Following concerns that the new iPad’s battery may be charging past 100% (as revealed by DisplayMate), with some people worrying that it may not be good for the battery, Apple’s Michael Tchao has issued a statement to AllThingsD explaining the issue, or rather the lack of an issue, and how charging works for iOS devices.
So, here’s how things work: Apple does in fact display the iPad (and iPhone and iPod Touch) as 100 percent charged just before a device reaches a completely charged state. At that point, it will continue charging to 100 percent, then discharge a bit and charge back up to 100 percent, repeating that process until the device is unplugged.
Doing so allows devices to maintain an optimum charge, Apple VP Michael Tchao told AllThingsD today.
“That circuitry is designed so you can keep your device plugged in as long as you would like,” Tchao said. “It’s a great feature that’s always been in iOS.”
Tchao also points out that the new iPad can still be expected to achieve a full 10 hours of battery life even if the battery is still “trickle charging” when they unplug it, and explains that Apple displays the battery level as charged throughout that entire cycle so customers don’t worry when their device sticks at 99% charged for an extended period of time.
As many suspected, not only is “batterygate” not a major issue – it’s not an issue at all. In fact, it’s a feature.
