Smartphone Battery Life May Be on the Decline Because Lithium Ion Batteries Can't Keep Up With New Technology

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Overall smartphone battery life may be declining due to the increasing demands new technologies place on lithium ion batteries, according to smartphone testing done by The Washington Post.

In a series of battery life tests where multiple smartphone models from the past few years were set at the same brightness and forced to reload the same sites, newer smartphones were not able to last as long as older devices.


When it comes to the iPhone, for example, the iPhone XS died an average of 21 minutes earlier than the previous-generation iPhone X. Battery life impact was most noticeable with the Google Pixel 3, which lasted an hour and a half less than the Pixel 2.

According to The Washington Post, the iPhone XR, which uses an LCD instead of an OLED display, was a notable exception, performing well on the battery life tests. The iPhone XR boasts the longest battery life of any iPhone with 25 hours of talk time, 15 hours of internet use, 16 hours of video playback, and 65 hours of audio playback.

It lasted the longest in the battery test, besting the Pixel 3XL, the Samsung Galaxy Note 9, and the iPhone XS Max.

Apple's iPhone XR, the new phone I recommend to most people, has a different approach. It scales back on the screen tech -- lower resolution, less bright and lower-quality color -- in ways that benefit battery life tremendously: The XR lasted 3 hours longer than the top iPhone XS, even though the its screen is actually a smidge larger. (Bonus: It also costs $250 less.)

Nadim Maluf, CEO of battery optimization firm Qnovo, told The Washington Post that batteries improve at about "5 percent per year" but smartphone power consumption is growing faster than that.

The Washington Post consulted with other tech sites like Tom's Guide and CNET, and came to the conclusion that high-resolution OLED displays and cellular connectivity are major factors that impact battery life.

Turning down display brightness and using WiFi when possible, two well-known techniques for preserving battery life, are among the site's recommendations for eking more juice out of a smartphone.

The Washington Post's battery life test focused on the display, but other battery life tests, such as one conducted by Consumer Reports using a machine that opens up apps, had different results, with the iPhone XS beating the iPhone X due to improvements Apple has made with the processor.

Variations in battery life due to different tests and different real-life usage situations can make it difficult to tell whether overall battery life is increasing or decreasing over time, says the site.

Battery company Onavo's CEO believes that consumers should "start getting ready for compromise," settling for smartphones with increasingly bigger batteries that result in larger, heavier devices or lesser technologies like the LCD display in the iPhone XR.

Related Roundups: iPhone XS, iPhone XR

Buyer's Guide: iPhone XS (Buy Now), iPhone XR (Buy Now)

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Five Interesting Mac Apps Worth Checking Out - November 2018

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Apps created for the Mac often don't receive as much attention as apps made for iOS devices, so we have a bi-monthly series here at MacRumors that's designed to highlight useful and interesting Mac apps that are worth checking out and potentially investing in.

This week's picks include apps focused on Dark Mode, a new feature introduced in September with the launch of macOS Mojave, along with some useful apps for customizing text, keeping your eyes safe while working, and keeping your Mac awake. Many of our highlighted apps this week were chosen by MacRumors forum members.

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• NightOwl (Free) - NightOwl is a super simple Mac app that's designed to give you more control over Dark Mode. It adds a Dark Mode toggle to the menu bar so you can turn Dark Mode on and off without needing to open up System Preferences. You can also set Dark Mode to a timer or have it come on when the sun sets using NightOwl.
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• Amphetamine (Free) - Amphetamine is a Mac app keeps your Mac and your Mac display off by adding a simple on-off switch or customizable triggers. With Amphetamine activated from the menu bar, your Mac will be prevented from going into sleep mode. You can choose to keep your Mac awake indefinitely, for a specific amount of time, while a file is downloading, when a specific app is running, and more.
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• Dark Mode for Safari ($1.99) - Dark Mode in macOS Mojave introduces a darker theme across the operating system, but this doesn't extend to individual apps like Safari. Some websites are implementing Dark Mode support, but for those that haven't, the Dark Mode for Safari extension changes them to a darker theme that's easier on the eyes at night time or in low lighting environments. This is not a perfect app and doesn't work well with all websites, but improvements are being introduced on a continual basis and it can be easily toggled on or off.
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• Textlicious ($1.99) - Textlicious is a simple, inexpensive app that's designed to let you insert styled text in places that normally only accept plain text. If, for example, you've wondered how people are getting those custom fonts that you see sometimes on social networks like Twitter, it's quite possible they're using this app. Textlicious lets you highlight any text you're typing in an app, right click, and then select a style from the pop-up menu. There are options like typewriter, strikethrough, small, script, bold, italic, circled, and more.
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• Breaks For Eyes ($9.99) - Mojave's Dark Mode is meant to cut down on eyestrain, and the same is true of Breaks for Eyes. When looking at an iPhone, iPad, or Mac, taking frequent little breaks is a good idea to prevent dry eyes, eyestrain, and headaches. Breaks for Eyes reminds you to look away from the Mac screen every 20 minutes for 20 seconds, letting your eyes take a rest. There's a three-day trial, and then the full app costs $9.99 to unlock.
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If you have a favorite must-have Mac app that we haven't highlighted yet, let us know in the comments, and we might feature it in a future video. Many of this month's app picks came directly from recommendations from our forum members, and it's these recommendations that have helped make this series useful.

