Breakthrough solar panel demoed that could let future iPhones soak up rays

the8thark · Mar 23, 2011

Breakthrough solar panel demoed that could let future iPhones soak up rays
Breakthrough solar panel demoed that could let future iPhones soak up rays | 9 to 5 Mac Breakthrough solar panel demoed that could let future iPhones soak up rays | Apple Intelligence

Leukeh · Mar 23, 2011

Ahh I've been waiting for something like this to surface... It was only a matter of time.

iWhat · Mar 23, 2011

This would be such a welcome feature. Who doesn't want an idle phone getting charged back up to full without even thinking about it?

Leukeh · Mar 23, 2011

I wonder what it'll mean for the battery memory affect thing...

RONE · Mar 23, 2011

Leukeh said:
I wonder what it'll mean for the battery memory affect thing...

I thought that didn't really exist anymore with the "smart" batteries?

Leukeh · Mar 24, 2011

Supposedly not but I'm not convinced. They say lithium ion batteries aren't subject to it but they still have shorter charge over time. Maybe it's not affected by partial charges and it's just general battery degrading.

RONE · Mar 24, 2011

Leukeh said:
Supposedly not but I'm not convinced. They say lithium ion batteries aren't subject to it but they still have shorter charge over time. Maybe it's not affected by partial charges and it's just general battery degrading.

That was my thinking, but who knows!

iggibar · Mar 24, 2011

That's pretty cool. I would get an iphone5 if this was the only new feature. I really like it!

Ramimac1 · Mar 28, 2011

I would guess that you could have a menu option to turn off the solar in order to drain and then recharge once a month would solve the battery problem.

RONE · Mar 28, 2011

Ramimac1 said:
I would guess that you could have a menu option to turn off the solar in order to drain and then recharge once a month would solve the battery problem.

A lot of people plug their phones in every night and those phone's battery rarely go below 40% (so rarely discharged). I don't see why there would be a need for it with solar charging.