The problems we face are many. First, our phones drain to much power during operation. A phone in airplane mode (network connectivity off) and with a properly configured back light will last many hours longer than a phone with a 4G LTE modem connected. We need more power efficient mobile data components in our phones. These numbers will vary depending on the strength of your signal and the network technology being used. Our second problem is that as we recharge our devices their battery performance decreases. It is no secret that lithium ion batteries have a certain number of charge cycles (one hundred percent of charge and discharge) before performance decreases. Most engineers and OEM's will tell you this sweet spot is between 300 and 600 charge cycles. But we are charging our devices every day aren't we! As technology has improved we find ourselves saying, "my phone is still great for what I need but it seems like the battery won't hold a charge!" The ever increasing use of our devices has shortened their life and reduced the time needed between upgrades costing us money.
So I am excited for USB Type-C but I recognize that it still means that we are "tied to the cord". We finally have a reversible connector for display, power, and storage. We finally have a specification that allows for fast charging using up to 100 watts of power. All those benefits will go away the second you unplug your device and walk away from the wall. The battery problems we still face are real. Larger batteries aren't the answer. They add cost and weight to our devices and many form factors don't have any available room for them. We desperately need more power efficient device components and higher performance batteries.
