Why Smartphones Don’t Last Long.
Smartphones are good at a lot of things, standing the test of time, however, is not one of them. Smartphones typically last 3 years or so. Some of them could last up to 5 years if they are good. Ever wondered why smartphones don’t last? Today, I will give you 3 major reasons why smartphones don’t last and how to prolong the life of your smartphone. Hopefully, it can help you solve some of these problems, if not, then you would still get a better general understanding of your phone.
Battery
The first and probably most well-known factor is the battery. Whether you use your phone or not, the battery will degrade over time. No matter how good or big your battery is, it will degrade over time. When you buy a new phone and turn it on for the first time, you might notice that the battery is somewhere around 50%, that’s because the battery handles percentage that is halfway much better than the two extremes of 100% and 0%. The companies also know that the phone will be sitting on the shelf for a while, that’s why they would charge the phone to about halfway to slow down battery degradation.
The solution to this, as mentioned above, is to keep your phone’s battery percentage close to 50%. Obviously, you can’t keep the battery constantly at 50%, but you can have your phone shy away from the two extreme ends of the spectrum. Charge your phone to 80% and then unplug your phone. It will give you sufficient battery while still keeping the damage minimal. Also start charging your phone at 20% instead of your usual 15%. AccuBattery is an app that can track the battery damage and battery health of your phone. It can also remind you to unplug your phone at 80%, don’t worry though, you can set what time to disable and enable your alarm so it doesn’t disturb you at night. (download here)Unfortunately for you IOS fans, this app is not available on the app store. This is not sponsored, I simply think that it is a great app to use.
Accident
Smartphones are one of the most accidentally abused tech products on the planet. Smartphones are made to be mobile. They are made so that they can be carried out and about. That means they will slip out of your hands just like the coffee you spilled on your co-workers. slipping out of your pocket and bags is just things that happen. Whether it’s dropping it in the streets and breaking the screen or dropping it in the toilet while scrolling Reddit, they are abused a lot. Intentionally or otherwise. Of course, you can always put on a phone case and a screen protector so you can never touch your phone and make the amazing back glass of the phone never see the day of light, but at that point, it’s just stupid. The glass screen protector doesn’t actually protect all of the screens because the curved edges and the phone case make your phone heat up easier and heavier.
Unfortunately, there is no solution to this one. The best I can do is give you some advice to try to protect your phone. Try not to put your phone next to hard objects like your earbud case or your camera, they can easily scratch or even break your screen. Put your phone in a bag and not your pocket if possible to prevent it from falling out. Also, try to put your phone on a table instead of the sofa. This seems like common sense, but you’d be surprised how many people break their phones like this.
Ports
Lastly, the port of the phone is also a major reason why it doesn’t last. Every day, you plug in your phone to charge at least once because no one actually uses wireless charging. When you remove the plug from your phone’s port, you will damage it. The worse part is, you can damage it in more than one way. After using your phone for about 6 months, you start to notice your phone’s port becoming lose. About 3 years in and you start to notice some charging problems. Your phone might start to constantly discharge even though it is plugged in. Worst-case scenario, your phone might not even charge at all. You might start using the very inefficient wireless charging, or you might wiggle the port a little until it charges and leave it. If your phone doesn’t have wireless charging, however, you could be in some serious trouble.
Fortunately for most of you, there are ways to solve most of these “phone not charging” problems. A lot of the time when your phone doesn’t charge, it’s because your port is filled with dust. Simply take something thin like a toothpick and a wet tissue and give it a little wipe, most of the time it helps. If not, you can go to your nearest phone repair phone and they will fix it for you for a low price.
