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Other Is it bad practice to leave your iPhone & Apple Watch on a wireless charger overnight?
- Thread starter The Cockney Rebel
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Plus: Apple has smart charging for all their devices to reduce stress on the batteries
So you only charge your devices while continuously looking at them?
My phone is on charging when I go to sleep, or it’s connected to car play on long drives. Never had any problem with batteries.
Unlimited power to the battery is not good. Best example is palpatine from Star Wars (aging affect)
I tend to agree with the people saying it's ok to leave them charging overnight. But if you're worried, how about putting them on the charger about an hour/hour and half before you go to sleep, then taking them off right as you go to bed? I'm not sure about the phone, but the watch charges in around an hour or so. If the phone takes longer, just put it on the charger earlier.
This way, the devices will be ready to go in the morning, but without having been on the charger all night.
I’m more worried about how many kitchen fires have started because people reading this thread have gotten distracted pondering their charge habits and forgot the stove was on.
I've been charging my Apple Watch on my bedside along with my iPhone overnight, since the first Series 0 I've owned, and my first iPhone 3G. I've not noticed any significant degradation, and I always get thru the day on a charge.
I don't do sleep tracking, so it doesn't matter to me. I actually did try, it was somewhat cool, but the watch is simply too big/thick to sleep comfortably in. And I used to sleep in slimmer watches before I started wearing the Apple Watch in 2015.
I don't do sleep tracking, so it doesn't matter to me. I actually did try, it was somewhat cool, but the watch is simply too big/thick to sleep comfortably in. And I used to sleep in slimmer watches before I started wearing the Apple Watch in 2015.
The sweet spot for Lithium Ion batteries is to not discharge them to less than 20% of their capacity and not charge them to greater than 80% capacity. If you keep your charging cycle inside the sweet spot you can achieve significantly more charge cycles. Apple has a feature that will prevent charging to greater than 80%. You need to be mindful of the discharge and try to avoid less than 20% before putting it on the charger. Fewer cycles is better. So, if your daily routine only uses 30% of the battery capacity then you can avoid a charging cycle by not charging when it is still 60%.
Apple now has "nightstand" mode. If using nightstand mode you will likely be charging every night thus turn on the 80% limit.
I should also point out that when I say "capacity" I am referring to the battery manufacturers rated capacity. I am not sure if Apple already limits battery charging to something less than 100% capacity to extend the lifetime. There is no way to know if the 100% indication is the "rated capacity" or some other capacity that Apple has defined. It would be helpful if Apple published some guidance on how they determine "maximum capacity when new". See this Apple article for additional information:
iPhone Battery and Performance - Apple Support (CA)
Understand iPhone performance and its relation to your battery.
support.apple.com
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Do you unplug every device in your house each night? TV, washer and dryer, microwave, lamps, desktop computer, refrigerator??
Better safe than sorry!
You are correct, Apple does not expose the actual, manufactured capacity of the batteries use, nor does Apple necessarily use exactly the same batteries with the exact same manufactured capacities across a product line and the life of a product line. None of this information is exposed to the end user or via any API.
As a result, I stand by my assertion that attempting to manually govern the lifespan of batteries because you believe you can do it better than the circuitry itself is a waste of time. You don't have a full picture of the variables involved, and making declarations that you can "achieve significantly more charge cycles" has no quantitative basis on a broad scale.
Not exposing a fully charged Li-ion battery to excessive heat for a prolonged period of time is one of the few things you can do to allow it to achieve a normal lifespan across a wide array of battery capacities and types. Micro-managing charging of a device that uses logic-governed charging metrics (like all Apple devices with rechargeable batteries) is, at best, placebo.
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In my experience, maintaining iPhone battery health is a combination of smart charging habits and using quality accessories. I've consistently aimed to keep my charge levels between 80% and 20-30%, avoiding deep discharges and overcharging. This practice, coupled with using only Apple-certified chargers, has yielded excellent results across three different iPhones, with each retaining 95% or more of their original battery capacity.
