Achilles was the best warrior for the Greeks in the Trojan War. He was invincible because his mother baptized him in a sacred river by holding one of his heels. This then became the only unprotected part of his body. An enemy shot him in the heel at the height of a battle. Achilles was unable to get away and lost his life. Since then, an Achilles heel has referred to a point of weakness.
How Batteries Have Become the Achilles Heel of Mobile Devices
Scott Matteson writing in Tech Republic describes how his mobile battery went down while photographing a rock concert. “It was frustrating,” he thought to himself, “Surely we have GOT to be nearing the end of this struggle to keep our devices powered up!”
Scott points fingers at phone manufacturers for the problem. They keep piling on new features and apps, because these are what make people want to upgrade. However – and this is the core – those same people want thinner and thinner phones. Something has to give. Battery density can’t catch up with demand. This is the Achilles heel of the industry, he says.
Bigger, Better Screens and Faster Problem Processing
Scott Matteson points out bigger screens with better colors, faster CPUs, more memory, and various network communications are greedy for more energy. Moreover, the only batteries thin enough are lithium-ion and these are at the peak of their curve.
We can partly protect our battery Achilles heel by removing unnecessary apps, and stopping all unwanted background apps or services. Airplane or ultra-power saving mode, dimming the screen, and reducing our data consumption in general all make their contributions. However, we will not solve the underlying problem until batteries and phones yoke as evenly as those pairs of evenly-yoked horses.
Related
Controlling Energy Flows to Make Mobile Batteries Last
Could Our Smartphone Batteries Read Our Minds?
Preview Image: The Wrath of Achilles
