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A necessity: a charger for your iPhone
By
Published: Mar 08, 2018
Category:
Gifts and Gadgets
Does your phone lose power at warp speed?
Like if you use Google Maps. One drive from my apartment in upper Manhattan to the Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn, and my fully charged iPhone 6 is down to 24%.
If you think Apple has targeted you for an upgrade… well, that wouldn’t surprise me at all. (This suspicion is not new.The Times first reported on declining battery power back in 2013, when Apple was phasing out the iPhone 4.)
In January, the iPhone battery problem — or scam — surfaced again. From the Times:
When Kathryn Schipper discovered in December that her iPhone had slowed down because it needed a new battery, she unknowingly walked into the middle of a growing Apple controversy — and is now mired in the continuing fallout.
Late last year, Apple said a software feature was slowing down iPhones that had aged batteries, immediately drawing accusations that the company was trying to force people to upgrade to its newest iPhones. In response, Apple said customers could get their iPhone batteries replaced at its stores for a discounted price of $29, down from $79.
Yet when Ms. Schipper, who lives in Seattle, took her iPhone 6 Plus, purchased in 2014, to an Apple store in early January, she was told that the store was out of replacement batteries for at least two weeks. An Apple representative later left her a voice mail message with a new estimated wait time: up to four months.
Apple is trying to make this right — just not quickly — I’m hearing delays of at least 3 weeks:
Apple apologized for what it called a “misunderstanding” and promised it would cut the price of out-of-warranty iPhone battery replacements to $29 from $79 for anyone with an iPhone 6 or later model beginning in late January; the company said the service would be available worldwide through December 2018.
Are there other remedies? The Times, again:
Even as Apple appears to be struggling to keep up with customers asking for new batteries, there are other ways to make sure your smartphone is still running. The workarounds include finding a reputable third-party repair shop, using a battery pack or replacing the battery on your own.
The simple solution strikes me as the best. I carry a charger. Actually, I have two. One small. One strong.
The small and light (2.7 ounces). Not amazingly powerful. This lipstick-sized device takes about 6 hours to charge and delivers enough juice for 1-2 charges of your phone. It works on many phones. It comes in blue, silver, black and pink. Yes, you can use your phone while you’re charging it. [To buy the Anker portable battery charger from Amazon, click here.]
This is my serious, go-to charger:
Anker PowerCore 10000. It weighs 6.35 ounces. It will charge an iPhone 6 3.8 times. It will charge an iPad mini 1.3 times. A Samsung S6 2.2 times. Small as as deck of cards. In black or white. [To buy it from Amazon, click here.]
There’s also a version of the Anker 10000 that lets you charge 2 phones at once. [To buy the 10.4 ounce Anker PowerCore 2-Port Phone Charger from Amazon, click here.]
And this may come in handy in your car: the TYLT Dual Port Car Charger for Charging Two Devices. This charger fits into a car’s cigarette lighter. Thanks to the wide Y-design, you can plug two — yes, two — smartphones or tablets into its USB ports. I’ll repeat that: You can charge two devices — even two iPads — at the same time. And it’s fast. The charger will give you a 20-30% boost in battery charge in 20-30 minutes. It gets pleasantly warm, but never hot. [To buy the Tylt charger from Amazon, click here.]
Dead phone? You no longer have an excuse.
