Apple is working on a system for early detection of swelling in lithium-ion and lithium-polymer batteries, which can not only inform the user about the process that has begun but also slow down or even stop it – if possible. Batteries of these types are dangerous, but there is no alternative to them, and, most likely, there will not be one in the near future. The smart electronics of mobile devices (from smartwatches to giant Boeings) make these batteries nearly safe. Compared to their circulation, the number of serious incidents occurring through their fault is quite small, but it is not easier for the victims.
The early detection system for lithium-ion and lithium-polymer batteries, which Apple is working on, consists of a suite of sensors and software. Having detected the symptoms of an incipient bloating, the software, having found out the features and scale of the problem, will change the settings of its control system. To slow down or stop the process at an early stage, it is usually sufficient to change the battery charging parameters. If the problem does not pose a serious danger to the user and can be corrected without his participation, he will not even be informed about it. They’ll just fix it quietly. Cool?
On March 11 this year, the US Patent and Trademark Office released Apple’s patent application entitled “Methods for Detecting and Controlling Battery Growth.” The patent application filed on November 16, 2020. Apple has been looking for a solution to this problem since 2014, it has already been partially solved – and how effective the current solution will be is still unknown. So we will not delude ourselves.
Why does the battery on an iPhone swell
Serious companies pay special attention to the safety of lithium-ion and lithium-polymer batteries. As a rule, there are no problems with the original batteries. “Left” batteries are much more dangerous – it was better not to mess with them before, now it is almost impossible. 10 years ago, Apple created a cloud ledger, which, over the years, recorded the data of every device released by the company. A device identifier (serial number) and identifiers of all its components, almost to the last screw. At the moment of device startup, the register compares the identifiers of its components with those entered in its database. The user is informed of each discrepancy.
For some components, this is where it ends. Messages, of course, are annoying and annoying, but everything works. Other unregistered components partially or completely stop working. For example, a camera after iOS 14.4… The identifiers of the components installed in the device are checked for authenticity. They say that installing a “left battery” bought at a flea market in the suburbs for ridiculous money is now practically useless. It’s easier and cheaper to buy a real one. Non-original batteries often swell because they are of poor quality and are not designed for heavy loads. This also happens with original batteries, but much less often. Mainly due to the peculiarities of operation – the use of high power charging adapters, wireless charging, and so on. Yes, it doesn’t have to be that way. But it happens, such are the properties of rechargeable batteries.
But even the complete authenticity of all components and professional assembly does not guarantee anything. In 2016, due to design errors in the Samsung Galaxy Note 7, its sales had to be stopped, it was withdrawn from the retail network, to compensate for the damage caused to users, all this cost Samsung $ 5 billion. This is record battery damage.
Apple is also not without sin. A lawsuit against Apple is currently pending in Melbourne, Australia. In 2019, an iPhone X exploded in a jeans pocket of a resident of this city. The victim suffered moderate health damage (second-degree burn). The iPhone was released about a year before the event. The owner claims that he did not change the battery and did not repair the device at all.
Apple will make the iPhone battery bigger?
On March 11, the US Patent and Trademark Office released another patent application from Apple, not related to the safety of batteries, but to themselves. The second application is entitled “Battery Metal Sheath”. Now electronic elements have to be placed at a certain distance from the battery, otherwise, they will not be able to work normally or will be destroyed altogether. It is necessary to create an exclusion zone around the battery. By using a grounded metal shell, more elements can be accommodated in the same internal volumes of a compact device ( like the iPhone 12s mini ). Or make the batteries themselves larger – by increasing their capacity.
