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.
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.
Batteries in electric vehicles that regularly use 100-plus-kilowatts fast chargers degrade faster than those that rely primarily on slow charging, a new study suggests. Using fast chargers more frequently can cause some packs to lose nearly a quarter of their capacity in eight years, it claims. We've seen other studies suggest that fast charging has little impact on long-term battery health, so it's not a settled debate.
On a full charge, the phone can play BGMI for nearly 12 hours straight. Or you can watch YouTube videos for over 32 hours. Other things you can do on a single charge - you can use navigation for over 21 hours or record 4K video for 12 hours. That is, if you start at 100%. However, the battery is so massive that even at just 5% left, you can still do nearly 4 hours of voice calls or SatNav for over an hour.
The Jackery Explorer 300 Portable Power Station provides a convenient means to keep mobile devices and campsite accessories powered when they're not near an electrical outlet. It is a rectangular-shaped unit with a built-in handle and weighs approximately 7.1 pounds, making it easy to transport to other areas within the home or pack into the car. The chassis contains a rechargeable 293Wh Lithium-Ion battery that provides adequate power for a variety of small devices during short-duration power outages or camping adventures.
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.
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.
Xiaomi's flagship 17 series is due to get a new member soon, according to a new leak from China. This will be the Xiaomi 17 Max, which will feature the biggest battery of any Xiaomi 17 device at 8,000 mAh. The battery will support 100W wired and 50W wireless charging. The Xiaomi 17 Max is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 SoC, and has a screen with extremely narrow symmetrical bezels.