[RobertP1]

What is more important, the age of a battery or the number of cycles it has on it?

The reason I ask is that the SE has been my back up phone for over a year now. It has spent more time in my desk than in my pocket. I see that the battery is not lasting like it used do, and am wondering if it is time to replace the battery or just buy a new SE? I want the form factor and the price is so cheap right now.

Thanks

[anon(9602380)]

If I'm not mistaken batteries like to be charged. If I'm wrong hopefully someone will correct me. It's how they work best. Kind of a catch 22. Yes that increases the cycle life but helps maintain the battery. I have a 5s that I let sit for over a year. Fully functional when I put it away. When I took it out to use it it was dead. Would not accept a charge. Had the battery replaced and was told to charge it on occasion. So I now leave it on and charge it when it is getting low. Have had no issues since the battery replacement.

[libra89]

I think the number of cycles might matter more. You could replace the battery if you'll like. My SE is coming up on 2 years old and according to battery capacity, it hasn't had as many cycles considering the age of the phone. I blame the updated software for it not lasting as long.

[RobertP1]

I think the number of cycles might matter more. You could replace the battery if you'll like. My SE is coming up on 2 years old and according to battery capacity, it hasn't had as many cycles considering the age of the phone. I blame the updated software for it not lasting as long.

I was thinking about the updates also as being a factor. Is there a way to check how many battery cycles are on a battery?

[xanadome]

I am not a battery expert, but following lists my understanding.

1. Battery cycling affects the battery life most, but it depends. One full cycle is from fully charged to near depletion and back up again. Tough on battery. But if you keep topping it up, say, whenever it reaches 80%, you are using the top 20% of the capacity and 5 times the charge (5X20%) is counted one full cycle.
2. Lithium battery prefers to be topped up all the time, although it retains the charge longer than any other battery type. My SE is a little over a year old, but the way I use (2nd line, and always topped up), it has not lost the initial performance.
3. Yes, new OS updates might affect significantly on the battery performance (in theory).
4. You may already know, but the following link (battery university) might be an interesting read. This article is fairly old but I do not think its content is obsolete.
Basic to Advanced Battery Information from Battery University
5. CoconutBattery app is supposed to give you a number of cycles the battery went through. I use other battery app but it only shows how much capacity the battery lost over time.

[kataran]

I agree you need to top it off on occasion. I got a Pre 2 that still has a strong battery because I keep it on the charging puck at all times

[Spirit Vision Photography]

My SE rarely drops below 85-90%. According to my battery apps, I still have 99% left on my battery life.

[mogelijk]

If I'm not mistaken batteries like to be charged. If I'm wrong hopefully someone will correct me. It's how they work best. Kind of a catch 22. Yes that increases the cycle life but helps maintain the battery. I have a 5s that I let sit for over a year. Fully functional when I put it away. When I took it out to use it it was dead. Would not accept a charge. Had the battery replaced and was told to charge it on occasion. So I now leave it on and charge it when it is getting low. Have had no issues since the battery replacement.

Lithium Ion batteries, which are used in the iPhones, prefer to have a charge of around 30-70%. Fully charging or depleting the battery (fully discharging being the worst for the battery) creates more heat, and heat is bad for LIon batteries. This is also why fast charging is automatically cut off around 70-80% (depending on the fast charging software in the phone), and from that point it slow charges up to 100%; fast charging generates more heat and, if it keeps fast charging up past about 80% the battery will start to overheat (Samsung showed how bad that can be with the Note 7). For maximum battery life you'd charge it up to 70-80%, as needed, and recharge when it gets down close to 35%. Of course, for most people the convenience of a full charge outweighs the small amount of capacity you get from fully charging it. This is much of the reason that charging is seen as good for LIon batteries, as frequent but shorter charges keeps the battery in the "sweet spot" where it is at it's most efficient (less heat generated).

If you are going to turn off your phone for a period of time, most experts recommend leaving the battery charge at around 40% to best protect the LIon battery.

[gregoron]

Check out my post. A new battery will improve performance over the two year old original battery.

https://forums.imore.com/iphone-se/4...placement.html