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I use a Chargie (chargie.org) hardware device to limit charge on my devices to 80%, and the batteries last nearly forever. Currently typing this on a 4 year old

by _yb2s 3y ago

I use a Chargie (chargie.org) hardware device to limit charge on my devices to 80%, and the batteries last nearly forever. Currently typing this on a 4 year old iPhone with like new battery function. I highly recommend these, I’ve been using them since they were first sold. I have no affiliation, but am a very satisfied customer. For my Macbooks I use an app called Al Dente. I still have have 2016 MacBook with like new battery life. People will ask is this worth it? Isn’t it a pain to have a device only charged to 80%? It is totally worth it- because I only do it 80% thing when staying home, so when I travel my devices have full battery health and don’t run empty when I most need them.

Night_Thastus 3y ago
Is that really necessary? Don't basically all modern phones, laptops, tablets, etc all have battery protection software built-in?
- _yb2s 3y ago
  Not at all… basically no devices let you limit charge to any desired preset level. Apple devices have a system that slows down/pauses the charging so the device spends less time fully charged, but still charges to 100% eventually. With careful management, you can as much as triple or quadruple the usable lifespan of a regular lithium battery consumer device.
  - Night_Thastus 3y ago
    I don't mean at the user level, I mean done automatically by the hardware, firmware or OS. I was under the impression all phones already do this.
    - _yb2s 3y ago
      All phones have hard coded battery management, but where to set the "100%" level, which trades off the longevity vs battery capacity is fixed, and not user adjustable. As a phone manufacturer, they want to advertise long battery life, so push more towards that than I would like, and can't decide based on context (e.g. staying home vs travel). There is literally no reason for this not to be a user settable parameter on all devices, other than that there is no incentive for manufacturers to do so. Most electric cars however, do have the ability to set this. However, because phones are locked down for security reasons, there is no way to make these software adjustable with an app, unless you root the device. Hence the need for a hardware solution.
danecek099 3y ago
Wow I didn't know chargie.org existed! I'm happy to finally see a device like this on the market. I've had the same idea and created a device exactly like this as a high school project back in 2018, but didn't push it further

by _yb2s 3y ago

Night_Thastus 3y ago

Is that really necessary? Don't basically all modern phones, laptops, tablets, etc all have battery protection software built-in?

_yb2s 3y ago
Not at all… basically no devices let you limit charge to any desired preset level. Apple devices have a system that slows down/pauses the charging so the device spends less time fully charged, but still charges to 100% eventually. With careful management, you can as much as triple or quadruple the usable lifespan of a regular lithium battery consumer device.
- Night_Thastus 3y ago
  I don't mean at the user level, I mean done automatically by the hardware, firmware or OS. I was under the impression all phones already do this.
  - _yb2s 3y ago
    All phones have hard coded battery management, but where to set the "100%" level, which trades off the longevity vs battery capacity is fixed, and not user adjustable. As a phone manufacturer, they want to advertise long battery life, so push more towards that than I would like, and can't decide based on context (e.g. staying home vs travel). There is literally no reason for this not to be a user settable parameter on all devices, other than that there is no incentive for manufacturers to do so. Most electric cars however, do have the ability to set this. However, because phones are locked down for security reasons, there is no way to make these software adjustable with an app, unless you root the device. Hence the need for a hardware solution.

danecek099 3y ago

Wow I didn't know chargie.org existed! I'm happy to finally see a device like this on the market. I've had the same idea and created a device exactly like this as a high school project back in 2018, but didn't push it further