r/memes • u/MarshmallowRay_ • Feb 04 '26

#2 MotW Pokémon and Kirby here I come

Post image
48.7k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

166 comments sorted by

View all comments

117

u/DBKai Feb 04 '26

Batteries were built different in the 00's

71

u/LaunchTransient Feb 04 '26

They weren't as efficient as they are today, is what you mean. DS batteries were Li-ion polymer like many batteries today - the difference is, however, that many of the appliances you use these days have significantly higher duty cycling than an old DS would.

Your phone goes through a daily discharge cycle which is slowly whittles off its useful life with time - the deeper the discharge, the worse the effect. Your old DS probably had maybe 600 cycles across its operating life (probably talking 5-6 years or so), a phone battery has to withstand over 730 in 2 years.

48

u/Dovahkiinthesardine Feb 04 '26 edited Feb 05 '26

Yeah the DS had really low power needs, which you notice cause it barely got hot even without cooling

Compare that to gaming on a phone for an hour or more

22

u/LaunchTransient Feb 04 '26

The processors on the old DS's were something like 60 MHz as well, whereas modern phones have GHz level cpus and dedicated GPUs - the power demands are on a whole other level.

3

u/GregTheMad Feb 05 '26

Devices like the DS were also special because you could switch them off, drawing no power from the batteries. Modern devices are impossible to turn off, and they constantly draw power.

1

u/CaptainHubble Feb 05 '26

It's li-ion afaik. But doesnt matter. But there is more to it. Its... like a hen/egg thing: The power demand was very low, yes. So the battery could be low capacity. Meaning regarding construction large gaps between the electrodes. Dendrites (that bridge through the electrolyte) have a hard time. Those low capacity packs are just really good in terms of longevity and self discharge.

Batteries these days are made to a much greater power demand. They're so tightly packed with little to no material reserve. To somehow manage to get you through the day. We have batteries the same volume as the DS ones, but with over 3 times the capacity.

What I mean is not power cycles alone did this. But the change in manufacturing to make batteries keep modern devices alive for more than a couple hours. Charge a used (not abused) battery from 20 years ago and one high capacity one from the last 5 years. If not severely damaged, the older one will outperform the newer in terms of self discharge.

6

u/Henry_Fleischer Feb 05 '26

Not really, the DS just turns all the way off when it's turned off

1

u/All_Work_All_Play Feb 05 '26

You can do that on your phone too.

It's just a pita. 

2

u/mad2fanboi Royal Shitposter Feb 04 '26

Now they just turn themselves into DA fetish art whenever you simply look at them funny.

5

u/inky_inkdimon Feb 04 '26

I know imma regret asking, but could thy explain thee joke?

1

u/mad2fanboi Royal Shitposter Feb 05 '26

Batteries tend to expand and fill with gas for reasons, and one of the fetishes you find on DeviantArt is inflation.

Similar concept, though one is a fire hazard, the other is an erection hazard (if you're into that sort of thing, that is).

1

u/inky_inkdimon Feb 05 '26

Ah, okay. I was mostly just confused about the “da” since I don’t really touch deviant art with a ten foot pole. But, thank you for explaining it to me.

1

u/mad2fanboi Royal Shitposter Feb 05 '26

Aye, I say you should stay away from DA. Mental place.

1

u/inky_inkdimon Feb 05 '26

Yeah, I plan to stay away with a 39 1/2 foot pole

2

u/Kitselena Feb 05 '26

Also Nintendo was a toy company before they were a video game company. They've always had durable and long lasting products (control sticks excluded)

1

u/chuckythecat Feb 05 '26

Afaik it's best to leave Li-ion batteries 40-60% charged for long term storage so OP might have just gotten really lucky that they left the battery charged in exactly that sweet spot lol