On Thu, 19 Nov 2015 14:22:01 -0800, Jeff Liebermann
wrote:

On Thu, 19 Nov 2015 14:05:23 +0800, pedro wrote:

It's a pity manufacturers of laptops, smartphones etc are obsessed
with maximising run-time as a selling spec.

The current "solution" is for laptops to offer a mode where it charges
to about 50% of capacity for those that use laptop as a desktop
replacement, where it is plugged into a charger 100% of the time. If
you want to go somewhere, you're expected to change the setting and
quickly charge the battery to 100%. Of course, the setting is buried
under several layers of menus in an obscure utility only accessible if
you know the cryptic name and obscure location.

Predictably ...

I also note that this
feature seems to be more common on laptops with non-replaceable
batteries (Aerobooks and Ultrabooks).

Yep, the rest go with the full SOC, give you the big run-time spec,
and sell you replacements (batteries, or - more often- machines).