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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

The Clicks Communicator Will Have Keyboard Layouts in Arabic, French, German, Korean

After debuting it at CES, Clicks is expanding the BlackBerry-like Communicator phone with localized options ahead of MWC 2026.

The Clicks Communicator created a buzz after its CES reveal, with its focus on offering a communications-forward Android phone that looks like a BlackBerry, complete with a physical keyboard, prioritizing messaging and typing over everything else. It turns out the keyboard phone may have made a bigger splash than anyone realized. Clicks will offer multiple versions of the Communicator, each with a keyboard that supports a different language, in response to the overwhelming demand for the unreleased phone.

The company is expanding the Communicator to include models with keyboard layouts for Arabic, French (AZERTY), German (QWERTZ) and Korean. Clicks said interest in the Communicator was higher than the company expected, especially globally.

It’s clear there are still plenty of people who yearn for compelling, straightforward devices with smartly designed hardware that aim to make texting and writing easier. The timing of Click’s news strikes a stark juxtaposition, coming just days after Samsung launched its Galaxy S26 series, which features updates heavily steeped in AI.

«The response from customers around the world sends a strong signal that Communicator fills a gap for a phone purpose-built for communicating and taking action,» Clicks CEO Adrian Li Mow Ching said in a press release.

But there’s more good news ahead of MWC if you’re interested in getting a Clicks Communicator. The early-bird window to reserve one now runs through March 15. The phone costs $499, but an early reservation gets you a $100 discount and, when paid in full, a bundle of the phone and two additional back covers.
Clicks also shared that the phone will have a Dimensity 8300 chip (MT8883), which is in phones like the Xiaomi Poco X6 Pro. The MT8883 lets the company offer OS updates to the Communicator through Android 20 and five years of security updates.
I’m definitely excited to see where Clicks is headed with the Communicator, but should note that we’ve yet to see a working version of the phone. The Clicks Communicator will be available in Smoke, Clover and Onyx. Reservations are open, and people can select their preferred keyboard layout closer to when the phone ships later this year.

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Technologies

I Tested the New Circle to Search on the Galaxy S26 and It Nailed My Outfit

Samsung’s AI-powered visual search tool on its new phones is now dangerously good at helping me shop. RIP my bank account.

As a fashion lover who’s always hunting for outfit inspo, I’ve spent more hours than I care to admit trying to track down the exact pieces from a TV scene or red carpet look. So when Samsung unveiled an upgraded version of Circle to Search at its Galaxy Unpacked event in San Francisco that can identify multiple items from a single image, I made a beeline for the Galaxy S26 demo area to try it myself.

Circle to Search, which first appeared on the Galaxy S24 phones and then expanded to other devices as Google Lens, felt like magic: Circle anything on your screen and get instant results. The AI-powered visual search tool can identify objects, translate text and surface contextual results without ever leaving the app you’re on. 

Now it’s gotten even smarter, and broader: Google says it’s now also on Pixel 10 devices.

Instead of just identifying a single item, it can recognize and surface information about multiple things you’ve presented it with, including an entire outfit. The feature can be used for just about everything, from identifying bird species to translating text, but Samsung says fashion and shopping are hands-down the most popular use case.

So of course I had to put it to the test by having it scan my outfit — and I was genuinely floored. In the crowded event space under harsh lighting, I was skeptical it could deliver. It did. 

First, it pulled up an AI summary describing the scene: «The look features a vibrant blue structured blazer, white top, dark fitted leggings and classic black leather boots.» Right below that, I pressed the «Find the look» button and watched it do its magic. 

Within seconds, I was staring at the exact same in-your-face cerulean blazer I was wearing, with a link to the online store I’d bought it from, along with a slew of strikingly similar shopping options ranging from upscale alternatives to budget-friendly picks. This level of stalking would’ve taken me at least 20 minutes to lock down. 

Scrolling down revealed the same for my glossy black leggings. Despite being from many seasons ago and not available anymore, it returned convincing dupes from different retailers. It did the same for my decade-old knee-high boots and even pulled up a used pair from Postmark; a nod at the fact that mine are old AF. The only thing it failed to surface was the shirt I was wearing under the blazer that was clearly visible in the shot. Maybe layers is the next frontier for Circle to Search. 

Surprisingly, the hardest part of the process was figuring out how to use the feature. I had to ask a Samsung employee to take a full-body picture of me. Once I had it on the screen, I long-pressed on the home button at the bottom of the screen, which triggered a Google overlay. I then had to circle myself from head to toe. It’s the kind of feature I’d program on an action button if I could — although my wallet would likely suffer the consequences.  

In doing this, Samsung and Google have virtually removed the friction between liking someone’s outfit, and pressing the trigger on buying it. It wasn’t that long ago that the closest alternative involved screenshotting a look, posting it to Pinterest and attempting to track down similar pieces. This is faster, cleaner and almost dangerously good for fashion lovers like me. 

If this gets any better, Samsung may need to add a few guardrails for those of us prone to a little too much impulse shopping.

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Technologies

A New Mini Game Boy Collectible That Just Plays Pokemon Music? What a Tease

A surprise collectible on Pokemon Day looks just like a tiny Game Boy and plays music on swappable cartridges. Give us the real Game Boy again, come on.

Nintendo sure does love teasing us with Game Boy things. First, a collectible Lego Game Boy model last year that almost looked like a real Game Boy (but wasn’t). Now, for the 30th anniversary of Pokemon, Nintendo and the Pokemon Group are selling a collectible music player that looks like a tiny Game Boy and plays authentic original Pokemon Red/Blue songs on swappable cartridges, one per song. The Game Boy Jukebox is being sold on the Pokemon Center site later today, for a price that hasn’t yet been listed.

This level of absurdity is standard issue for Nintendo: Just in the last 18 months we’ve had Alarmo, a talking Super Mario flower and a Virtual Boy recreation. This new collectible is so tempting precisely because it looks like a little, even more pocketable Game Boy. Except it isn’t a Game Boy at all. It’s just a music player. Even the dot-matrix «screen» is fake — it’s just an overlay that the cartridges display when they’re slotted in.

The music this thing plays is Game Boy-accurate, down to the little boot-up ping. It just makes my skin itch for a new Game Boy (that isn’t one already made by several other companies).

But come on. Make a real Game Boy collectible, with actual preloaded games on it. You know you want to, Nintendo. It’s only a matter of time. 

In the meantime, if you’re desperate for all 45 Pokemon Red and Blue songs on a little Game Boy music player, now’s your chance.

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