The iPhone 7 and the 7 Plus both come with a jet black color option. Unfortunately, the sleek color and mirror-like quality seem to attract smudges and scratches faster than the other iPhone color options. Luckily, there are products and tricks for polishing jet black iPhone 7 and keeping it looking like new.

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Over the past several iPhone model launches, there have been rumors about wireless charging being supported. However up until now only a select number of Android users have been able to enjoy this incredibly convenient technology. So are we now at a point where we should expect that Apple’s iPhone 8 will include a wireless charging feature? There is strong evidence including the fact that Apple has recently joined the Wireless Power Consoritum, which has only made more people believe that this rumor thatiPhone 8 wireless charging is going to come true.

Apple’s statement about joining the Wireless Power Consortium, as told to Business Insider includes, “Apple is an active member of many standards development organizations, as both a leader and contributor. Apple is joining the Wireless Power Consortium to be able to participate and contribute ideas to the open, collaborative development of future wireless charging standards.”

Originally, many felt that Apple’s new wireless charging would mean that iPhone 8 users would be able to charge their phone long-range without requiring a charging device, like a pad or cord. However, according to reports, it’s more likely that Apple will use inductive charging with it’s iPhone 8, similar to what many other companies currently do.

It’s possible that while Apple is interested in long-range charging for the iPhone 8, they wanted to roll out wireless charging as quickly as possible, which led them to choose an option that they could introduce to customers now. According to Vicky Yussuff, an analyst for IHS Technology, “The success of wireless charging adoption from Apple’s competitors is something that Apple can no longer ignore. IHS Technology consumer survey data shows over 90% of consumers want wireless charging on their next device.”

Wireless Power Consortium promotes Qi for wireless charging, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that Qi is what Apple is going to use for their iPhone 8. Currently, the Apple Watch uses Qi for charging, but the Qi charger that’s used for the Apple Watch is specific to that device; the Watch cannot be charged using other types of Qi chargers. It’s possible that Apple is planning to also offer a customized Qi charger with the iPhone 8 as well. iPhone users may not even receive a traditional charger in their box when they purchase the newest model. If they prefer to charge their phone with a traditional charger, they’ll be able to purchase it separately as an add-on accessory.

Currently, if you’d like to charge your smartphone wirelessly, there are add-on accessories you can purchase. For example, receivers that stick on to your phone, as well as cases that will charge your phone wirelessly, are available on the market. Whether or Apple will finally make the feature available to the masses is up for debate.  No matter how you will charge your next iPhone, you can count on PortPlugs to defend your device with our line of simple port protection accessories. For more about Apple’s wireless charging rumors, visit 9to5mac.com.

It would be great if with every smartphone update came the ability to leave the battery alone all day without needing to charge it even once. Right now, though, that’s simply not possible. As a result, smartphone owners have to figure out clever ways to keep their phone’s battery life as healthy as possible. In order to do this, it’s necessary to know how your phone uses power and the best way to make your phone battery last longer.

Understanding How the Battery Works

Both iPhones and Android phones use lithium-ion batteries. These are among the lightest, longest-lasting rechargeable batteries you can find. Still, over time, their lifespans will decline, meaning you’ll find yourself needing to recharge your phone more and more frequently. As the battery nears the end of its life, the degradation will become even more noticeable.

Most smartphone batteries have approximately 500 charge cycles in them before they die. When you completely use up your phone’s battery, letting it go from 100% to 0%, that’s considered one charge cycle. The more you let your phone go through full charge cycles, the less efficient your battery will become. On the same note, if you have to charge your phone every single day you’ll notice that the battery performance quickly worsens. You may find yourself needing to get a new phone every two years, if not sooner.

Best Practices for Charging Your Phone Battery

You’ve probably been told to let your battery get all the way down to 0% before recharging it. You may have also heard that you should let your battery charge overnight. There’s a lot of battery charging advice out there and it’s difficult to separate myths from facts. One of these tips is correct while the other is misinformed. While you don’t want to let your battery dip down to zero, you don’t want to leave it plugged in overnight, either.

According to tech expert Frances Cancino, you should keep your phone between 40% and 80% battery power at all times. Charging your phone frequently and for less time will maximize the charge cycles the battery has. It also causes less strain on your battery than charging it from 0% to 100% does.

