Holiday Season Battery Myths Debunked: A Guide to Lithium-Ion Batteries
Hey guys, it's Marquez from the MKBHD channel, and I hope you're enjoying your holiday break. I know I am, and I know a lot of you guys, including me, have gotten some battery-powered gifts this holiday season, and that's exactly what I'm here to help with today. So, who has been wondering about the batteries in these devices? Well, wonder no more! In this article, we'll be breaking down three common myths surrounding lithium-ion batteries and setting the record straight.
Myth Number One: No Initial Charge Required
When it comes to new lithium-ion battery-powered devices, many of you may have heard that they require a long initial charge before use. However, this is completely false. Lithium-ion batteries don't need any sort of initial charge or priming, and if your new iPod comes with 40% battery out of the box, you can just start using it at 40% without worrying about any overnight charges. The battery will be ready to go, and you can skip that long, unnecessary charge.
Myth Number Two: Unplugging After Charging
Another common myth surrounding lithium-ion batteries is that you should unplug a device as soon as it's done charging to avoid overcharging and diminishing the battery life. However, this is also completely false. Lithium-ion batteries are actually smart in their own way, with built-in circuits that cut power once the battery is fully charged. If you look at a battery charging chart, you'll see that they charge really quickly to 80% and then gradually fill up the last 20%. What's more, the battery will "bounce off" 100%, going from 100 to 97 to 100 to 97, and so on. This means that lithium-ion batteries never get overcharged; the only thing you need to worry about is overheating, which is rare unless you're using it in a hot environment.
Myth Number Three: Calibration Required
The third myth we'll be debunking today is related to calibration. Some people believe that lithium-ion batteries require calibration by draining them all the way down to zero percent and then charging them up to 100%. While this can sometimes work on certain devices where there's battery memory, it's not necessary for lithium-ion batteries themselves. In fact, lithium-ion batteries have the same performance level regardless of the percentage discharge. The reason these myths exist is because old battery technology was nickel-based, which needed to be calibrated and discharged from 100% to get peak performance. That's all old tech now, so we can just move on.
In conclusion, I hope this article has saved you some time and confusion. Lithium-ion batteries are pretty smart devices, and they don't require any special care or maintenance. So, next time you're enjoying your holiday season with a new battery-powered gift, remember these three myths are busted! If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them in the section below.
This article was filmed on my trusty Samsung Galaxy Nexus, and I hope you guys are enjoying the holiday season as much as I am. Until next time, stay charged, and keep it lit!
"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhey what's up guys it's marquez from the mkbhd channel and i hope you're enjoying your holiday break i know i am and i know a lot of you guys including me have gotten some battery-powered gifts this holiday season and this is a video to help you guys out who have been wondering about the batteries in these i was actually doing some research on lithium-ion batteries which is the rechargeable type of battery that you find in just about every mp3 player or phone or device out there and to sum up my hours of research i basically have three main myths that i can dispel right now myth number one is that you need to do a very long like overnight initial charge before you can use a lithium-ion battery-powered device for the first time this is false lithium-ion batteries actually don't require any sort of initial charge or priming is what they call it so if your new ipod comes with 40 battery out the box you can just start using it at 40 battery don't worry about any sort of overnight charge myth number two is that you should unplug a device as soon as it's done charging so you can avoid overcharging and diminishing the battery life this is one of the most common myths and i only recently figured out that this is actually also completely false lithium-ion batteries are actually kind of smart in a way they have built-in circuits that cut power once the battery is fully charged if you actually look at a battery charging chart they charge really quickly to the first like 80 percent and then they basically gradually fill in the last 20 and if you look at it really really closely it actually bounces off 100 a couple times so it'll go from 100 to like 97 to 100 to 97 and that's the battery rejecting the charge saying all right we're done charging and then when it gets down to 97 it's like all right i'll accept a little more but basically they never get overcharged the only thing you have to worry about is overheating and that pretty much never happens unless you're using it in a really hot environment so uh you don't have to worry about whipping it off the charger in the middle of the night when it's done charging myth number three is that you need to calibrate a lithium-ion battery which is basically people draining their battery all the way down to zero percent then charging it all the way back up again to 100 while this is sometimes true uh and can sometimes work on certain devices where it has a battery memory the battery itself doesn't ever need to be calibrated it's the phone software itself that sometimes has trouble reading the battery percentage left so you may want to do this every year or so but lithium-ion batteries have the same performance level from just about any percentage discharge the reason these myths exist is because old battery technology was nickel based these old nickel batteries needed to be calibrated and discharged from 100 to get their peak performance which is well it's old technology now so with all that plugging and unplugging i just saved you i think uh you owe me a high five or or a thumbs up i don't know whatever you want to do either way this has been mkbhd and this entire video was filmed on a samsung galaxy nexus hope you guys are enjoying your holiday season and i'll talk to you guys in the next one peace youhey what's up guys it's marquez from the mkbhd channel and i hope you're enjoying your holiday break i know i am and i know a lot of you guys including me have gotten some battery-powered gifts this holiday season and this is a video to help you guys out who have been wondering about the batteries in these i was actually doing some research on lithium-ion batteries which is the rechargeable type of battery that you find in just about every mp3 player or phone or device out there and to sum up my hours of research i basically have three main myths that i can dispel right now myth number one is that you need to do a very long like overnight initial charge before you can use a lithium-ion battery-powered device for the first time this is false lithium-ion batteries actually don't require any sort of initial charge or priming is what they call it so if your new ipod comes with 40 battery out the box you can just start using it at 40 battery don't worry about any sort of overnight charge myth number two is that you should unplug a device as soon as it's done charging so you can avoid overcharging and diminishing the battery life this is one of the most common myths and i only recently figured out that this is actually also completely false lithium-ion batteries are actually kind of smart in a way they have built-in circuits that cut power once the battery is fully charged if you actually look at a battery charging chart they charge really quickly to the first like 80 percent and then they basically gradually fill in the last 20 and if you look at it really really closely it actually bounces off 100 a couple times so it'll go from 100 to like 97 to 100 to 97 and that's the battery rejecting the charge saying all right we're done charging and then when it gets down to 97 it's like all right i'll accept a little more but basically they never get overcharged the only thing you have to worry about is overheating and that pretty much never happens unless you're using it in a really hot environment so uh you don't have to worry about whipping it off the charger in the middle of the night when it's done charging myth number three is that you need to calibrate a lithium-ion battery which is basically people draining their battery all the way down to zero percent then charging it all the way back up again to 100 while this is sometimes true uh and can sometimes work on certain devices where it has a battery memory the battery itself doesn't ever need to be calibrated it's the phone software itself that sometimes has trouble reading the battery percentage left so you may want to do this every year or so but lithium-ion batteries have the same performance level from just about any percentage discharge the reason these myths exist is because old battery technology was nickel based these old nickel batteries needed to be calibrated and discharged from 100 to get their peak performance which is well it's old technology now so with all that plugging and unplugging i just saved you i think uh you owe me a high five or or a thumbs up i don't know whatever you want to do either way this has been mkbhd and this entire video was filmed on a samsung galaxy nexus hope you guys are enjoying your holiday season and i'll talk to you guys in the next one peace you\n"
