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Many wrong answers here. Most devices have what's called a power path. When a device is powered via a cable and the battery is full, the device battery is bypassed and the electronics powered via the charging port directly.
There are always losses in both charging and discharging a battery. Discharging the power bank first and the SD battery second avoids the charging loss from the SD battery.
You should avoid keeping either battery at sub 20% state-of-charge for long periods, if possible.
Thanks for the in depth response! So if I understand correctly, it's better for battery health to use the bank first then the steam deck.
However if for arguments sake I want to get the maximum amount of play time, would bank first then SD still be the right way to go? I'm asking as perhaps the steam deck uses more power when plugged in as it doesn't believe it should be preserving charge?
Bank first, then SD is good for both max play time and battery health, as the charging of the SD battery results in both energy loss as heat and minute degradation of the battery.
Plus then you can recharge the bank, usually at much higher rate than the deck charge rate, and plug it back in before the deck dies with more than 100% of the deck's capacity.
Awesome thanks for the advice
When the SD is discharged, it tries to charge from the external power source (it doesn’t know that it’s a battery and not a charger). Battery to battery charging is just losing energy to heat. So, it’s probably better to discharge the external pack while the SD is at 100%.
Also, you should never discharge a battery to 0, or do it regularly, as it will damage the battery and make it keep less charge.
This is dependent on battery chemistry. True for common LI-ION.
Any good battery management system should avoid that.
Well actually no, the battery health is counted in charge circles, so if you charge from 0 to 100 it is one charge, if you charge from 50 to 100, then again from 50 to 100 it is again one charge.
Other than that when you use the battery and let daily to reach 0% it may be over discharged and start creating crystals damaging the battery, the battery would never actually be under 2-5%, but why stress that battery? I'm charging my devices at 20% and it helps with the battery life.
Also if you want long, healthy batteries you shouldn't charge to 100 as not to overcharge but who does that?
Apples battery management stops charging at 80%, according to your behavior. If you use the laptop with power connected a lot, it will stop charging and resume later.
I think you'll want to minimize using one battery to charge the other since that would cause more losses, so my vote is on keeping the SD full by playing off the external then continuing with the internal battery once the external is empty. That way most/all power goes directly from battery to being consumed.
Fully charged. The steam deck draws power from AC when the battery is over 90%
As a bonus, you won't be stressing the internal battery. An external is far easier to replace than the internal, so plugging in and bypassing the internal battery will extend its life - especially if at the "end" of play you still have at least 30-40% remaining on the internal.
No difference either way. Most flights have electrical recepticals under the seats, so you should be able to plug into power regardless.
As to your original question, you're going to get the same performance either way. I personally just play the SD on battery and then charge it back up with the battery bank and then play it again.
I have actually never flown on a narrow body plane that had charging ports, so I wouldnt say "most flights"
They mentioned it was a "long haul" flight, so I wasn't clear on exactly what kind of plane. But for most commercial flights, they have those amenities.
Recently I've seen several of the newer Airbus A321s and 737-800s have charging ports and power outlets standard. A couple of low cost carriers (intentionally) omit them, and it seems like a coin flip on the older 737/319/320s, esp for US domestic flights. I've taken a couple transatlantic narrowbody flights recently and TAP and Icelandic both had power at the seat. My biggest pet peeve as that, for many flights, you just don't know until you actually get to your seat.
SAS's new A350's are making under-seat outlets an economy plus feature 😑