Why You Need To Stop Charging Your Android Phone To 100%

If you’re concerned about your phone’s battery life and making it last as long as possible, you certainly aren’t alone. A survey conducted by USA Today showed that battery life was the most common factor chosen by Android users when asked what’d get them excited about buying a new phone. There are plenty of ways the average Android smartphone user can improve their battery life in the short term, but today we’re focusing on one of the most important factors in battery longevity.

There is a direct correlation between your battery’s life span and the number of times you charge your phone. Your smartphone’s battery life depends on charge cycles or the number of times your battery charges from zero all the way up to 100%. The more full charge cycles your phone experiences, the faster the battery will degrade. 

Smartphone batteries don’t last forever

Most lithium-ion phone batteries have between 400 to 500 charge cycles before a user will need to go shopping for a new one. A new phone, that is to say, as most modern smartphones aren’t particularly user-friendly when it comes to battery replacement. So, if you want to extend your battery life and stop further degradation, you may not want to charge your phone to full capacity every time you plug it in.

Watching your battery charge levels is everything when it comes to preventing your battery from flaming out. Android manufacturers such as Samsung state that users should keep their device batteries charged up to 50% capacity or above at all times. Some newer Samsung phones have a feature that limits charging to 85% full capacity.

What’s the best way to charge?

Some newer Android devices like Google Pixel step in with software features that allow users to preserve battery life without the need for user input. A Google Pixel will automatically limit charge to 80% capacity in cases where the user is playing games at the same time as charging or if a user has left their device to charge continuously for several days.