Once upon a time, in a little town, there lived a boy who dried his mobile phone with
a hair dryer and never put it in airplane mode before take-off.
People told him to stop, but he wouldn’t listen.
So the passengers duck-taped him to the wing outside, and he had a very windy flight, and
lousy reception.
Okay maybe not the duck tape thing.
But let’s check out some common beliefs about smartphones, and see if they’re appropriate
or bogus..
1.
Drain your battery completely before you recharge it.
False.
Batteries used in phones about ten years ago really lasted longer if you dropped them to
zero before plugging in the phone.
Lithium-ion batteries used these days prefer going at somewhere between 40 % and 80 %. If
you often let it drain completely before charging it again be prepared to replace the battery
every six months or so.
2.
Your phone is safe without a screen protector.
True.
First generation touchscreen smartphones needed outside protection from scratches, chips and
cracks.
Today, phone screens are strong enough on their own.
The two things they can't stand are sand and hard rocks.
So, unless you spend a lot of time at the beach or drop your phone on concrete every
now and then, you are good to go without a screen protector.
3.
You can dry a wet phone with a hair dryer.
False and risky!
Technically, you can dry your phone with a hairdryer.
But you don’t really want to because it will overheat your gadget.
Phones don’t like too much heat, just saying.
I wonder if there’s some other way to solve the issue.
Rice maybe?
4.
If hairdryer is too hot, just drop the phone in a bag of rice.
False.
Unless you have a water-resistant device, don’t drop into a bathtub, even if you always
have a bag of uncooked rice on hand.
Rice can absorb moisture, but not from the inside of your phone.
And, what’s worse, the starch off the rice can get into the cracks and take the damage
to the next level.
5.
Charging overnight is bad for your phone.
False.
The first cell phones actually didn’t like being charged overnight.
But fortunately they really got smarter over time.
Today’s generation has extra protection on the chips and in the software that won't
let them charge over 100 %. When they reach that point, the process will just stop automatically.
6.
Closing background apps is a sure way to save battery.
False.
When you leave one app and start using a different one, the first one is stored in RAM to reopen
in exactly the same condition you left it.
This multitasking algorithm helps save power.
And, when you manually shut down apps that aren’t in use, you’re wasting way more
power.
7.
The more megapixels, the better the photos.
False.
How many megapixels does your phone camera have?
One of my friends recently boasted of 48 MP.
But looking at his pictures, I could tell my 12 MP one is doing a better job at photography.
The reason is, it's quality and not quantity of those megapixels that matters in the first
place.
When manufacturers squeeze more of those into a phone cam, the sensor simply can't handle
them anyway.
8.
Don’t keep your phone next to a credit card.
… or else it will shop online and spend all your money.
Just kidding.
This is also false: the myth goes that the card will demagnetize if you keep it close
to a smartphone.
In truth, your smartphone’s magnetic field isn’t nearly strong enough for that.
A fridge magnet — maybe, but not the phone.
9.
Using free public Wi-Fi is a chancy business.
True.
It’s a savior on vacation when data roaming is crazy expensive and you don't want to buy
a local SIM.
But that's probably the only situation you can really use it, and still with precaution
and a VPN.
Don't ever pass on your personal data or financial details when using a free grid.
That's because they are open to anyone, including hackers that jump into communications to steal
data.
Wi-Fi hotspots are the worst in this regard because they need no authentication for connection.
10.
4G eats more data than 3G.
False.
4G just loads the same data volumes faster than 3G.
It does use slightly more battery power though.
The same is true for 5G.
So if you need to save battery, you might wanna keep it on 3G unless you have to download
something quicker.
11.
A fast charger can damage your phone.
False.
Fast chargers send more electricity to your phone and so it’s full of juice again in
half the regular time or even quicker.
Someone started a rumor that it can damage the battery.
In fact, a fast charger slows down somewhere between 60 and 80 percent and then finishes
the process at regular speed, so there won’t be too much current.
The only concern could be the extra heat, but any battery ages with time anyway.
12.
The more RAM, the better the phone is.
False.
Do you often have to work in 5 apps on your phone at the same time?
Unless you said yes, you don’t really need to invest in a phone with 8GB RAM (that’s
random access memory, just to make it clear), because that’s what it’s much better at.
A phone with 4 or even 3 GB with a powerful processor works fast enough to let you switch
from app to app and do other things.
And, it’s just as fit for the latest operating systems.
13.
4K display is what you absolutely need on your phone.
False.
4K is great for a large display, such as TV or computer screen.
As for your phone, it's a waste of money.
The human eye can't perceive anything higher than 2K or even Full HD on such a small display.
More than that, the more pixels your phone's hardware has to drive, the more battery it
spends on it.
14.
Smartphones are a source of radiation.
This is true, but it’s a kind of electromagnetic radiation that is completely safe for humans.
And no, you can't cook an egg between two ringing phones – that's just an urban myth.
You'd need about 7,000 phones to just warm up the egg a tiny bit.
By the way, if you steal the egg, you could say it was “poached”.. ha
15.
You can't use your smartphone when it's charging.
False!
It's totally safe to do it.
One thing you should know though, is that it slows down the charging process.
Do you personally use your phone while charging or did you have doubts about the safety of
this ritual?
Let me know in the comments below.
Speaking of charging…
16.
Phones charge faster in airplane mode.
Partly true.
When you switch to airplane mode, your phone stops trying to connect to cell towers and
pinpoint your position.
When these functions are disabled, it's using less energy.
It does speed up the charging process, but not that much.
You might be able to save about 10 minutes, but that's it.
17.
Your gadget can really interfere with plane systems.
This is easily one of the most burning issues frequent flyers ponder on.
And it’s true!
Just one smartphone won’t mess up the flight.
But if many passengers decide to ignore the “please switch your devices to airplane
mode” command, it can seriously interfere with a plane’s flight systems.
So you’d better not take that risk.
18.
If you take out your SIM card, no one will ever find you.
False.
If you think someone might ever want to track your location, they'll be able to do it even
if you take the SIM card out.
The trick might work in spy movies, but in reality you can be easily found thanks to
GPS as long as you're still using that phone.
19.
Plastic-based smartphones are the worst.
False.
They have their pros and cons, but all in all they are just as good as metal or glass-based
phones.
And they even have some benefits: they are cheaper, lighter, and highly unlikely to break
even if you drop them.
Plus, the plastic body makes signal reception easier.
20.
The only safe charger is the original one.
Manufacturers want you to believe it, but it’s actually false.
Unless you go for a one-dollar knock-off, quality third party chargers and cables are
totally safe for your smartphone.
They have built-in safety mechanisms just like the original chargers and your phone
won’t burn or anything.
21.
Automatic brightness mode is a sure way to save battery.
Dimming your screen does help save some charge.
But that whole automatic brightness mode is brought to you by a light sensor that’s
probably going to spend even more power on collecting and analyzing data about the surroundings
to pick the right light level.
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