backpack. The hardest part was deciding whether it was time to ditch USB-A ports. Recently, however, brands have been slathering on features, many of which are superfluous, in an attempt to both stand out from the commodified pack and justify higher price points.