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As I’ve found myself surrounded by more and more devices over time, I’ve noticed something: I now have a lot of devices to recharge. It all started with my first cellphone, which needed to be recharged every few days. Life was more simple back then. Soon, I replaced my desktop computer with a laptop, which needed to be recharged every day or two as well. This change wasn’t that tough—charging the laptop was a comparably small inconvenience relative to the luxury of being able to work from anywhere. Fast forward a few years more, and I got interested in fitness and bought a fancy wireless scale and a Fitbit. With each passing year, I’ve acquired more and more devices that need to be recharged on a regular basis.
Despite being a pretty big gadget nerd, I don’t think this problem is unique to me. Here’s a list of the devices I have to charge on a regular basis, listed in order of how frequently they need to be recharged:
- iPhone;
- Laptop;
- Fitbit;
- iPad;
- Apple AirPod headphones;
- UE Boom bluetooth speaker;
- Bose QC35 headphones;
- Portable charger (to recharge all these on the go);
- Kindle paperwhite;
- Bathroom scale
- Wireless mouse;
- Wireless keyboard.
I’m sure I’m missing one or two devices, too.
These devices also need to be charged at different frequencies: while I charge my iPhone, laptop, and Fitbit every day, the iPad, AirPods, and portable speaker need to be recharged every few days. My Kindle and Bose headphones only need to be recharged every week or two.
Battery creep is a real thing.
Battery Creep: the idea that, as time progresses and we bring more gadgets and devices into our lives, we have an increasing number of devices to recharge on a regular basis.
As we digitize more and more devices, we have to recharge things we’ve never had to before, including bathroom scales, cars, watches, headphones, keyboards, and mice.
I’m not saying I want to go back to living the tethered life anytime soon. It’s sort of nice to only have to plug devices like my headphones in once a week to recharge them, instead of every time they’re used.
But at the same time, battery creep is a real thing, and it’s becoming kind of annoying. The first company to invent truly wireless charging is going to do a significant service to mankind.
