*This Editor’s Note will appear in the November/December Edition of WDD.
It’s an all-too-familiar scenario. We’re at the grocery store, a party, the beach (wishful thinking, of course, since winter is nearly upon us). We glance down at our phones, having regrettably been separated from a wall outlet for a few hours, when we see the dreaded “low battery” push notification pop up on the screen—or worse: complete and utter blackness.
It doesn’t matter where we are. What follows is a mad scramble for a phone charger: in our homes, our cars. I’ve seen people ask to plug in at restaurants or behind bar counters. Relative battery life even reorganizes the social pecking order on principles of utilitarianism (“Can I use your charger? I see you’re at thirty-seven percent. I’m at five.”)
Mobile battery life is an important concern when it comes to consumers and their smartphones. While this often extends to the typical, day-to-day frustrations associated with the constant tethering and untethering of our phones from the wall, the demand for thinner, lighter phones that “do more” is straining current lithium-ion battery technology.
For that precise reason, battery life remains to be a significant design consideration for engineers—particularly when it comes to safety.
In this latest issue of WDD, on pages 6 and 7, we explore the mechanisms behind mobile device battery life, specifically, why pushing today’s batteries to their limits often renders them unsafe, and what can be done to make battery technology safer in the future.
On a final note, as 2016 winds down, I also want to thank you for remaining avid and steadfast readers of WDD, and I look forward to continuing to bring you the latest and greatest in wireless design news next year. If you have any thoughts, suggestions or comments (puns are also always welcome), feel free, as always, to drop me a line at [email protected].
Wishing you and your family a happy and safe holiday season.
Until next time,
Filed Under: M2M (machine to machine)
