Photo: General Motors
If you’re an avid fan of all things with and about smartphones, chances are you already know that modern phones aren’t so smart at keeping themselves cool. All gadgets generate heat but on more than one occasion, iOS and Android OS-running smartphones decided to melt their batteries out of the blue.
In an effort to fight back the overheating issues that affect the modern lineup of middle and high-end smartphones, General Motors came up with a simple yet genius idea - why not cool the phone while it’s charging? On the 2016 Chevrolet Malibu mid-size sedan and its Impala full-size sibling, customers are offered with an option called Active Phone Cooling.
When GM engineers were testing a wireless charging feature for smartphones, these whiz kids found that the phone would suspend charging or shut down “after only a few minutes in high temperatures inside a car’s cabin.” When it’s really hot outside, it seems like the driver isn’t the only one that suffers from the scorching heat emanated by the Sun. If anything, phones are more fragile than us.
So what about this Active Phone Cooling feature? We are dealing with your typical optional wireless charging system for phones, but there’s a twist: an air vent directs cool air to the charging bin where the phone rests while charging. The simple yet innovative Active Phone Cooling system operates only if the climate control system is turned on by the driver.
“Innovation doesn’t mean reinventing the wheel,” declared Chevrolet Impala engineer Dan Lascu. “Sometimes simplicity offers the most elegant solution to a problem,” and we agree. The Active Phone Cooling feature will become available in the 2016 Chevrolet Cruze compact sedan and the Chevrolet Volt PHEV as well.
When GM engineers were testing a wireless charging feature for smartphones, these whiz kids found that the phone would suspend charging or shut down “after only a few minutes in high temperatures inside a car’s cabin.” When it’s really hot outside, it seems like the driver isn’t the only one that suffers from the scorching heat emanated by the Sun. If anything, phones are more fragile than us.
So what about this Active Phone Cooling feature? We are dealing with your typical optional wireless charging system for phones, but there’s a twist: an air vent directs cool air to the charging bin where the phone rests while charging. The simple yet innovative Active Phone Cooling system operates only if the climate control system is turned on by the driver.
“Innovation doesn’t mean reinventing the wheel,” declared Chevrolet Impala engineer Dan Lascu. “Sometimes simplicity offers the most elegant solution to a problem,” and we agree. The Active Phone Cooling feature will become available in the 2016 Chevrolet Cruze compact sedan and the Chevrolet Volt PHEV as well.
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