Smartphones

5 easy ways to safely charge your phone

These tips are sure to help you do it safely

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One of the most common issues for any smartphone user involves the device’s battery. We already covered how you can keep the battery lasting longer, but let’s go into another issue: charging it.

Whether it’s based off their own experiences or through research, most smartphone users know how to properly charge their phones but the same problems still exist. From overheating batteries to phones refusing to power on, a lot of these issues come off as battery-related in the long run.

So, how can we charge our phones the right way? Well, here are some things you can do that can address your battery charging issues.

Use the charger that comes with your phone

Every phone comes with its own charger and accessories. If you’ve been a user of the same line of Android smartphones or iPhones, these things are no different to you. The natural thing to do is to simply reuse the same charger across multiple devices. But, there is a reason why that charger was bundled with that phone.

Companies provide you with a charger that best fits the electrical capacity needed to charge your phone, and you should seriously consider using them. Ideally, both the power brick and the charging cable were designed specifically for your smartphone. Using another phone charger or a generic one could pose dangers to the battery, and to the phone in the long run. Also, take note if your phone uses fast charging so you have a reason to use the charger that came in the box.

Don’t do a 100 to 0 all the time

You’ve come across people who have told you to discharge your phone completely, especially if it’s a new one. These same people have also told you that doing so is actually good for your phone’s battery. The truth, however, is that your battery will eventually discharge faster, even if they will charge faster or at the same rate. Battery University, a website run by battery company Cadex, calls this process “deep discharge.”

It’s better to keep your battery’s charge level at a workable percentage before even thinking of plugging in the charger. If you subject your phone’s battery to a deep discharge, there is a higher chance that you will gradually reduce its lifespan. It’s also recommended that the workable percentage shouldn’t be too low (experts say below 30 percent) as it has the same effect.

Don’t keep your phone charging until 100

There are people who also tell you to charge your phone until you hit the 100 percent mark. Sure, it means that you have proof that your battery is full — and who wouldn’t want that? What you probably don’t know is that doing this adds stress to the battery, which damages it in the long run.

As much as possible, charge your batteries up to a safe percentage. While it would be good to go all the way to 100, working with 80 to 90 percent would already be fine. If you want to maximize your battery life, you can always look up ways to save your battery.

It’s not advisable to charge overnight

Charging your phone overnight is a common practice. At the end of the day, you would want to treat your phone the way you treat yourself: getting enough charge for the activities that lie ahead. So, the logical thing to do is to plug in the phone charger and let it reach 100 percent overnight.

But as mentioned earlier, going all the way to 100 might not be a good idea. Even if your battery reaches its full capacity, a lot of “trickle charges” come into play while your charger is still plugged in overnight. These trickle charges keep your phone at 100 percent as it fills in for the charges that your phone naturally loses. When that happens, you’re just adding more stress to the battery.

Charge when you can, little by little

Instead of charging it overnight, charging it periodically would be the way to go. Plug the charger as often as you would want to within the day, up to a workable percentage for you. It’s also good to keep your phone charged for short bursts of time to keep your device up and running the whole day. While it seems impractical, doing this does not have any harmful effects to your phone’s battery.

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Deals

OPPO Philippines offers 40% discount on service parts

Save more on your next repair

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November 13, 2019

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It’s a fact that our devices have limited lifespans. When our devices start to break down, the only way to go is to dispose it or repair it. Those who choose the latter may find it hard since after-sales support is often tricky and lacking for most manufacturers; but not OPPO.

OPPO Philippines is offering up to 40% discount on service parts for device repairs. All service parts are covered by the discount — from motherboards to the top cover of the device.

The discount is eligible for the Neo 7, F1s, A37, F1 Plus, F1s 64GB, A39, A57, A71, F3, F3 Plus, F5, F5 Pro, F5 Youth, A7, A71 2018, A83, F7, F7 Youth, A3S and F9. The discount for service parts is available from November 4 onwards at all OPPO Service Centers nationwide. To know more, visit their website.

OPPO also has several initiatives that provide technical support to its consumers. It has a 1-hour flash fix program, a phone loan program, and a service app to help users when their devices suddenly break down. Plus, all OPPO devices come with an international warranty.

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India

Realme skyrockets in India mobile market as Samsung falls

Xiaomi continues to hold its spot

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November 11, 2019

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This year Xiaomi and Realme have been constantly fighting each other in the affordable phone segment. Each month we witnessed the launch of a new product, that always ended up killing the competitors previous offering. It’s a never-ending cycle.

