this post was submitted on 13 Sep 2023
136 points (87.4% liked)
Technology
59308 readers
5507 users here now
This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
Our Rules
- Follow the lemmy.world rules.
- Only tech related content.
- Be excellent to each another!
- Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
- Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
- Politics threads may be removed.
- No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
- Only approved bots from the list below, to ask if your bot can be added please contact us.
- Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed
Approved Bots
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
Why would that make a difference?
The material on the cable gets bent and twisted more while you’re using the phone. The wire is warmer while current is running through it (even if not immediately perceptible) and the material Apple uses (which they switched to for environmental reasons) is more brittle as it warms up. Combine the flexing and twisting with the heated state and the cable is more prone to breaking.
But even if you're not using it, the power adapter will still push the same wattage, no? I mean, why wouldn't it?
Correct, but using it, or not, the cable heats up. It’s only when using it that the cable is put under additional strains and stresses. Often times people rest the cable on their palm, bending it at odd angles, not intentionally but absentmindedly. These are stresses on the cable that wouldn’t exist if it were simply sitting and charging. The usage doesn’t draw more power, it just increases the likelihood of miss handling the cable. Now, if a cable is built out of materials that are less biodegradable, or contains certain chemicals that are bad for the environment, they are less likely to break down under similar circumstances. It’s kind of a catch 22. You can make cables that do not contain harmful chemicals, but breakdown easily, or you can make cables that don’t break down easily, but potentially contain harmful chemicals. The real issue is, no matter what, e-waste is being created with disposable cables.
I don’t use my phone while plugged in (mostly because my battery life and usage habits don’t require it), and actually don’t typically plug in at all because I charge wirelessly overnight. But I do have an every pack-in lightning cable I’ve received with an iPhone since they started using lightning, and none of them are broken.
Have you ever bent a paperclip back and forth until it broke? Same concept.