{"id":4782,"date":"2020-04-16T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-04-16T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/langa.com\/?p=4782"},"modified":"2020-04-24T14:15:52","modified_gmt":"2020-04-24T18:15:52","slug":"why-does-it-seem-like-older-cellphones-had-longer-lasting-batteries-than-smartphones-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2020\/04\/16\/why-does-it-seem-like-older-cellphones-had-longer-lasting-batteries-than-smartphones-today\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;Why does it seem like older cellphones had longer lasting batteries than smartphones today?&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em><small>(Answer requested by Gautam Naib)<\/small><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Because they did far less.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cellphones started as, well, phones. You used them to make voice calls or to exchange short-form (pager-style) texts. Period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With limited functions in intermittent use, the batteries on small-screen, low-power cellphones could and sometimes did last for days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But to do any of the myriad <em>other<\/em> things that we now routinely use smartphones for, you&#8217;d have to carry separate devices, each with its own battery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>If you wanted photos, you carried a separate camera with its own battery.<\/li><li>Video? Separate device, separate battery.<\/li><li>Location or map services? Separate GPS device with its own battery.<\/li><li>Listen to music? Separate device, with its own battery.<\/li><li>Time of day? Separate watch, with its own battery.<\/li><li>Sound recorder? Separate device, with its own battery.<\/li><li>Watch a movie? Separate device, with its own battery.<\/li><li>Illumination? Flashlight, with its own battery.<\/li><li>Full web access, or to perform serious digital work? PC with its own power supply or battery.<\/li><li>Etc. Etc. Etc.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>In fact, depending on how finely you slice things, it can be argued that a current smartphone can replace <em><strong>40-50 separate old-school battery-powered devices<\/strong><\/em>. (<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/turbofuture.com\/cell-phones\/40-Things-the-iPhone-has-Replaced\" target=\"_blank\">Examples<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" data-attachment-id=\"4785\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2020\/04\/16\/why-does-it-seem-like-older-cellphones-had-longer-lasting-batteries-than-smartphones-today\/smartphone-replaced\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/smartphone-replaced.png?fit=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"300,300\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"smartphone replaced\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/smartphone-replaced.png?fit=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/smartphone-replaced.png?resize=300%2C300\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4785\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/smartphone-replaced.png?w=300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/smartphone-replaced.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption><em><strong>One smartphone replaces 40-50 other battery-powered devices.<\/strong><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>That versatility means that today&#8217;s smartphones are frequently on and in use during the day, with a powerful CPU driving a big screen with dense pixels counts and high refresh rates; operating on multiple radio bands (cellphone voice, multiple cellphone data bands, 2 Wi-Fi bands, Bluetooth, NFC, GPS, etc.), and running a full range of software.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The magic isn&#8217;t that older phones could sometimes last a long time between charges &#8212; but that today&#8217;s <em>much<\/em>-more-powerful, <em>much<\/em>-more-useful phones also can!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-right has-small-font-size\"><em><strong>Permalink: <a href=\"https:\/\/langa.com\/?p=4782\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/langa.com\/?p=4782<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"104\" height=\"6\" data-attachment-id=\"1999\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2019\/02\/10\/around-boston-the-nearly-snowless-winter-continues\/seperator-short-grey\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/SEPERATOR-short-grey.png?fit=104%2C6&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"104,6\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"SEPERATOR short grey\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/SEPERATOR-short-grey.png?fit=104%2C6&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/SEPERATOR-short-grey.png?resize=104%2C6\" alt=\"[seperator]\" class=\"wp-image-1999\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"text-align:left\"><strong>COMMENT \/ QUESTION<\/strong>  on <strong>THIS ITEM?<\/strong> <em>See the<\/em> <strong>Comment box<\/strong> <em>at bottom of this page!<\/em><br><b><em><br><\/em>NEW QUESTION? <\/b><em>Ask<\/em><b> <u><font color=\"#000117\"><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/contact\/\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a><\/font><\/u><\/b>!<br><br>(<em>Want free notification of new content? Click<\/em><b><strong> <\/strong><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2018\/09\/09\/get-free-automatic-notification-of-new-content\/\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a><\/b>!)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(Answer requested by Gautam Naib) Because they did far less. Cellphones started as, well, phones. You used them to make voice calls or to exchange short-form (pager-style) texts. Period. With limited functions in intermittent use, the batteries on small-screen, low-power cellphones could and sometimes did last for days. But to do any of the myriad&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[7,30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4782","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-a-reader-asks","category-hardware"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paaiox-1f8","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2913,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2019\/06\/07\/what-is-the-best-way-to-charge-several-devices-at-once-on-usb\/","url_meta":{"origin":4782,"position":0},"title":"&#8220;What is the best way to charge several devices at once on USB?