Latest news with #BatteryLife
Gizmodo
5 days ago
- Gizmodo
This Baseus Magnetic Power Bank Drops to Practically Free Even After Amazon Prime Day
Mobile phones are great and all, but we all get sick of the battery life issues. Sure, we probably shouldn't use our phones so much that it is an issue, but it's too late for that, we're looking for answers here, not accusations! Well, that's probably why there are so many good portable power banks now. There are loads of options out there, so which one should you go with? Well, if you're after one that's magnetic, small, still packs a punch, and is currently on sale, then we've got very good news. If you're quick, you can save yourself 43% on this Baseus Picogo Power Bank. It would normally cost you $70, which is pretty steep, but this deal means it's down to $40 instead. Now, that might still sound expensive, but it's worth it, and we're going to go ahead and explain why. See at Amazon The main attraction here is the incredibly small size. A lot of power banks are of a similar size to most mobile phones. That means they take up a fair amount of pocket space, and frankly, we need that for other stuff too. This one is substantially smaller than a phone though, measuring just 3.4 inches long, 2.3 inches wide, and 0.5 inches deep. It weighs just 0.3 pounds, as well, which means your main worry is that this might get lost in your pocket, no matter how small those pockets are. Thankfully, it's magnetic, which means it can easily attach to modern phones to be a constant source of extra battery life, and you'll barely notice that it's there most of the time. It even comes with a little kickstand you can use to help hold your phone up at a better viewing angle, which means it's really convenient if you're trying to watch something while you're on the move, or do a video call in the kitchen. It charges quickly too, and is capable of 15W QI2 wireless charging, or 20W USB-C charging, which means that you can use it as an emergency button in the event you've lost track of your battery life for too long, and things are starting to look dire. Look, we've all been there at some point, and the fear is very real. With all of that in mind, you can see why this device is normally $70, so you should 100% snap it up while it's down to just $40, because we're not expecting this deal to last long at all. See at Amazon
Phone Arena
7 days ago
- Phone Arena
Smartphone batteries are finally getting the upgrades we deserve
Battery life still remains a nuisance in the smartphone industry for heavy users, even with newer phones that have denser and higher capacities packed in their chassis. Fortunately, it seems that smartphone batteries are finally about to get the upgrades that we all deserve. According to supply chain reports ( translated source ), the current state of dense silicon batteries isn't the limit, if companies play their cards right. By the end of this year, 7,000 mAh batteries will become a lot more common, and it's only going to go up from the next year and onward. Current silicon battery limits are forcing research teams to experiment with new materials and shapes. This is going to make it possible for standard phones to feature batteries even larger than 8,000 mAh. Using new shapes and steel shells ( for structural support ), it is quite likely that we're not too far off from a normal consumer-grade smartphone that has a 10,000 mAh battery. The new Honor Power already has a battery capacity of 8,000 mAh, and the Honor X70 will feature an 8,300 mAh battery while measuring in at only 7.7-7.9 mm. Honor Power comes with an 8,000 mAh battery. | Image credit — Honor It truly feels like silicon batteries have finally made significant advancements in battery capacities a reality. Now all that's left is for Samsung, Apple, and Google to adopt these new batteries into their flagship offerings are certain regulatory limitations due to which these companies haven't been able to keep pace with their Chinese rivals. However, Samsung and Apple are reportedly researching on these batteries at this time, and I'm hopeful that we'll see the fruits of their labor sooner rather than later. The newly released Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7, while an absolutely stunning phone, does have the downside of using the same battery as the Galaxy Z Fold 6: a 4,400 mAh pack. While the Fold 7 battery is pretty good in other important aspects, I wouldn't mind seeing a bigger battery in the future. Fingers crossed that Samsung and Apple's ongoing research leads to silicon batteries with higher capacities but the same durability as their previous Li-ion batteries. Secure your connection now at a bargain price! We may earn a commission if you make a purchase Check Out The Offer
Android Authority
26-05-2025
- Android Authority
If the Pixel 10 doesn't have great battery life, there really is no saving Tensor
