system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Why are new devices’ batteries never empty but precharged, even if they probably been stored in a warehouse for a long time?

Edit: I want to know why the battery probably lasts longer than I experience with devices I know (turned off).
gpt
Lithium batteries are most stable at their "storage voltage", which varies a bit depending on the cell, but tends to be equivalent to about half charge. Having a higher or lower voltage than that would make them more of a hazard, so that's what they are stored at, and subsequently what they are shipped to you at. In short, to prevent fire risk and to prevent the battery from being dead on arrival.