Technologies

My Phone’s Battery Has Just Over a Year Left in It. Here’s How I Found Out

iFixit’s new app comes with all the information you need to prolong the lifespan of your phone — including an AI chatbot for specific guidance and a battery death predictor.

Nothing lives forever — and that includes your phone battery. Not only is it dying small deaths on an almost daily basis, but it’s also dying a longer, slower death that’ll eventually render your phone unusable if it’s not permanently attached to a power source.

Unless, of course, you swap out your old battery for a new one.

You may have a sense that your battery is degrading over time, but not know at what point to replace it. A new app from online community, advocacy group and parts retailer iFixit is here to help. The app includes a battery health predictor that shows where your battery is in its lifecycle and estimates when it’s time to break out the toolkit and give your device a new lease on life.

Repairing our tech rather than simply replacing it when it breaks can save us money in the long run and reduce our contributions to the ever-increasing mountains of electronic waste piling up around the world. And thanks to work of the «right to repair» movement, it’s easier than ever to get hold of the spare parts and guidance we need to fix our tech at home. Still, it can be an intimidating prospect for anyone unfamiliar with the inner workings of their devices.

«It’s never been easier to fix our own stuff, but learning how can be a bit bewildering,» says Kyle Wiens, CEO of iFixit. «We have so many different kind of gadgets in our lives now, how do you learn to fix it all?» The answer is the iFixit app, which comes with an AI helper «Fixbot» to walk you through any repairs you want to make, with access to iFixit’s full catalog of repair guides.

This isn’t the first time iFixit has had its own app, but back in 2015, Apple stripped it from the App Store after iFixit conducted an unfavorable teardown of the Apple TV. Now it’s back, and available on both the App Store and Google Play Store for iPhone and Android phone owners. I took it for a spin.

Predicting the death of my iPhone

My current phone is an iPhone 15 Pro Max. I’ve been using it for just over a year. In that time, I’ve definitely noticed it running out of juice more often, and I was keen to find out when I might need to replace it.

The battery health feature in the iFixit app is still in beta, and the process for getting a reading is slightly different depending on your phone manufacturer. (Spoiler: None are completely straightforward.)

Apple doesn’t currently allow access to battery stats via any of its APIs (iFixit tells me the APIs are there, but Apple won’t approve your app if you use them), so instead you have to ensure you have your phone analytics turned on and then import an analytics file into the app.

If that sounds complicated, be assured that it’s not. In the app is a guide that tells you exactly what to do and I found it easy to follow. I turned my analytics on in Settings and allowed it to gather data for one day before sharing the file with iFixit.

What I found surprised me. I consider myself a power user (my screen time is honestly embarrassing), yet in the year or so I’ve had this iPhone, I’ve completed only 266 full charging cycles. As a result, iFixit rated my battery health as «fair» and says it can now charge to just 86% of its original capacity.

It did add: «Your capacity is declining. Plan a replacement soon to maintain performance.» It turns out that «soon» is a relative term, though, as it recommended that replacement didn’t actually need to happen until February 2027.

I was pleasantly surprised by how much life this iPhone still has in it. It’s entirely possible I’ll replace the battery before then, simply because I like to get a full day of life out of one charge, and that isn’t happening right now. But after CNET editor-at-large Andrew Lanxon replaced his own iPhone battery last month, I feel confident in my ability to undertake open-heart surgery on my phone at home. Plus, I always have iFixit’s Fixbot on hand to help me out if I do get stuck.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Feb. 5, #500

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Feb. 5, No. 500.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a tough one. As an old-school Minnesota Twins fan, I was excited to see the last name of our most legendary player on the grid. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: QB is another one.

Green group hint: Hit it out of the park.

Blue group hint: Great gridiron signal-callers.

Purple group hint: Half of a thousand.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Football positions, abbreviated.

Green group: Members of the 500-HR club.

Blue group: First names of QBs to throw 500 career TDs.

Purple group: ____500.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is football positions, abbreviated. The four answers are CB, OT, S and TE.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is members of the 500-HR club. The four answers are Banks, Bonds, Foxx and Killebrew.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is first names of QBs to throw 500 career TDs. The four answers are Aaron, Drew, Peyton and Tom.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ____500. The four answers are ATP, Daytona, Indy and WTA.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Thursday, Feb. 5

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Feb. 5

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? The Across clues were kind of tricky today, but the Down clues helped me fill in the grid. Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Battery warning from a smoke detector
Answer: CHIRP

6A clue: Word that can precede «book» or «tour»
Answer: AUDIO

7A clue: Extreme edge
Answer: BRINK

8A clue: Like a wobbly screw
Answer: LOOSE

9A clue: Type in
Answer: ENTER

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Alternative to streaming
Answer: CABLE

2D clue: One of the Great Lakes
Answer: HURON

3D clue: Dummy
Answer: IDIOT

4D clue: Wash under a tap
Answer: RINSE

5D clue: Game in which Paul Newman successfully cons a crime boss in «The Sting»
Answer: POKER

Technologies

Fitbit Launches Luffu, AI-Powered Health Tracking for the Whole Family

Soon, you may be able to access every family member’s health data in one place.

If you’ve ever wanted a way to keep all of your family’s health records in place, Fitbit may have come up with a solution. Fitbit, well-known for its fitness wearables, announced the launch of its own health care system on Wednesday.

Luffu, which translates to the Old English word for «love,» uses AI to create what it calls an «intelligent family care system.» The platform allows family members to share all their health information through an app.

It’s unclear when Luffu will be officially available, but you can sign up for the waitlist to get access to the limited public beta. Pricing or other details have not been announced.

Luffu will allow families to keep track of everyone’s doctor’s appointments, test results, vaccine records, medications, symptoms, diet and more. The platform uses AI to learn your family’s health history and patterns, and to alert you to any changes that should be addressed, such as missed medications or abnormal vitals. The AI function organizes the data submitted into the system. The app will also connect to third-party apps and wearables, such as the Fitbit.

Luffu is meant to lighten the mental load of family care by organizing all this health data in one place, its co-founder said.

«I was caring for my parents from across the country, trying to piece together my mom’s health care across various portals and providers, with a language barrier that made it hard to get a complete, timely context from her about doctor visits,» said Luffu co-founder James Park.

Luffu will include alerts and a space to log health and medication information via voice, text, photos, and other health portals and devices. The key medical information can be shared across the platform with spouses, caregivers and parents.

A representative for Fitbit did not immediately respond to a request for comment.