Robert Triggs / Android Authority Google has used semi-custom Tensor chips for its Pixel phones since the Pixel 6 series back in 2021. However, it's fair to say that these processors haven't been a smashing success for the company. One frequent complaint is that Tensor chips are underpowered compared to rivals, but we knew this from the start as Google publicly focused on real-world usage and AI tasks. What's more worrying is that these phones have historically suffered from disappointing battery life compared to rivals. Things have improved with the Pixel 9 series, but colleague Joe Maring still expressed disappointment with the Pixel 9 Pro's battery life. Meanwhile, the standard Pixel 9 trades blows with the standard Galaxy S24 despite having a much larger battery than the Samsung phone. Google is switching chip manufacturers from Samsung to TSMC for future Pixel phones, and this should theoretically result in better battery life. But if this trend of mixed endurance and heating continues, I really don't see the point of Google keeping Tensor around. Why a switch from Samsung to TSMC should be a good thing Ryan Haines / Android Authority Samsung has consistently played second-fiddle to TSMC when it comes to chip manufacturing prowess, often producing chips that run hotter and are less efficient. This doesn't seem like a huge deal to most consumers, but it has real-world consequences. My favorite example of this was 2022's Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 and Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 processors. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 was manufactured by Samsung, while the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 was a mid-year refresh made by TSMC. Qualcomm claimed a 10% boost to clock speeds, which is a pretty impressive upgrade compared to previous Plus processors. However, the company also offered an efficiency boost for the first time in a Plus chip, with a claimed 30% efficiency gain. So what did that mean in practice? What do you want most from the Pixel 10's chip? 217 votes Better performance 35 % Longer battery life 45 % More powerful on-device AI 5 % Less heating 14 % Qualcomm noted at the time that you could expect to play games for up to an hour longer, stream video for 80 more minutes, and get 17 more hours of music playback. Bear in mind that this is effectively the same chipset, albeit produced by different manufacturers. In other words, switching chip manufacturers can result in significant battery life improvements. And Google is apparently doing just this for the Pixel 10 series, all the way to the Pixel 14 family. But what if the Pixel 10 is a battery dud? Jimmy Westenberg / Android Authority Improved battery life for the Pixel 10 series and newer Pixel phones is far from guaranteed, though. TSMC has long bested Samsung Foundry in the manufacturing game, but there's always the possibility that Samsung will turn things around with its 3nm and 2nm designs. This seems unlikely as 2023's canceled Exynos 2300 and the delayed Exynos 2500 strongly suggest that Samsung's chip production business is still in a sorry state. In other words, I think it's increasingly likely Google will only have itself to blame if its switch to TSMC doesn't result in better endurance and reduced heating (another bane of my Pixel-owning existence). In previous years, I could always say that Samsung is the big reason why Google's chips lag behind in these areas. I can no longer use this excuse in the future, and nor can Google. Google and Pixel fans can no longer hide behind Samsung if the Pixel 10 series and future Pixels suffer from poor battery life. Instead, I think it's fair to say that any future battery life problems will be down to Google's chip design team rather than the chip producer. So if future Pixel phones have disappointing battery life and heating issues, it leaves me with one question: why should Google continue making its own chips for Pixel? It also doesn't help that, barring some special deal, Google is likely paying a premium for TSMC compared to Samsung Foundry. After all, Samsung has struggled to hold on to customers for its most cutting-edge process technologies. It missed out on a big payday when the Galaxy S25 series skipped Exynos chips in favor of Qualcomm silicon. So it would've almost certainly been more cost-effective to continue with Samsung as one of the few big-name clients. Google potentially paying extra for TSMC-made chips means that future Tensor chips could be more expensive than before, so we could be paying a little more for our Pixels. That's somewhat understandable if these future phones offer better battery life and run a little cooler, but the prospect of paying extra cash without these perks doesn't sit right with me. The company might as well give us a tried-and-tested Snapdragon or MediaTek flagship processor if it's going to charge a premium. We're still a few months away from the Pixel 10 family's expected launch window. This will be the first Pixel device as part of the TSMC deal, so there will likely be some kinks to iron out. But I really won't be optimistic about the Tensor chip's future if the Pixel 11 and Tensor G6 still suffer from these familiar Pixel weaknesses.
