GoKawiil
Tech News
Researchers have built a biodegradable battery using magnesium and molybdenum trioxide electrodes with an edible ionic-liquid electrolyte, designed to power ingestible medical devices. The battery, described in Nature Chemical Engineering, has been tested successfully in pigs and breaks down into absorbable materials after use.
iFixit's teardown of the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max found Apple's first variable aperture camera, using six hair-thin blades that slide with high precision to control light intake. The report also revealed a new chip packaging layout that places the A20 Pro processor beside its memory rather than stacked, separating memory from the chip's heat path, and noted that three of four test units cracked their display frames during battery removal.
Reddit testing suggests certain routers, not the Pixel 11 itself, may be responsible for reports of excessive idle battery drain on Google's new phones. One user found their Pixel 11 Pro XL was being woken roughly 135 times per minute by Wi-Fi while connected to a Tenda mesh router on Wi-Fi 6, and that switching to Wi-Fi 5 or a different router brand cut both wakeups and battery loss dramatically. Other testers saw normal results on different Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 7 hardware, so the exact trigger remains unclear.
Apple's iPhone 18 Pro Max ships with a battery-firmware lock that caps capacity below the 20Wh threshold that triggers international shipping restrictions on single-cell batteries. Once a customer activates the phone for the first time, the lock lifts automatically, restoring the battery to its full rated capacity of roughly 21-22Wh depending on the model. A 'Prepare to Ship' setting can reimpose the cap, limiting charging to 80 percent over 14 days, for anyone sending the device in for repair or resale.
Apple has built a 'Prepare to Ship' firmware feature into the iPhone 18 Pro Max that temporarily caps its battery below the 20Wh transport limit enforced in the US, EU and other regions. Once the device is activated by a customer, the cap lifts and the phone's full 5,391mAh capacity becomes available. The same toggle can be re-enabled manually when shipping a device for repair, trade-in or resale.
Wireless chargers using the Qi2 standard convert energy less efficiently than wired cables, losing up to 30 percent of power as heat during the charging process. That extra heat can degrade smartphone battery capacity by up to 12 percent over two years, and as much as 25 percent in hot climates or environments.
Slate Auto's stripped-down electric truck starts at $24,950, undercutting most new vehicles by tens of thousands of dollars, and lets buyers customize it with vinyl wraps and over 200 accessories. Its 63 kWh battery yields an estimated 205-mile range, well below rivals that often reach 280 to 450 miles, though its 181-horsepower motor and towing capacity roughly match Ford's Maverick hybrid.
A troubleshooting guide outlines the most frequent reasons an iPad fails to charge, including faulty or underpowered chargers, damaged cables, extreme temperatures, and batteries that have been fully drained after long periods of disuse. It recommends using official or high-wattage first-party chargers, testing multiple cables and outlets to isolate the problem, and avoiding charging in very hot or cold conditions.
Apple confirmed the iPhone 18 Pro Max packs a single-cell battery exceeding 20 watt-hours, triggering extra international shipping regulations for large batteries. To comply, Apple built firmware that caps the battery below 20 Wh during manufacturing and transit, only unlocking full capacity once a user activates the phone. A new 'Prepare to Ship' toggle in Settings lets owners discharge the battery back below that threshold before repairs, trade-ins, resale, or gifting.
Android Authority's Andrew Grush says he still installs the third-party app AccuBattery on his Android phones, even as most performance-boosting battery apps have proven ineffective over the years. He explains that AccuBattery doesn't try to magically extend battery life but instead helps identify software or hardware issues causing excess drain, using pattern-recognition data gathered over time rather than the factory-calibrated data used by built-in OS tools.
Apple increased the out-of-warranty battery replacement cost for the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max by $10, from $119 to $129, likely reflecting the larger battery capacities in the new models. Older iPhones, including the iPhone 6 and original SE, still qualify for the cheapest replacement at $69. Apple has not commented on the price change.
Cornell University scientists created a process called Direct Electrode-to-Electrode Regeneration (DEER) that revives worn EV battery electrodes by chemically stripping excess solid electrolyte interphase buildup rather than shredding cells into raw materials. Treated electrodes recovered up to 95% of original capacity and degraded more slowly than untreated batteries, and a second treatment round restored capacity to 90% even after prior regeneration.