Even though cell phones have dramatically changed since the 90s, loads of myths surrounding
them are still the same!
The more megapixels the phone's camera has, the better images you get; the dimmer the
screen is, the better it's for your eyes; overnight charging harms the battery, smartphones
can float!
Nah, I made that one up.
Smartphone myths are numerous and persistent.
So let’s pop some of these dubious bubbles, shall we?
1.
Cell phones can start a fire at a gas station.
No one will argue that petroleum gas is highly flammable and can be started by a spark.
This spark can come from a lighter, matches, or static electricity - but not your smartphone.
The only way the device can start a fire is if it has a defective battery (which is pretty
much unlikely).
There's no evidence of something like that ever happening.
Why cell phones are banned at gas stations is probably because they can and do distract
drivers from the task at hand.
And being careless and inattentive while fueling your car can lead to serious accidents.
2.
Charging a smartphone overnight damages the device.
There is a valid reason why your cell phone is called "smart."
Thanks to the built-in protection, it knows when it's supposed to stop charging.
And if a decade ago overcharging could indeed damage the battery, you don't need to worry
about such an outcome these days.
3.
If you've dropped your smartphone in water, put it in rice.
Many people believe that the moisture-loving grains will absorb water out of all the nooks
and crannies of their soaked phone.
But here's the problem: rice doesn't soak up just any liquid that happens to be nearby.
To absorb water, rice grains have to be in direct contact with it.
Even worse, when rice starch gets mixed with liquid, it produces a paste that can gum up
your smartphone's delicate electronics.
Experiments showed that after 48 hours, rice still managed to absorb only 13% of the moisture
out of the phones.
By the time the devices got completely dry, corrosion had already damaged their fragile
electronic insides.
So about the best you can get here is Smartphone Sushi, but I can’t imagine it tasting very
good!
4.
Your phone can cook an egg.
This myth became popular after a viral Internet article - lots of people believed that radio
waves a cell phone emits were so powerful that you could boil an egg by placing it between
two devices.
Well, bad news for the lovers of unconventional cooking methods.
The amount of radiation a cell phone emits is so small that you would need 7,000 smartphones
to boil an egg - and even this number is very approximate since nobody has checked it yet.
5.
A smartphone can demagnetize your credit cards.
"Never keep your phone together with your credit card!" - you've probably heard this
recommendation, and not once.
Your gadget does have a magnetic field, but it's so weak that it won't affect your bank
cards in any way.
A fridge magnet, on the other hand, might cause your credit card to stop working!
6.
Magnets can delete data from your smartphone.
If it's the most powerful magnet on Earth, probably.
Also, if you keep your info on floppy disks and tapes.
A modern-day smartphone?
Impossible.
Magnets can do no permanent damage to your phone.
There are even several tiny magnets inside your smartphone used for specific functions.
Modern phones have solid-state drives that don't need magnetism for storing data.
What a magnet CAN do is interfere with your phone's compass.
You may say, "Ok, I don't need it anyway!"
But then your navigation apps, like GPS and all kinds of maps, won't be able to determine
your position, and game applications won't understand your phone's orientation.
7.
Let your phone's battery drain completely before recharging.
One of the worst things you can do to your phone's battery is to keep draining it.
Every lithium-ion battery has a certain number of charge cycles (which is running the battery
from 100 to 0%).
Modern phone batteries have about 400 to 500 cycles.
And if you let your battery drain every day, your phone won't last longer than a year and
a half.
Some experts recommend draining your phone's battery completely only if your device quits
working at 20% charge.
Then emptying the battery might help you recalibrate its level sensor.
8.
The more megapixels your camera has, the better photos you'll get.
Most people are sure that the number of megapixels is the best indicator of how good your pictures
are gonna be.
What they don't know is that not the number of megapixels but their quality plays the
main role here.
A 12-megapixel camera can be way better than a 16-megapixel one.
High-quality pixels are also larger, and fewer of them have to be crammed into a single picture.
9.
4G uses more data than 3G.
Since the 4G connection is faster, most people believe that it uses more data.
But whatever connection you use, 5 MB of data is still 5 MB of data.
With 4G, you'll just need less time to download it.
The only reason why 4G eats your Internet package too soon is that your downloads are
faster, and you use more data in a shorter period of time.
10.
The dimmer the screen is, the better.
After all, it saves your battery, and that's a good thing, right?
Well, your optician will disagree.
If your smartphone's screen is too dim, you'll have to strain your eyes.
And even though it's unlikely to lead to any permanent damage, you'll get headaches and
tired eyes.
If your screen brightness is higher than 50%, though, you should keep it down a bit.
An over-bright screen can cause lots of short-term eye issues, from irritation to dry eyes and
strain.
11.
Better specifications mean better performance.
While buying a brand-new phone, you expect to enjoy fast speed, long battery life, and
other perks.
But in reality, even if a phone has great specs on paper, its performance may be not
so satisfying, depending on its application compatibility, build quality, and other factors.
12.
Smartphones emit harmful radiation.
Modern cell phones give off electromagnetic waves.
The same waves make your radio work.
The EM radiation frequency your smartphone emits is completely safe for you.
This fact has been proven by thousands of published articles, placing the topic of phone
radiation among the most researched.
13.
If you make a call while your phone is charging, it may catch fire.
There have been several cases when devices started burning, but it happened because of
low-quality batteries, suspicious second-hand chargers, and dubious charging methods (for
example, trying to charge a phone from too-high-voltage lines).
If you have original batteries and chargers (in the way they should be used), you can
use a charging phone in any way you want, including making calls.
It'll just take longer for the phone to charge, that's all.
14.
The larger your phone's battery capacity is, the longer it will serve.
The battery life mostly depends on how much power your device consumes.
That's why if you have two smartphones with the same battery capacity, the one with more
efficient electronics and screen will last longer on a single charge.
How you use your phone also influences battery life.
Playing games, taking photos, using social media drains your battery a mile a minute.
15.
Close background apps to boost your phone's performance.
At first sight, it sounds very logical - the more apps your phone's running, the more battery
it's burning.
But in reality, both Android and iOS can multitask, and background apps aren't running, they're
just ready for a fast re-launch and don't consume a lot of energy.
By closing background applications, you waste more battery because your phone has to spend
more resources on opening an app than on re-launching it.
16.
Using incognito mode will protect your privacy.
Privacy issues are on the rise these days.
It makes more and more people use the private or incognito mode while browsing the Internet
to keep their personal information safe.
It's believed to be a secure way to protect your data.
The private mode does prevent your browser from storing your cookies, passwords, and
other information.
But it doesn't equal an encrypted connection, and other people, for example, Internet service
providers, can see your browsing history.
Plus, no incognito mode will protect your device from malware.
For that, you need an antivirus.
Finally, if you like my Smartphone Sushi idea, tell me all about your recipes in the comments!
Hey, if you learned something new today, then give the video a like and share it with a
friend!
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