All iPads iPads have the worst battery performance

[FeliApple]

Brightness is the main battery hog, and apparently due to performance, the M1 on high brightness and something heavier is a little worse than the latest (for iPad) A12X chip. Due to efficiency, it’s a beast with light use. In my experience, iPads are good. That said, my iOS devices ranked, with very low brightness and light usage, on Wi-Fi, all screen-on time (some of these I still have, some I don’t):

iPad Air 5, iPadOS 15.6: 23 hours (I am astonished)
iPad 4, iOS 6: 16 hours
iPhone Xʀ, iOS 12.3.1: 15-16 hours
iPad 4, iOS 7 (second and last time I willingly updated an iOS device): 14 hours
9.7-inch iPad Pro, iOS 9.3.4: 14 hours
iPhone 7+, iOS 10.3.1: 12 hours
9.7-inch iPad Pro, iOS 12.4.1 (previously on iOS 9.3.4, forcibly updated by Apple): 9-10 hours at best, maybe 8.
iPhone 6s, iOS 9.3.3, iOS 10.0: 7.5-8.5 hours
iPhone 5s, iOS 8.2: 7 hours
iPhone 5c, iOS 10.3.3: 4 hours, maybe 5? Not exactly sure, sorry.
iPhone 6s, iOS 13.4 (previously on iOS 9.3.3, forcibly updated by Apple): 3 hours

 

[Isamilis]

iPad is really in need of some battery improvements. As a product, the iPad has been eclipsed by all other Apple products with a screen and I am now more likely to need a charge before end of day for iPad over all other products.

iPad/Mini/Air/Pro - 9-10 hours

Macbook Air - 15-18 hours

Macbook Pro 13 - 17-20 hours

Macbook Pro 14 - 11-17 hours

Macbook Pro 16 - 14-21 hours

iPhone 13 Mini- 13-17 hours

IPhone 13 - 15-19 hours

iPhone 13 Pro - 20-22 hours

iphone 13 pro Max - 25-28 hours

iPhone SE. - 10-15 hours

Apple Watch - 18 hours

It’s quite interesting since iPad Pro can charge the iPhone, not vice versa.

 

[Isamilis]

I used to think there was some truth to this, but there just isn't. Tablet computing is completely different than PC/Mac computing and doesn't need to "crush" anything other than other tablet rivals in the market.

As far as the topic at hand, I've had such a roller coaster ride with iPad battery life. Some versions of iOS/iPadOS have just not been battery efficient for me, and it doesn't seem to discriminate between models or how new the iPad is. The only thing I was ever able to do when my iPads drained heavily in standby was turn wifi off in Settings when not in use, which tells me that iCloud sync or something similar has probably been the culprit in the past. Then a dot release or two later, it would stop and I could stop worrying about it until it broke again.

My current iPad is the mini 6 w cellular on the latest iPadOS release. Battery life in real world use is pretty normal compared to other iPads I've owned, but so far, it does NOT drain excessively over night. Meaning I can actually leave it on my desk for days at a time in standby and still know it will have juice when I pick it up to do something. Even with the Pencil attached and the 5G radio always on.

Yesterday was actually about the hardest I've hit it--I used it to host a 45 minute Webex meeting over 5G while also taking notes in OneNote. It went from 90%-60% for that task. But Webex and OneNote are both battery hogs on most systems, and I'm assuming that's the case on my iPad as well.

In your case perhaps it’s due to cellular signal quality. My Wi-Fi iPad is pretty consistent around 12 hours with light usage.

 

[spiderman0616]

In your case perhaps it’s due to cellular signal quality. My Wi-Fi iPad is pretty consistent around 12 hours with light usage.

I still think it’s iPadOS, or at least past versions of it. My cellular mini 6 is only the 2nd cellular model I’ve ever had, but does not drain excessively when sleeping, so I’m a happy camper.

