[foldr]

LiPo batteries generally supply from 4.2V to 3.7V from a fully charged state to a fully discharged state. Modern CPUs run at under 2V. If the battery was directly connected to the CPU, the CPU would fry.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buck_converter

That being said, it's conceiveable that a worn out battery might not be able to supply enough power to run the CPU at higher clock speeds.

[gargravarr]

Not to nit-pick, but 3.7v is the nominal cell voltage. They can supply power down to 3.3v safely. Fully discharged is around 3.0v.

[foldr]

Ah yes, thanks for the correction.