While battery manufacturing variations can undoubtedly influence longevity, providing our devices with optimal charging conditions plays a significant role. Utilizing Apple's MFi-certified power adapters and cables ensures proper communication between the phone and charger, allowing for intelligent charging management.
In the end, we can trust our iPhones to regulate their charging processes effectively, but it's our responsibility to equip them with the right tools. By adopting these simple practices, we can maximize battery lifespan and performance, ensuring our devices remain reliable companions for years to come.
While battery manufacturing variations can undoubtedly influence longevity, providing our devices with optimal charging conditions plays a significant role. Utilizing Apple's MFi-certified power adapters and cables ensures proper communication between the phone and charger, allowing for intelligent charging management.
In the end, we can trust our iPhones to regulate their charging processes effectively, but it's our responsibility to equip them with the right tools. By adopting these simple practices, we can maximize battery lifespan and performance, ensuring our devices remain reliable companions for years to come.
As someone whose breaker box has multiple breakers that are extremely touchy, I can assure you that daily use would be a bad idea. I cannot wait to replace the pushbutton ones with switch-type breakers where you can immediately tell which one tripped.
Not at all.
I’ve charged every WATCH and iPhone I’ve owned over noc with no issues. The only thing that will damage your battery long term is heat. So if you’re worried about it, take the iPhone out of its case at noc.
I’ve charged every WATCH and iPhone I’ve owned over noc with no issues. The only thing that will damage your battery long term is heat. So if you’re worried about it, take the iPhone out of its case at noc.
This should be required posting every single time this comes up. There’s something about nerdery and OCD tendencies that makes folks very activated over this. I get it; I’ve been on all sides. You have a better life if you just let it be.
I disagree. It is absolutely quantitative and can be measured if someone would want to take the time to do so. The chemistry of Lithium batteries dictates that when you reduce the amount of charge during a charging cycle you create less stress of battery chemistry. Read the article I cited that Apple published, it is well written and quite factual. In fact, Apple recommends if you plan to store your device for a long period of time the best charge level is 50% to reduce chemical aging.
You know what would really improve a battery? Never actually using or charging it at all. It might exist forever, then.
Batteries are consumables. Battery charge is managed at the IC level within your device to balance performance, charge, and longevity. I will repeat what I've said twice now: Assuming that you should or can override that behavior because you can do so better than the systems inherent to the device is not necessary. Within the boundaries of normal usage and expected lifespan, there is no need to advise people to jump through such hoops. The device, and its battery, will manage themselves to optimal levels.
There is nothing in that Apple document that runs counter to what I am saying. Your example of a device that will not be used or charged for a long time is not normal usage. To use it as an example to support your thesis is not arguing in good faith.
I didn’t know there was such a thing as pushbutton breakers. I remember fuses, then circuit breakers with switches.
Well said.
On top of that, a phone, an AW and also a laptop are tools to get “a job” done, they have limited life to begin with.
Use the to serve you, not the other way round.
The science of lithium-ion batteries is well understood. Cells degrade exponentially quicker at higher voltages. This occurs whether you believe it or not. That’s the beauty of science.
So yes, if you leave the device on the charger for extended periods of time, the battery will degrade faster due to the higher voltage. Again, just to reiterate, this is not a matter of belief. It’s science.
The device does not optimise for maximum longevity as this would impair the function of the device. If you woke up with 75% battery and the phone shut down at 65%, that isn’t very useful for most people. But a Li-ion battery can last 4x longer (as in, 4x more cycle) if kept within this range, compared to 100%-0%. Again, this is science, belief is not required. Source: https://batteryuniversity.com/article/bu-808-how-to-prolong-lithium-based-batteries
Not everyone on this forum needs to use 100% of their battery every day. Many of those people also wish to keep their devices in operation for 5+ years. This is totally possible, but it requires manual intervention, as the device isn’t optimised for this scenario.
Apple manages the charge profile to maximize battery health (according to Apple).
