Battery Myths Worth Unlearning
Some widely repeated advice is out of date, and a little of it is wrong in a way that costs you. Five claims, checked.
Battery advice travels faster than battery chemistry. Here are five claims that are worth re-examining.
One: you should drain it to zero once a month
That advice comes from older nickel-based chemistries, which developed a memory effect. Lithium batteries do not have that problem, and regularly running to zero is harder on them than shallow charging. Calibrating the on-screen percentage is a separate thing from caring for the cell.
Two: you should only use the charger that came in the box
What matters is the cable and connector, and whether the charger supports the standard the phone uses. A higher-rated charger is not a problem, because the phone negotiates what it draws.
Three: charging overnight ruins the battery
Modern phones stop drawing current once full, and many pause charging and finish closer to when you wake. The remaining effect is small compared with heat.
Four: a new phone needs to be charged for eight hours first
This was true for some older chemistries. It has not been true for a long time. The phone is ready to use out of the box.
Five: closing background apps saves battery
It usually does not. Systems are designed to suspend background apps efficiently, and repeatedly relaunching them can cost more energy than leaving them alone.
The pattern is the same each time: advice that was correct for one generation of hardware, still being repeated long after the hardware changed.
