Isn’t it funny that although smartphones have been around for over ten years, there are still myths about them that we are still hanging on to?
Follow me as we debunk 20 of these myths. Ensure you read to the end as you will learn of some harmful myths and how to care for your smartphone better.
1. Using the phone as it charges damages the battery.
LOL! How did we believe this for so long?
This statement is absolutely wrong as phones are allowed to be used as it charges, even some major updates in the software are advised to be done as the phone is charging.
2. You must close all applications running in the background to save battery.
You don’t kill your battery if you use it as it charges, in fact, I am typing this with my phone plugged in. If you must use your phone at the same time that it is charging, go ahead. It is however important to know that some high graphics use, like gaming while charging will heat up the phone as the battery is draining.
This is one of the myths you really have to stop believing because it gives the opposite result. This act is absolutely not a way to save battery as applications running in the background do not even use a lot of battery.
Rather, there is way higher battery consumption when you keep closing applications in the background and reopening them… you don’t believe me? Let me explain.
Every time an application is opened, the entire code has to load before you use it, this loading of code actually requires a lot more kick-off energy than the actual running of the app.
Now imagine how much battery is consumed reloading this code every few minutes you have to restart an application.
Learnt something new, right? You are welcome.
3.Do not leave the phone charging overnight or risk battery damage.
Aside from the sheer desire to conserve energy and safety reasons, I don’t see why you should worry about an overnight charge damaging your phone battery. Technically a smartphone can not be ‘overcharged’, come on! even the basic technology is way advanced beyond this issue.
4. A phone consumes less battery energy if it is in 2G network than in 4G.
Absolutely untrue, this myth could be traced to when we had uneven network coverage and phones have to constantly keep switching between several coverages as it searches for a better connection to stay online. As explained in number 2, this constant switching leads to higher energy consumption. Now that this is out of the way, relax and connect yourself to higher network coverage.
5. Before charging your phone battery, ensure that you have fully used up the previous charge.
Harmful myth! This is one of the contents I promised you if you kept reading. Here we go.
This practice might not have had any effect on older phones but for our smartphones, this is actually harmful to the battery. The batteries in today’s phones are known to be unstable if they are always allowed to totally die off before charging.
It is time to stop waiting for your phone battery to hit zero before a charge, go ahead and plug in once it is getting low.
6. Larger number of megapixels equals a better camera
This is one popular belief that might have helped companies in making bigger sales.
The quality of pictures your camera gives is dependent on lots of things like lens, image stabilisers, sensors, aperture, etc… which is way beyond the number of megapixels.
This is why iPhones offer better picture quality even with lower megapixels than some phones with way higher megapixels.
7. Closing applications speed up your smartphone.
A similar myth has been discussed earlier concerning the phone battery. Now we have to debunk the opinion that having applications running in the background leads to slowing of the phone’s processing speed.
Like earlier said, this is not only false but has a negative effect as frequently closing and restarting your applications can actually slow down your phone as it drains your battery.
8. Charging the smartphone with a laptop ruins the battery.
We have always been told not to charge our phones with laptops and sometimes even power banks as it damages our phone battery. It is time to unlearn this.
Charging your phone battery with any device does not have a damaging effect on it, although it charges slower and takes a longer time to fill.
9. On power banks: a 5000 mAh charges a smartphone with 2500 mAh twice
This is more of a miscalculation than a myth, but we believe that a power bank gives exactly what it has. When we go shopping for power banks we believe that our 2500 mAh phone battery will get 2 cycles of charging off a 5000 mAh power bank. Therefore, we get overly worried when it doesn’t turn out so, forgetting that voltage and power calculations are not straightforward addition and multiplication. Relax, just buy a quality power bank you can afford to and leave the calculation for physicists.
10. Charging the smartphone is all the refueling it needs
Low key, we all have felt that the only thing our phone needs to keep functioning is to remain charged, a full battery. Hang on, just like most devices, our smartphones deserve some break like turning it off some night when not in use and letting it breathe!
11. You should be worried when your smartphone gets heated up while charging or in use
Needless to point out, it is absolutely normal to have your phone heat up. More recent smartphones are designed to have the chargers heated up instead of the phone. Hot phone while in use or while charging is absolutely nothing to worry about, especially those designed for fast charging.
12. Higher RAM equals better speed performance of the phone
Just like our megapixels myth, a higher number of RAM doesn’t make your phone faster neither does a lower number make it slower. The performance of a smartphone is a result of many different factors and basically the job of a processor.
Your phone RAM only makes sure that you have enough space for several applications to be open and run at the same time.
13. Software updates are always good for your smartphone.
There is always a need to update your smartphone, but not every update is necessary nor useful. We have always thought that frequent software updates are what our phone needs for faster processing, sometimes the reverse can be the case.
Some older phones are being slowed down by newer updates, so always check through the new update before jumping in.
14. 2G, 3G use up less data than 4G.
4G is faster than 3G but that doesn’t mean that it uses up more data, it will cost you the same to download a particular size of file whether you choose to use 2G or 4G.
The speed saves you more time but doesn’t cost you more.
15. Incognito mode implies that your activities on the Internet can not be tracked.
Using incognito mode during browsing doesn’t provide anonymity. Your Internet provider can still see and track what you are doing on the Internet.
This mode only ensures that the data is not stored on your browser and protects you from people seeing your browsing history when they use your phone.
16. Only use the phone’s original packed charger.
Another popular belief that we are about to debunk. Using chargers outside the one packaged with your phone doesn’t damage your phone.
Chargers are not like fingerprints, unique to a particular phone. You can charge your phone with a suitable charger, just be aware that a lower input will give you a slower charge.
So, next time you need a charger outside the one your phone came with, just look out for ones with matching input ratings and charge up.
17. Switch off your smartphone or don’t make calls during lightning.
We have believed this for too long. Our smartphones do not attract lightning during a thunderstorm.
There is enough research to disprove this myth as there are specific pathways and patterns for lightning.
If you have ever been struck by lightning during a phone call just know it has nothing to do with your smartphone but with you being the tallest thing in your immediate surrounding, so go ahead and make that life-saving call during the storm.
18. At fuel stations, your smartphone can cause a fire outbreak
This has been researched and proven by IEEE that there is just no correlation between the waves emitted from smartphones and fires.
19. Throw your wet phone into a bowl or sack of rice to dry off
We keep hearing this every day, even from 5-minutes-hack videos from YouTube users. Putting your wet phone into rice doesn’t only do nothing to help your phone dry, but could actually be introducing rice dust to your smartphone. Harmful myth alert!
20. Phones emit harmful radiation and can cause cancer
Let us pause and have a good laugh at this.
Yes, I saved the best for last. It is important to know that some research institutes have several official reports on this very topic.
Cleared by the National Cancer Institute, there is no evidence linking smartphone usage to increased cancer risks. Next time you hear this, don’t freak out.
There are several more myths, and having discussed these 20 leaves us more aware and knowledgeable. I am glad you read till this point, here are few tips for you on taking better care of your smartphone as promised: Never install applications from unknown sources and it is not all applications permission that should be granted.
Do not fret over little things, never forget that your smartphone is actually smart.
