The increase in the definition of screens, the increased frequency of chips and memory, or even Internet connectivity require increasingly high-performance batteries for smartphones.

Manufacturers are well aware that this criterion is essential for all buyers today, especially at a time when high-end models flirt with the thousand euros, or even exceed it.

However, the technology embedded in current accumulators has not evolved for a long time.

To increase the capacity, no secret: you have to increase the size of the battery.

But smartphones are also judged on their thinness and weight.

The gains in autonomy and durability are therefore to be found on the side of the optimization of daily use.

The latter is already at the heart of the concerns of engineers, who are trying to reduce the consumption of chips and the greediness of operating systems.

On the user's side, it is at the level of daily reflexes that we must work.

Charging, myths and reality

To understand how to optimize the life of your battery, you have to have in mind, very schematically, the operation of a lithium-ion battery.

During charging, the anode (the + pole) will receive and accumulate electrons from the lithium placed at the level of the cathode (the - pole).

The recharging current somehow "rips" the energy present in the lithium.

When the battery is no longer connected, the electrons will want to make the journey in the other direction, which will produce the electric current.

The less electrons remain at the lithium level – that is to say, the closer you get to the maximum charge – the more the battery is subjected to a severe test.

This is why it is accepted that the optimal recharge range for a lithium-ion battery is between 20 and 80%.

In theory, it is therefore recommended to keep your phone within this range.

This would mean that you have to recharge your smartphone as soon as it drops below 20% and disconnect it beyond 80%.

In practice, it is more complicated.

It is much more harmful to repeat refills than to carry out a complete charge.

Also, manufacturers have integrated technical limitations for several years.

The good gestures

No matter what your charge indicator says, your device will never actually be 100% charged or fully discharged.

It is the software integrated into the telephone which manages these problems.

The most useful advice for preserving your battery is therefore to charge your phone over long fixed periods in order to avoid small deleterious recharges.

If you need a little boost during the day, fast charging up to 80% with a high-performance charger (provided the phone is compatible) won't damage your device, however.

This will allow you to focus on habits with more concrete results.

In addition, lithium-ion batteries hate high temperatures.

It is therefore advisable not to leave your phone in the sun, especially in summer, or charging in cramped places, such as under a duvet... For the same reason, and also because a battery does not like to be charged and stressed at the same time, avoid using your phone when it is plugged in.

A lithium-ion battery is supposed to last about 500 charge cycles before losing efficiency irreparably.

By adopting these simple reflexes, it is possible to go much further.

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