For more of our Mac app picks, make sure to check out our Mac app recommendation archives.
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Samsung is launching its new Android flip phone on November 9

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Apple Blames Currency Fluctuations and Uncertainty in Emerging Countries for Weak Holiday Sales Estimates

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Though iPhone revenue was up in 4Q 2018, fourth quarter iPhone XS and XS Max sales were not as strong as expected, and iPhone sales growth was essentially flat. Apple sold 46.9 million iPhones during the quarter, compared to 46.7 million in the year-ago quarter, missing analyst estimates.

Apple's $89 to $93 billion revenue forecast for the first fiscal quarter of 2019 is rather also cautious, which Apple blamed on foreign exchange costs, issues with supply/demand balance, and weakness in emerging markets.


"Virtually every foreign currency has depreciated against the dollar over the last 12 months," said Apple CEO Luca Maestri. "That adds 200 basis points of headwinds to the tune of $2 billion to our revenue."

Uncertainty in emerging markets is also a factor. "There's some level of uncertainty at the macroeconomic model in some emerging countries where consumer confidence is not as high," said Maestri.

Maestri also said that Apple has launched an "unprecedented number" of new products over the course of the last six weeks, and Apple has "some uncertainty" around supply/demand balance for some of these products. The launch timing of the new iPhones is also a factor, with the iPhone XR coming later than the XS and the XS Max. This had an effect on Apple's Q4 revenue and will also impact Q1.

Despite the cautious guidance for the first fiscal quarter of 2018, Apple is "very excited" about its lineup of products and services entering the holiday shopping season, and Maestri said that Apple has the "strongest lineup" it's ever had.

Going forward, Apple does not plan to break down unit sales of the iPhone, iPad, and Mac, a major change to the way that earnings data is presented. Apple will, however, continue to provide details on overall iPhone, iPad, and Mac revenue.

Apple CEO Tim Cook and Apple CFO Luca Maestri explained during today's earnings call that Apple does not believe that providing unit sales is relevant for the company at this point.

Tag: earnings

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Apple to Stop Providing Unit Sales Data for iPhone, iPad and Mac Starting With December Quarter

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During today's fourth quarter earnings call, Apple CFO Luca Maestri announced that going forward, Apple will not provide unit sales of iPhone, iPad, and Mac during its quarterly earnings reports.

This marks a major change to the way that Apple reports data and it will make estimating iPad, Mac, and iPhone product sales a more difficult task. Apple is perhaps making this change because its unit sales are decreasing while revenue is growing due to rising ASPs.


This quarter, for example, iPhone unit sales were flat at 46.9 million, but iPhone revenue was up 29 percent.

According to Maestri, Apple does not believe that unit sales over the course of a 90-day period are an indicator of the underlying strength of its business.

Apple also plans to rename the "Other Products" category to "Wearables, Home, and Accessories," a change that will also be made in the December quarter. This category will continue to include the Apple Watch, Apple TV, AirPods, HomePods, Beats headphones, and more.

Tag: earnings

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Apple's Wearable Category Sets New September Quarter Revenue Record With Growth Over 50%

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Apple's "Other Products" category, which includes AirPods, Apple TV, Apple Watch, iPod touch, HomePod, Beats products, and Apple-branded and third-party accessories brought in an impressive $4.2 billion during the fourth fiscal quarter of 2018, representing a 31 percent increase in revenue.

Apple does not break down the specific sales numbers of products in the "Other" category, which makes it difficult to determine specific sales numbers for products like the HomePod, AirPods, and the Apple Watch, but Cook says its wearables category set a September quarter revenue record with growth over 50 percent.


Much of Apple's "Other Products" growth can likely be attributed to the Apple Watch Series 4, which came out in September.

Cook said the Apple Watch Series 4 has become even more essential to people's daily lives, and response to the new model has been "overwhelmingly positive."

Cook highlighted new ECG capabilities coming to the Apple Watch Series 4 in the United States later this year, which he described as an "unprecedented and potentially life changing feature."

Tag: earnings

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Free Google Home Mini With New Or Existing Spotify Family Account

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