However, the sales figures have proven that there’s still no clear winner in sight. According to IDC’s Q3 2019 report, Xiaomi continues to lead the market with a share of 27 percent, followed by Samsung at 18.9 percent. Realme is at the fourth spot with 14.3 percent, just below Vivo.

On the flipside, Realme has registered year-over-year growth of a whopping 400 percent, while Xiaomi grew at a modest 8.5 percent. Unfortunately, Samsung is having a hard time tackling the two younger brands and registered a fall of 8.5 percent.

The average selling price for a smartphone was INR 11,000 (US$ 159). Data also showed that phones under INR 15,000 (US$ 200) still account for 80 percent of the market. But, this segment saw its share drop by five percent on a yearly basis.

The Redmi 7A and Redmi Note 7 Pro were the highest shipped models in the complete market. Realme’s online sales were at 26.5 percent and its shipments were 6.7 million. This also means that number two, three and four smartphone players are closely matched in terms of shipments.

With more than 50 percent share, Apple remained the dominant player in the premium segment, which includes smartphones in the range of US$ 500 and more.

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Camera Shootouts

Huawei Mate 30 Pro vs iPhone 11 Pro Max: Camera shootout

Which big phone takes better photos?

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November 11, 2019

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The year is almost over but we’re not done comparing smartphones. In this shootout, we’re pitting the Huawei Mate 30 Pro against the iPhone 11 Pro Max. All photos are shot in Auto Mode using the main cameras, except for a few to test their ultra-wide angle cameras, night modes, and portrait modes. The photos have also been resized so the images can load faster.

Get your pen and paper ready as this is a blind shootout. Make sure to take note of your picks. The answers to this test are found at the bottom of the page. Let’s start.

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

#6

#7

#8

#9

#10

#11

#12

#13

#14

#15, Ultra Wide Angle

#16, Ultra Wide Angle

#17, Portrait Mode

#18, Night Mode

#19, Night Mode

#20, Night Mode

#1
Photo A: Huawei Mate 30 Pro
Photo B: iPhone 11 Pro Max

#2
Photo A: iPhone 11 Pro Max
Photo B: Huawei Mate 30 Pro

#3
Photo A: iPhone 11 Pro Max
Photo B: Huawei Mate 30 Pro

#4
Photo A: Huawei Mate 30 Pro
Photo B: iPhone 11 Pro Max

#5
Photo A: Huawei Mate 30 Pro
Photo B: iPhone 11 Pro Max

#6
Photo A: iPhone 11 Pro Max
Photo B: Huawei Mate 30 Pro

#7
Photo A: iPhone 11 Pro Max
Photo B: Huawei Mate 30 Pro

#8
Photo A: iPhone 11 Pro Max
Photo B: Huawei Mate 30 Pro

#09
Photo A: Huawei Mate 30 Pro
Photo B: iPhone 11 Pro Max

#10
Photo A: Huawei Mate 30 Pro
Photo B: iPhone 11 Pro Max

#11
Photo A: iPhone 11 Pro Max
Photo B: Huawei Mate 30 Pro

#12
Photo A: Huawei Mate 30 Pro
Photo B: iPhone 11 Pro Max

#13
Photo A: Huawei Mate 30 Pro
Photo B: iPhone 11 Pro Max

#14
Photo A: Huawei Mate 30 Pro
Photo B: iPhone 11 Pro Max

#15, Ultra Wide Angle
Photo A: Huawei Mate 30 Pro
Photo B: iPhone 11 Pro Max

#16, Ultra Wide Angle
Photo A: iPhone 11 Pro Max
Photo B: Huawei Mate 30 Pro

#17, Portrait Mode
Photo A: iPhone 11 Pro Max
Photo B: Huawei Mate 30 Pro

#18, Night Mode
Photo A: iPhone 11 Pro Max
Photo B: Huawei Mate 30 Pro

#19, Night Mode
Photo A: iPhone 11 Pro Max
Photo B: Huawei Mate 30 Pro

#20, Night Mode
Photo A: Huawei Mate 30 Pro
Photo B: iPhone 11 Pro Max

This is one of the closest shootouts we’ve done. Results could have gone either way for a lot of scenarios. For the photos that look drastically different — my choices all boiled down to preference. I personally don’t like how the Mate 30 Pro washes out skintones and blows out highlights, but I like the colors it produced better during sunsets. I don’t like how some of the iPhone photos turn out a little dull, but they were more of than not closer to real life colors.

If you’re like me who color corrects photos before sharing them, you can’t go wrong with either phones if cameras are your priority — they’re both able to capture details even in low light situations and can be post-processed whichever way you prefer.

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