Three more things you probably didn't know about batteries

There are many myths about modern batteries.

Ian Sherr

Ian Sherr (he/him/his) grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, so he's always had a connection to the tech world. As an editor at large at CNET, he wrote about Apple, Microsoft, VR, video games and internet troubles. Aside from writing, he tinkers with tech at home, is a longtime fencer -- the kind with swords -- and began woodworking during the pandemic.

See full bio

Shara Tibken Former managing editor

Shara Tibken was a managing editor at CNET News, overseeing a team covering tech policy, EU tech, mobile and the digital divide. She previously covered mobile as a senior reporter at CNET and also wrote for Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal. Shara is a native Midwesterner who still prefers "pop" over "soda."

See full bio

Ian Sherr

Shara Tibken

Dec. 2, 2014 5:01 a.m. PT

1 of 3 Incipio

Your battery is never fully charged

You’ve been lied to, but it’s for your own good. Most devices are designed to never fully charge or discharge their battery because the extremes are when they're most unstable. Instead, devices use roughly the middle 80 percent of a battery's capability. So the next time your phone says it's 100 percent charged, tell it you know the truth.

2 of 3 US Navy

Buying cheap batteries and cheap chargers is not OK

The reasons are too numerous to mention, but safety far outweighs the rest. Batteries with poorly made separators can suddenly fail — and catch fire. And chargers without adequate protections can send too much energy to your phone, causing an explosion. Don’t believe us? The next time you hear about someone’s phone exploding, read beyond the headline: a cheap charger is almost always at fault.

3 of 3 Lynn La/CNET

There’s no need to close programs on your phone

Apple and Google are smart companies, and they know that if smartphone applications run all the time, battery life suffers. Both companies’ mobile operating systems prevent apps from sitting open unused. Even though Apple iOS, for example, shows a long list of recently used apps when you double-click the home button, they’re not running. A program closes automatically within minutes of your moving on to another task.