 

[jagolden]

Brightness is the main battery hog, and apparently due to performance, the M1 on high brightness and something heavier is a little worse that the latest (for iPad) A12X chip. Due to efficiency, it’s a beast with light use. In my experience, iPads are good. That said, my iOS devices ranked, with very low brightness and light usage, on Wi-Fi, all screen-on time (some of these I still have, some I don’t):

iPad Air 5, iPadOS 15.6: 23 hours (I am astonished)
iPad 4, iOS 6: 16 hours
iPhone Xʀ, iOS 12.3.1: 15-16 hours
iPad 4, iOS 7 (second and last time I willingly updated an iOS device): 14 hours
9.7-inch iPad Pro, iOS 9.3.4: 14 hours
iPhone 7+, iOS 10.3.1: 12 hours
9.7-inch iPad Pro, iOS 12.4.1 (previously on iOS 9.3.4, forcibly updated by Apple): 9-10 hours at best, maybe 8.
iPhone 6s, iOS 9.3.3, iOS 10.0: 7.5-8.5 hours
iPhone 5s, iOS 8.2: 7 hours
iPhone 5c, iOS 10.3.3: 4 hours, maybe 5? Not exactly sure, sorry.
iPhone 6s, iOS 13.4 (previously on iOS 9.3.3, forcibly updated by Apple): 3 hours

Interesting that you bring up screen brightness. It generally is a huge battery hog. So that has always made me wonder why so many people run their decices at almost, or full, brightness. Are they trying to ruin their eyes or give themselves a headache?
IMHO, 35-40% should be sufficient for daily use.

 

[sparksd]

Interesting that you bring up screen brightness. It generally is a huge battery hog. So that has always made me wonder why so many people run their decices at almost, or full, brightness. Are they trying to ruin their eyes or give themselves a headache?
IMHO, 35-40% should be sufficient for daily use.

Neither. I just like a bright screen. No eye problems as I close in on 70 and I just recharge as necessary.

 

[FeliApple]

Interesting that you bring up screen brightness. It generally is a huge battery hog. So that has always made me wonder why so many people run their decices at almost, or full, brightness. Are they trying to ruin their eyes or give themselves a headache?
IMHO, 35-40% should be sufficient for daily use.

I hinted at it, but I’d rank brightness (and overall settings) second on “items that impact battery life most severely”. I’d rank iOS updates first. You can control settings. You can control Mail fetch. You can control brightness. Once you update, you can’t control iOS versions anymore, and they destroy battery life more than anything.

About brightness: I reckon they think it’s enough, and they like a bright screen. If you don’t care that at the end of the day you have 2 hours of screen-on time and your battery is 50%, or you don’t care if you have to recharge it in the middle of the day (like it used to happen with older devices. Run an iPhone 6s - even on iOS 9/10 - at full brightness with moderate to heavy all-around use, and regardless of the OS’ efficiency it’s not lasting you a full day), or, like in most cases, if it’s enough for you, then if you like a bright screen as long as you don’t care about raw numbers, you’re fine running it at full brightness. It will last you around a third of what it lasts me, but if you don’t care, it’s okay.

Some family members do that. I tested an iPhone 8 and got around 4 hours of screen-on time with my usage (low brightness) on 50% remaining. My family member uses it with high brightness, outdoors or indoors, doesn’t matter, and they get half that at best. It’s enough for them, so they don’t care.

 

[FeliApple]

Neither. I just like a bright screen. No eye problems as I close in on 70 and I just recharge as necessary.

So, this, with fewer words than me. You like a bright screen, battery is enough for you, no problem.

 

[sparksd]

So, this, with fewer words than me. You like a bright screen, battery is enough for you, no problem.

Precisely. M1 12.9, Mini 6, 12 Pro Max (soon to be 14 PM).

 

[FeliApple]

Precisely. M1 12.9, Mini 6, 12 Pro Max (soon to be 14 PM).

It also helps that you have new devices with large batteries. Were I to try that on one of my favourite iOS devices ever (my iPhone 6s on iOS 10) and it would be gone by early afternoon, even with fairly light use.

Battery life is astonishing with light use even after 6 years (around 7.5 hours of screen-on time on Wi-Fi, 6 on LTE with half brightness), but it can’t do magic at full brightness and moderate use.

 

[OlSuttree]

Anyone remember Steve's whole Post-PC ideology for the iPad? iPads were certainly more modern than Intel Macs back then, but post-PCing iPads now with the current M-based Macs...

 

[ackmondual]

I get excellent battery with my iPad Pro 11 inch 2020.

Can you provide some metrics? When I was playing an hour or 2 of gaming a day back when I was on Apple Arcade, I could easily go a day without charging (although, that's it). What constitutes "excellent" for you, given some of the things you do?

 

[Apple_Robert]

Can you provide some metrics? When I was playing an hour or 2 of gaming a day back when I was on Apple Arcade, I could easily go a day without charging (although, that's it). What constitutes "excellent" for you, given some of the things you do?Using Safari, Numbers, watching videos, zoom meetings twice a week, and other incidental apps etc. My iPad has been able to last the entire day. I haven't had a need to charge before the day is over