Interesting how they mentioned that cars don't use the full charge range of batteries but smartphones do.
There's really no reason a lithium battery should ever be charged to 4.2v.
I suspect almost any consumer would prefer the capacity/lifespan tradeoff at 4.1v, but we inexplicably decided it should be 4.2v, and now it's basically impossible to lower the voltage without 3x the complexity because all the cheap ultra simple linear chips are fixed at 4.2v.
So we have tons of gadgets out there, which do not need the extra 10% capacity, they run for months with typical use anyway, being charged at 4.2v.
If you get five years of life out of a $800 phone and it's battery you're probably pretty satisfied, probably even appreciate the extra battery time.
If you get five years of life out of a $50,000 car and it's battery you're going to be really pissed, and you won't care that you got ten extra miles of range for five years
eternityforest|1 year ago
There's really no reason a lithium battery should ever be charged to 4.2v.
I suspect almost any consumer would prefer the capacity/lifespan tradeoff at 4.1v, but we inexplicably decided it should be 4.2v, and now it's basically impossible to lower the voltage without 3x the complexity because all the cheap ultra simple linear chips are fixed at 4.2v.
So we have tons of gadgets out there, which do not need the extra 10% capacity, they run for months with typical use anyway, being charged at 4.2v.
malfist|1 year ago
If you get five years of life out of a $50,000 car and it's battery you're going to be really pissed, and you won't care that you got ten extra miles of range for five years
camus_absurd|1 year ago