CNBC: Overcharging iPad Could Harm Longevity of the Battery [Video]
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Posted March 26, 2012 at 3:21pm by iClarified
CNBC addresses a recent report that revealed the new iPad continues charging for up to one hour after it reports a full 100% charge.
Apple is saying when it reads 100%, the battery indicator reads 100%, it's actually full enough to give you the kind of performance that they promise in their marketing. That's ten hours of all-day battery life. They say if you charge it more than that, you could harm the longevity of the battery. So they say this isn't just an issue with the new iPad. it was an issue with the previous ones well but this battery is 70% bigger so you're more likely to notice it
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Well, we know lithium ion cells can be rapid charged to something like 80% of capacity, but then change to a slower charge rate to top off to 100% to avoid overheating the battery. I believe that more recent algorithms reduce th charge current along the way so there is a real slow trickle the last couple of percent.
So yes, Apple probably reports full charge at something less than 100% charged and continues to trickle charge if still plugged in to maximize the charge without compromising the battery health.
One thing I can say about Apple is that they use high quality batteries and use good charging algorithms. My 18 month old iPhone 4 is on 375 charge cycles and still holds nearly 95% of the battery's design capacity according to batteryinfolite, whereas I have had other batteries in laptops hold less than 70% of design capacity after far fewer charge cycles.
If it were truly overcharging he battery in a significant manner, we'd know as the battery would bulge and swell.
The report is wrong and debunked on other sites. They naively conclude that because the iPad continues to charge after reaching 100% that it's overcharging. In actuality, it's just reporting 100% prematurely and is charging just fine.
This article isn't worthy of being on iclarified, at least not without also adding some context and letting people know it's bunk.
Wow, no really? I had no clue, I thought it was every other device that loses battery life from over charging, but not the iPad, this is such a surprise to me, I thought the new iPad was exempt from logic (sarcasm)