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iOS 17 | Battery Life & Health
- Thread starter Pearsey
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Has anyone's iPad actually reached the advertised numbers lol? Mine has always been subpar from the start, definitely lasts less than an iPhone and I expected it to have 3x that battery life because of how huge it is, so I thought it must have a huge battery compared to the iPhones.
TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️
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Today is my first full day of beta 4 and my battery is 83% so far. Took it off the charger at 6am, it’s now 12pm so 6 hours and about an hour and a half of screen on time. Going well so far. My issue with the wallpapers being weird is gone now too.
My battery health is down to 91% on my 14 pro max. That just sucks. I get about 3.5h screen on time. My wife’s 14 pro max is not on beta and at 97% battery health with solid 7-8hrs of screen on time. Dang.
It’s almost like you’re running beta software lol. Do y’all read the things you agree to when you sign up to beta test?
Dear captain obvious, I’m sorry to share my iOS17 experience inside the iOS17 battery thread. Thank you for your service.
Besides this, I must have missed the chapter that says: caution, your battery health will drop from 98% to 91% in a few weeks. I’ve used nearly every beta since iOS7, never experienced this kind of battery health drain before.
I am surprised that the battery life seems to be worse on latest most advanced iPhones (13-14 Pro)? Perhaps this is something to do with ProMotion? I have joined PB1 with my 12 mini and did not see any dramatic battery drop - neither in daily use, nor in the battery health settings, which was showing 84% for the last 15 months or so…
Otherwise, the battery life is not Apple’s priority at this stage in a beta cycle, but should be tuned up by final release.
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My nearly 2 year old iPhone 13 Pro which has lived the majority of its time on beta's is at 90% - I don't think it's related to beta's, it's just the Apple battery lottery you play with each phone unfortunately.
I know this sounds entirely baseless and anecdotal, but it kinda seems to me like the act of installing a software update — regardless of the actual contents of that update — somehow has a cumulative negative effect on the battery over time.
My experience with iPhones, for years, is that buying one with its *release* OS version (for example, running base iOS 16.0 on a 14 Pro Max, or base 15.0 on a 13 Pro Max) always has stellar battery life.
But as soon as you start installing subsequent updates, there’s a noticeable hit to the battery. Like it feels as if I just stayed on 16.0 for 10 months and never installed anything past it, my iPhone 14 Pro Max would have better battery life than having jumped through each update up to 16.6 over the course of 10 months.
My experience with iPhones, for years, is that buying one with its *release* OS version (for example, running base iOS 16.0 on a 14 Pro Max, or base 15.0 on a 13 Pro Max) always has stellar battery life.
But as soon as you start installing subsequent updates, there’s a noticeable hit to the battery. Like it feels as if I just stayed on 16.0 for 10 months and never installed anything past it, my iPhone 14 Pro Max would have better battery life than having jumped through each update up to 16.6 over the course of 10 months.
Further drop to 97% Battery Health on my 14 Pro Max I noticed today. That’s 2% gone during my time on Beta 4 alone!
I get the same performance (almost identical numbers, I just checked) with my 14 pro max on iOS 17. So I don’t think that’s necessarily the explanation.
It’s important to note that these betas coincide with summertime, when batteries will get more chemical aging than any other time of the year. The sun is bright, you most definitely have your screen at a higher brightness than usual, plus a battery’s biggest enemy is heat. Software updates very likely trigger a battery health meter recalculation over the next couple of days after install (we can’t know that for sure since iOS is closed-source, so this claim is just based off of observed behaviour).
What's factual is that it's impossible for software itself to change the chemical condition of your battery - it’s aftermath of it, like your battery lasting less on a single charge and you having to charge it more due to a software issue. But unless you’ve been charging your phone more on the betas (and dramatically so, because by nature with lithium batteries each next charging cycle will provide less energy than the previous one) it’s more likely than not just recalibration of the % meter in Settings. Especially if it’s a sudden drop-off of multiple percentage points overnight.
What's factual is that it's impossible for software itself to change the chemical condition of your battery - it’s aftermath of it, like your battery lasting less on a single charge and you having to charge it more due to a software issue. But unless you’ve been charging your phone more on the betas (and dramatically so, because by nature with lithium batteries each next charging cycle will provide less energy than the previous one) it’s more likely than not just recalibration of the % meter in Settings. Especially if it’s a sudden drop-off of multiple percentage points overnight.
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Mine has dropped FROM 97% to 89% over the entire beta cycle so far on my iPhone 14 Pro Max.
Did a clean install over the weekend now got about 8 hrs on a 100% charge yesterday on a 14 Pro Max.
I have iOS 17 on my last phone (13 Pro) and battery is still at 99%. Admittedly I don't use it a WHOLE lot now with my 14 Pro, but I'm using wireless charging about 9 out 10 times.
Just my experience.
Just my experience.
I must be blessed because my day one iPhone 12 that is almost 3 years old and on its original battery is at 89% health. It dropped quite fast during the second year (from 100% to 89% within 3-4 months) but hasn't moved since.
I just charge it overnight, with occasional wireless magsafe charging using the Apple battery pack.
I just charge it overnight, with occasional wireless magsafe charging using the Apple battery pack.
Goddamn it’s dropped again to 96%. That’s 100% to 96% in a month and a half on my 14 Pro Max, pretty much exclusively wireless charging in my car on the way to work, and overnight by my bed.
Ok maybe I was overreacting and it’s not just a beta thing. My girlfriend who’s always been running the latest public iOS release on her 14 Pro has 97% after 10 months.
TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️
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Reflecting back on the battery life of an iPhone.
Apple battery stats are not accurate, so if you have a Mac nearby, try checking with CoconutBattery for a much better picture.
So, basically, your advice would be not to install any software updates, missing on all the new features, bug fixes and security updates? 🤷🏻♂️ I would rather plug my iPhone in every now and again…