Once upon a time you could charge your cell phone weekly and that was more than enough to keep you connected, but those days are long gone.
Today's smartphones are more connected, use better screens, and run far more processes in the background. Most people have to charge their phone nightly, and if you're a heavy user you may be charging it during the day as well just to get through.
While batteries are getting a bit bigger there are a few things you can do to help charge your phone faster:
1) Use a wall charger instead of plugging in to your computer's USB port. Wall chargers will provide more power faster than the USB port can on your computer.
2) Use the adapter that came with your smartphone. This is especially important if your phone supports rapid-charging technology. Not all charging adapters are created equal.
3) Put your phone in airplane mode, or better yet, turn it off. Both disconnect you, but this simple trick can often cut your charging time in half.
Airplane mode will shut down cell connection, WiFi, bluetooth, and NFC connections, all of which provide a continuous draw on power.
Shutting completely down does all that but also stops the battery draw from background processes.
4) Consider using a mobile power bank. These are basically small rechargeable batteries you can carry in your pocket which will recharge your phone while you are on the go. There are a bunch of varying sizes, weights, and capacities to choose from.
It's a very handy way to ensure you stay connected during the day without being too hard to use, as long as you remember to recharge your power bank at night.
Battery technology is improving, but lithium ion battery technology started in the 70's and hasn't easily been able to keep pace with today's demands. Until a new kind of battery is implemented we need to figure out the best way to keep ourselves powered up.
Happy surfing!
-The Home Geek
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