Folks at AppleInsider have discovered an Apple patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office earlier this week, which reveals that Apple is working on ways to increase the capacity of rechargeable lithium batteries used in iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, MacBooks etc.
The patent titled "Increasing Energy Density in Rechargeable Lithium Battery Cells" describes charging a battery using a "multi-step constant-current constant-voltage (CC-CV) charging technique."
AppleInsider explains:
The CC-CV charging technique would allow the thickness of the anode active material inside a battery cell to be increased in both "volumetric and gravimetric energy density." But while the density of the power capacity would be increased, the size of the battery, as well as its maximum charging time and minimum life cycle, would remain unchanged.[..]
[..] But one issue with employing the multi-step CC-CV charging technique is battery life can be significantly decreased depending on temperature. For example, using the same current-charge density at 10 degrees celsius will lower the cycle life "substantially" when compared to a higher temperature such as 45 degrees. In addition, current-charge densities further reduce the battery's cycle life if it is at a higher state of charge, between 70 percent and 100 percent. Apple's solution would reduce the charge currents for a mobile device when its battery is at a higher state of charge, or a lower temperature. This would avoid degradation in the cycle life of the battery, and potentially even increase it, without any required change in battery chemistry.
There are several ways future iPhones, iPads etc could benefit from this patent:
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Apple could extend battery life without making changes to design
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Apple could reduce the size of the battery
life, which could free up space for new features -
By reducing the size of the battery, it could potentially also help in reducing the weight of the device like the iPad, which already has great battery life.
It is a never ending challenge for Apple to keep improving existing features or adding new features in future iPhone models, which in some cases could also be power hungry, but at the same time ensure that there is improvement in battery life. If you consider iPhone 4, it offers close to 40% longer battery life compared to the iPhone 3GS, which in our opinion was one of the major improvements in iPhone 4 as poor battery life was one of the biggest gripes about iPhone 3GS.
What do you think about iPhone 4’s battery life? Is longer battery life on your wish list for iPhone 5? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.
[via AppleInsider]
“Apple could reduce the size of the battery life”
??
I think they meant to say size
As Fero mentioned, meant to say size of the battery. Thanks for pointing it out. We’ve corrected it.
Better battery life is always a plus! If my iphone 4 lasted as long as my ipad, I’d be happy!
Battery life is a non-issue for me on my iPhone 4 (although I’m not glued to mine constantly like a lot of people are). I usually have between 40% and 60% every night when I plug it in to charge over-night. And for the occasional day where I use it a lot more heavily, I have charge cables in 3 rooms in my house as well as a spare one at work.
Of course I wouldn’t complain if they increased it even more for the iPhone 5… some people need that extra juice.
My iPad’s battery life is absurd (in a good way). For the amount I use it, I charge it once, maybe twice a week.
Maybe I just don’t use my iDevices enough???
First
Looser….
in my opinion, battery life will always be a problem. with all the great features of the retina display, push email, apps, games, gps, push notifications, 3g service, speed, everything that makes it an iphone, will always have battery issues. with the phone getting smaller and smaller, and there being more features at higher speeds and higher quality and endless feature updates, the chances of a better battery life overall are very slim.
Longer battery life would be awesome. From home to work I use about 15% of the battery. By 5 I need to charge my phone.
Ipho
IPhone 4 user
Sounds like you need to manage your power consumption more carefully, turn your Wifi, and Bluetooth off unless you need it, make sure you dont have any unnecessary apps running in the background (sbsettings from cydia manages apps in the background very well). I use my phone alot throughout the day, and rarely see the 10% warning notification, unless im purposefully discharging the battery like you should do at least once a week.
Lithium Ion batteries dont need to be discharged the way youre stating. That is only if you never use your device or it has incorrect battery reading and you want to reset it. They’re made to partially partially discharged and charged again…
When will this go into production, by Apple iPhone 6, when Android would have gone hitech too.
iPhone 4 meets my battery requirements but better battery life is always welcome… Suppose theres never enough
If you play infinity blade for an hour kiss your battery good bye.