7 More Battery Tips

1. In order to keep your battery in that sought-after green zone between 40 and 80 percent, carry a portable charger with you.
2. When the weather is hot, don’t let your phone sit in temps that reach over 95 degrees (like at the beach or in your car). Extreme heat can cause long-term damage to the battery.
3. When you’re out and about sans charger and your battery is hanging on by a thread, use the Low Power Mode on the iPhone. Introduced in iOS 9, Low Power Mode reduces the power used by things like Mail fetch, Siri, downloads, apps that run in the background and visual effects. By turning on Low Power Mode when your battery is at 20%, you can squeeze three more hours of power out of it. Android has a similar power saving mode that you can either manually or automatically activate.
4. Change the Auto-Lock on your iPhone to 30 seconds. This will cause the screen to turn off after a short period of time when it’s not in use. On Android, you can set the sleep time to as short as 15 seconds. It’s also a good idea to get into the habit of hitting the sleep button every time you put down your phone to immediately shut off the screen.
5. When you’re not using Bluetooth, disable it. Otherwise, your phone will constantly search for a Bluetooth device to connect to, which will zap the battery life.
6. Audio can suck the life out of a battery. Avoid listening to music or videos when you’re trying to stretch out your battery life for the day. Or use headphones, which use less energy than the phone’s speakers.
7. On both iPhone and Android, you can figure out which apps are demanding the most energy from the battery. Turn off the apps, delete them from your phone or disable background refresh.

The brand new wireless charger from LG will charge your phone incredibly fast. You may never even want to – or have to – use a traditional wire cable again. Unlike other wireless phone chargers, LG’s new charging device is fast, safe and stylish.

In the past, wireless charging has been notoriously slow. It’s never been nearly as fast as using a traditional wire charger. The new Quick Wireless Charging Pad from LG has solved that problem, though. The device can charge a battery that has absolutely no power to as much as 50% battery life in just half an hour. A full charge takes 90 minutes, which is approximately the same amount of time it takes a traditional charger to get a phone to 100 percent. The Quick Wireless Charging Pad is also slim and circular, giving it the modern, sleek appearance customers have grown to expect from new mobile technology.

How did LG create such a powerful wireless charger? Most wireless chargers have just 5 watts of output, making it difficult to charge a phone with any speed. LG’s charger, though, is much more powerful with as many as 15 watts of output. You don’t have to own an LG phone to use the charger, either. Any phone can become compatible with the charger by using a special case and some phones even have support for wireless charging on the Qi system already built in. One concern a lot of people have about using a wireless charger is safety, namely fires. The LG charging pad has a built-in temperature sensor that will stop the flow of electricity if it gets too hot.

Our dust plugs can complete the experience by protecting your device ports when they’re not in use. When you use a wireless charger, your phone’s charging ports will remain unused, presenting the opportunity for dust and other debris to make its way inside. Dust plugs are also great to use even if you are going to be using a traditional wire charger from time to time. When the port is not in use, you can use the dust plug to keep water, sand and dust out. The more active your lifestyle, the more opportunity there is for harmful materials to creep into your phone’s ports. Protect your investment and extend your phone’s lifespan by using our dust plugs.

There are rumors regarding the iPhone 7 abandoning the headphone jack. While it’s only a rumor at this point, there might be a bit of truth to it. There have been multiple sources that report Apple has been in talks with various headphone makers to implement high-res audio. There’s much speculation about why Apple would want to ditch the iPhone headphone jack. Read More…

Wireless charging is like online shopping; once you start doing it, you can’t imagine life without it. Let’s face it, Smartphones are intended to provide convenience to our lives, but when the battery is low and your phone has to be tethered to a USB port or wall plug, phones suddenly become significantly less convenient. After all, what good is a portable electronic device if it’s chained to the wall or computer? Read More…

It’s no secret that the Samsung Galaxy S7 is one of the best smartphones on the market today. The phone is packed with a ton of features and technology, including the 3,000 mAh battery. At first, your phone probably charged until the battery was full and then lasted through the entire day. Now, though, you’ve noticed that the battery drains quickly and takes several hours – sometimes even all night – to charge. This guide will help you get the most out of your Galaxy S7 battery once again. Read More…

Innovative Dust Plugs for SmartPhones Protect Ports from Dust, Lint and Liquid Splashes

San Diego, CA, January 12, 2016
PortPlugs kicked off the new year by announcing its two new innovations, the USB-C Dust Plug and the UniPlug for the iPhone 6 Plus and Samsung Galaxy s6. With surveys revealing that a whopping 14 percent of the 209 million smartphone users in the U.S. refuse to use protective phone cases, the latest PortPlugs offerings could improve the odds of keeping these devices safe for a lot of people. Read More…