&#8221;","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2019-06-07","format":false,"excerpt":"A good externally powered USB hub --- that is, one with its own separate power supply --- is what you need. The external power is key because USB is fundamentally a data transfer standard, not a battery-charging standard. Charging takes a lot more power than data-transfer; a PC's built-in USB\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;A reader asks...&quot;","block_context":{"text":"A reader asks...","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/a-reader-asks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/external-usb-hub.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4950,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2020\/05\/08\/why-does-rotating-or-removing-and-then-returning-the-same-batteries-sometimes-make-them-work-again\/","url_meta":{"origin":4782,"position":1},"title":"&#8220;Why does rotating, or removing and then returning the same batteries sometimes make them work again?&#8221;","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2020-05-08","format":false,"excerpt":"(Answer requested by Sam Jones) The electrical contacts on batteries (and the cells that make up batteries) are metal; metal can oxidize or otherwise develop a thin layer of surface contamination that reduces the electrical conductivity. This layer may be invisible to the naked eye. Physically manipulating the battery scrapes\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;A reader asks...&quot;","block_context":{"text":"A reader asks...","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/a-reader-asks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/18650-batteries.jpg?fit=241%2C256&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4917,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2020\/05\/06\/is-it-safe-to-leave-a-lithium-ion-device-in-an-air-conditioned-room-whose-ac-temperature-is-set-at-around-20-degrees-c\/","url_meta":{"origin":4782,"position":2},"title":"&#8220;Is it safe to leave a lithium-ion device in an air-conditioned room whose AC temperature is set at around 20 degrees C?&#8221;","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2020-05-06","format":false,"excerpt":"(Answer requested by Evan Zanark) Sure. In fact, one of the oddities of lithium-ion cells and batteries is that they work best at the same temperatures where humans work best: Room temperature --- 20C\/68F --- is great for both humans and Li-ion! But once you get up to around 40C\/104F,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;A reader asks...&quot;","block_context":{"text":"A reader asks...","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/a-reader-asks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/W20150813-TS-BatteryFromTop.png?fit=410%2C403&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2579,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2019\/04\/12\/a-reader-asks-why-is-there-a-need-for-separate-ram-and-hard-drives\/","url_meta":{"origin":4782,"position":3},"title":"A reader asks: &#8220;Why is there a need for separate RAM and hard drives?&#8221;","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2019-04-12","format":false,"excerpt":"Speaking very generally: RAM is very fast, temporary data storage used only while the device is powered on. The data in RAM goes away when you turn off the device. Hard drives are for storing data longer term; they retain data even when powered off. But hard drives --- even\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;A reader asks...&quot;","block_context":{"text":"A reader asks...","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/a-reader-asks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/1280px-Samsung-1GB-DDR2-Laptop-RAM-e1587235482510.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2505,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2019\/04\/08\/how-to-make-lithium-ion-batteries-last-for-years\/","url_meta":{"origin":4782,"position":4},"title":"How to make lithium-ion batteries last for years","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2019-04-08","format":false,"excerpt":"The older column reprinted below was originally published in the August 13, 2015 , Windows Secrets newsletter. This older content supplements brand-new content posted today (April 8, 2019) in the AskWoody Plus newsletter, available here. An upcoming column will update and refine the information below. (I\u2019m reprinting selected Windows Secrets\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;AskWoody Plus&quot;","block_context":{"text":"AskWoody Plus","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/askwoody-plus\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/W20150813-TS-BatteryFromTop.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3551,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2019\/10\/08\/is-there-any-way-to-revive-an-over-discharged-li-ion-18650-battery\/","url_meta":{"origin":4782,"position":5},"title":"&#8220;Is there any way to revive an over-discharged Li-Ion 18650 battery?&#8221;","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2019-10-08","format":false,"excerpt":"Not a good idea. The protective circuitry (in the Li-ion battery or in the device that the battery powers) is designed to prevent dangerous over- and undercharging, which can cause the battery to overheat and catch fire. (Remember all those hoverboard fires a couple years ago? That's what you get\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;A reader asks...&quot;","block_context":{"text":"A reader asks...","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/a-reader-asks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/18650-batteries.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4782","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4782"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4782\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4788,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4782\/revisions\/4788"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4782"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4782"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4782"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}