Battery Cycle Count App?

[SkinJob]

We're Oct. 2014, on my calendar. Does there not exist an app for Android by now, that tells you the wear life (cycle count) of a battery; like I have on my iPhone? I can't seem to find any on Play store or Google. All I can find is lots of people out there asking about it...

(I have a specific need. Two identical tablets, neither of which you can change the battery. Must keep one, and I want to keep the one with the fresher battery. Ergo, I need some means of knowing the wear history of the battery, as I don't know the usage history of the tablets).

 

[electricpete]

...Ergo, I need some means of knowing the wear history of the battery, as I don't know the usage history of the tablets).

I think you're wanting an app that you install today that will tell the past (before today) cycle count of your battery ?
If so, I'm quite sure it doesn't exist for android.

On the other hand, you can get battery monitor widget which attempts to estimate the capacity of you battery based on current (if available) and ovoltage behaviour during charging. Lowering capacity over time is sign of aging battery. This method is not perfect...just an estimate. Likewise cycle count is a very coarse indicator since temperature and voltage history over time have heavy impact on battery aging which is not captured in cycle count.

By the way, it is 2014 in my calendar also.. I'm not wondering why such app that you request didn't exist. I'm wondering why has apple not figured out the user shouldn't have to send back his $500.00 phone just to replace a $15.00 battery.

 

[SkinJob]

I'm wanting an app like "Battery Info Lite" on the iPhone. It tells you how many times the battery has been charged. This gives me a good indication of its history, and how much life the tablet has left. I have Battery Monitor Widget, and while it tells you a lot, it does not tell you the battery's charge history. Not sure why this is not available yet from an Android developer, as it should be entirely possible - particularly on a more open system.

BMW tells me both tablets are 6500mah when fully charged. So that doesn't really tell me how much each has been used over time. BMW, says there are slight differences in voltage and temperature between the identical batteries (when not under a charge), but again, that's not an indication of how much life they have left.

Even if cycle count is a coarse indicator, I'd rather have a rough idea of the difference between two batteries than no idea.

BTW, it cost me $5 to change my iPhone battery, which I did two weeks ago, and it works better than the original. Ok, add $1 for the screwdriver kit. Android is no different, as many phones (and tablets) have non-user replacable batteries. That doesn't mean you have to follow the rules of the manufacturer!

 

[electricpete]

You didn't answer my question, but I'm still sensing you want an app to install in the present that will look into the past to see your battery cycle count. That does not exist on android.

There are many factors other than cycle count which affect life. Battery is aged by voltage and temperature over time. If you have a habit to leave your phone on the charger for long periods at 100% while at same time using gps or games that make phone run hot, battery lasts far less time. There are other less extreme firms of abuse. In theory the degradation that has occurred by any history (including things like temperature, not evident in cycle count) is seen by monitoring capacity during charge. Significant reduction in capacity below factory value means your battery is dieing. Seeing a trend over time helps confirm. But the capacity measurement has limited accuracy, especially if your device does not support current monitoring.

Neither approach is perfect. I would submit that battery capacity trending is more relevant than cycle count for determining remaining life. If you have preference based on what you're used to, I understand that also. Like it or not, historical cycle count is not an option on android because the operating system did not store that data. If you want an app to monitor cycles starting at the time you install the app, that is possible (but haven't seen anything like that on Google play)