Why the watt is the most important spec in battery-powered devices

Every clip I spot “mAh” connected a user product, I cringe. Megahertz are starting to bruise, too. That’s due to the fact that the astir captious components of portable gadgets — batteries and processors — should truly beryllium measured successful watts: it’s the 1 communal spec that gives you a existent thought of what your instrumentality tin do.

With watts, you tin archer however overmuch literal powerfulness is nether the hood — however overmuch vigor is provided by your artillery and however overmuch is coursing done your chip. Watts find whether there’s capable cooling to fto that processor tally free, alternatively of overheating and throttling prematurely. Watts tin adjacent archer you however overmuch artillery beingness you person left, based connected the watt-hours (Wh) of artillery remaining and the wattage astatine which your instrumentality is draining. 

You tin bash it each with simple schoolhouse mathematics — truthful wherefore aren’t watts everywhere? Consumers are regularly exposed to wattage measurements erstwhile buying airy bulbs oregon speechmaking their powerfulness bills. But galore gadget manufacturers importune connected measuring their batteries successful milliamp-hours and their spot velocity successful megahertz oregon gigahertz, neither of which are a bully measurement of a device’s existent power. 

The Steam Deck gaming handheld is my go-to exampl …

Read the afloat communicative astatine The Verge.