No, they didn’t. The headline is not consistent with the article, the “white” lie editors do all the time to manipulate people into clicking in to their articles.
All my life, it has been common parlance among every person I have ever spoken with to refer to a depleted battery as a "dead" battery.
When someone announced that their cell battery is dead, I have never once in my life heard someone ask for clarification on whether the battery was incapable of charging or is simply depleted. I have also never once heard a correction of the person with the depleted battery when they announce that they have charged their phone.
I have also heard these same speech patterns pertaining to vehicles. It is odd to demand that a written work that is authored for popular consumption not to use the popular parlance.
