Battery Articles on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog

Review: Phonesuit's Flex Pocket Lightning Charger

by Michael Grothaus (May 13th, 2013)

I use my iPhone 5 so much throughout the day that its battery is often nearly drained by 4 PM. That's why I'm constantly carrying around and trying out new external battery packs to keep my iPhone charged. The latest battery pack I've tried is the Phonesuit Flex Pocket Charger. I've reviewed ...

Mobile device power shines with Etón's new BoostSolar

by Michael Rose (May 7th, 2013)

It may rank closer to the "inconvenience" end on the post-disaster scale of challenges, but a lack of power for mobile devices certainly didn't help matters in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy last year. Innovative devices like the BioLite camp stove made appearances on the streets of New York as ...

How to turn off Google Now and keep your battery charged

by Mike Schramm (May 1st, 2013)

Google has recently added its Google Now service into its search app for iOS, but there's one big drawback to getting constant weather, traffic, and other local information on your phone: Location Services runs constantly. You can tell by the little arrow icon up in the corner of your home ...

Survey: Interest in iPad mini is growing

by Mike Schramm (Mar 12th, 2013)

TechBargains.com is a deals site that I follow, and it recently shared the results of a survey that demonstrate that Apple's iPad mini is a winner, and suggest that its popularity will continue to grow. TechBargains polled its readers, and found that interest in the smaller iPad has nearly ...

MacBook Pro with Retina display tops Windows 8 laptops, Chromebook in battery test

by Michael Grothaus (Mar 11th, 2013)

Mac users who need power, portability and battery longevity can rest easy knowing the latest MacBook Pro outlasts the latest Windows 8 laptops and at least one Chromebook model in battery tests. UK consumer reports magazine Which? tested the battery life of 18 Windows 8 laptops against the ...

Daily Update for March 11, 2013

by Megan Lavey-Heaton (Mar 11th, 2013)

It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player ...

Tethercell wants to re-imagine batteries

by Victor Agreda, Jr. (Jan 9th, 2013)

Tethercell's "re-imagining" of your run-of-the-mill AA battery, is more of a remote-controlled battery and is currently seeking funding on Indiegogo. Of course, we wouldn't write it up if there wasn't an app, and with the app there's actually quite a lot of cool stuff you can do with the ...

CES 2013: Nectar's fuel cell pack claims to store up to two weeks of extra power

by Mike Schramm (Jan 8th, 2013)

The Nectar mobile power system had its debut earlier this week at CES' Unveiled pre-show, and if nothing else, it's an impressive boast: The system claims to provide up to two weeks of power for your devices (including the iPhone) from a pack that fits very easily in a pocket. It's a pretty ...

PhoneSuit Power Core Micro: a tiny package that charges your iPhone

by Michael Grothaus (Dec 17th, 2012)

Given all that the iPad and iPhone can do, it's amazing their batteries last as long as they do. With that being said, and while I never worry about taking my iPad on a day trip without its charger, my iPhone 5 is a constant worry. I use Maps (Google Maps) heavily and am constantly reading and ...

iPad, iPad mini win battery life shootout among tablets

by Michael Grothaus (Dec 5th, 2012)

UK consumer watchdog site Which? has tested the world's leading tablets to see how their battery life compares and both the iPad with Retina display and the iPad mini came out on top by a large margin. To be fair to all tablets, Which? took into account the screen size and brightness of each ...

Mophie Juice Pack Powerstation delivers slim portable charging, on sale Monday

by Michael Rose (Nov 26th, 2012)

The iconic iPhone battery case from Mophie, the Juice Pack, hasn't made the transition from the iPhone 4/4S 30-pin connector to the newer Lightning interface yet. That's put some extra attention on the standalone battery packs in the company's lineup. We tested the Juice Pack Powerstation, ...

Where are the extended battery cases for the iPhone 5?

by Mel Martin (Oct 12th, 2012)

Cases for the iPhone 5 are arriving, but battery-augmented cases for the new iPhone are still largely missing. Since Apple changed to the Lightning connector, every previous battery case won't work with Apple's latest phone. That leaves many people feeling a bit naked, because the battery life ...

iPhone 5 battery journal and torture testing

by Victor Agreda, Jr. (Sep 27th, 2012)

I think the best tests of a battery are real-world ones. Rob Pegoraro tested his iPhone 5 in everyday life and found that it matches up great with competitors. My favorite quote: "Each figure beats any Android phone I've tested on an LTE signal, although some 3G models have done better." In ...

Mac 101: Battery not charging? Recalibration may be the answer

by TJ Luoma (Aug 20th, 2012)

If your MacBook (any model) is not charging to 100%, it may need to be recalibrated. Apple explains how to do this, but basically it comes down to three steps: Fully charge your MacBook (and leave it charged for about 2 hours) Fully drain your MacBook (by using it on battery until it ...

Exogear's Exovolt Plus: The stackable external battery pack arrives

by Steven Sande (Aug 17th, 2012)

There are a ton of external battery packs for iPhones and iPads. I remember the good old days when it seemed like the only packs available were little blobs that you'd plug into the bottom of an iPhone to keep it going for a few more hours. Now everybody and their brother-in-law has an external ...