Has anybody else with an iPhone 16 Pro noticed that battery life is terrible since updating to iOS 26. The battery drains so fast now. I updated my iPhone 16 Pro to iOS 26 on the first day that the software was available. So it's been well over a week. This can't be the new normal in terms of battery life. I just got this phone a year ago and it's ridiculous for Apple to expect people to buy an iPhone 17 Pro in order to get reasonable battery life now. Can we expect the battery drain to be fixed in subsequent iOS 26 updates?
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iPhone 16 Pro Battery Life Now TERRIBLE with iOS 26
- Thread starter DocBrownMacMan
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Just curious to know if you have done a restart since the phone had time to index? Have you tried to narrow it down to maybe a specific app. I was running the latest 26 on my iPhone 16 Pro before I upgraded and yes the battery drained a little more then ios 18, but it wasn't astronomical more. Maybe try and iCloud back up and restore worst case?
What does "so fast" mean? I'm still able to make it through a day with iOS 26.
How bad is it? Share a screenshot. Brightness? Settings? Mail push? Cellular or Wi-Fi? Apps used? Any information?
I'm also suddenly seeing a significantly faster battery drain on my iPhone 16 Pro Max...
It's interesting because it's the END of the summer, so usually less sun = lower screen brightness = LESS battery drain.
However, since the iOS 26 update i'm now seeing the opposite: a faster battery drain...
It's interesting because it's the END of the summer, so usually less sun = lower screen brightness = LESS battery drain.
However, since the iOS 26 update i'm now seeing the opposite: a faster battery drain...
Ya, I've noticed a quicker drain on my iPhone 16 Pro Max with iOS 26 but it was expected since it's a first release. Hoping 26.1 and onward improves battery.
16 Pro bought last October (2024) and definitely more battery drain on 26. I installed 26 on release day so it definitely has had its time to settle over a week now…. My norm at the end of a day in 18 was between 30/40% (7am-10pm) now I’m 15/20ish % but sometimes need to charge around 5-6pm because I’ve hit the red zone (20) for battery 🪫 and still use my phone till 930/10pm. So def not happy about that…
Battery is better with iOS 26 on 16 Pro and other iPhones in my Family here.
Maybe some wrong Setting?
Maybe some wrong Setting?
I have my new 17PM set to charge to 80%. I noticed that when it was calibrating and it charged to 100%, it seems like hours before it decreased from 100%. Loving my new phone.
Same for me and I have the 16 Pro Max. On iOS 18 i could be on my mail all day, phone calls, texts,shooting videos, taking pics, youtube, IG, safari all in my workflow and I’d be at 50% at 5pm. Now on 26 I’m at 20% at 5pm everyday even if I have lighter usage. Shouldn’t have to disable liquid glass transparency or reduce motion in order to get better battery life, the whole point of the new os is how it looks. 2 weeks ago the 16 Pro Max was the longest battery life ever in an iPhone and now it seems like a brick in the shadows of the 17PM. Shouldn’t be this way, Apple had to know 26 would ruin the battery life on previous models.
Haven't read the whole thread but have you tried to disable liquid glass and reduce motion? And if so, did it have a positive effect on battery life?
I haven't updated my daily driver yet (16 pro) but loads of other devices. But I can't really draw any conclusions from my other devices since I don't use them as much as my private phone (that's on 18.7).
Where are you located in the world? You using mmWave? Lots of cellular?
I can only assume that this battery drain is a bug that is going to be corrected in later updates.
I legit came to the macrumours forums, something i rarely do, to see if others were talking about this.
Battery on my 16 Pro was solid on iOS 18. Easily finished even a heavy day well into the double digits. But since upgrading to iOS 26, im needing a top up charge before dinner. It’s WAY worse.
Kinda relieved it’s not just me, but also worried that this is the new norm.
Yes ive rebooted since everything has indexed.
Battery on my 16 Pro was solid on iOS 18. Easily finished even a heavy day well into the double digits. But since upgrading to iOS 26, im needing a top up charge before dinner. It’s WAY worse.
Kinda relieved it’s not just me, but also worried that this is the new norm.
Yes ive rebooted since everything has indexed.
It's not the new norm.
There is loads of different types of bugs that can cause batterydrain and it will be fixed.
I haven't noticed much of a change, for better or worse, on my 16 Pro.
Mine is pretty bad ever since upgrade to 26. It's pretty shocking how bad TBH.
You’re not alone. It’s pretty pathetic that Apple would subject its customers to a malfunctioning software and just expect us to wait for a future update to resolve it. Something is going on here. A $1,600 phone should perform adequately and be reliable for more that 1 year. The press release about iOS 26 “temporarily” causing battery drain feels like a cover up.
My 16PM hasn't changed at all. What kind of power settings do you have? What are you doing with your phone?
Mine is the regular Pro. I just have it charging to 95%. So optimised charging is off as is adaptive charging. My conclusion was if the phone is regularly checking "adaptive charging"... it's going to be using battery.
I'm a boring user - I sit at home always connected to WiFi and i do nothing but listen to Podcasts or read emails, maps for school runs. Nothing that would drain or strain the battery.
I find it more difficult with OS 26 to see what's draining battery more than the last 24 hours—culprit apps. It shows the app that's obvious as you've been using it, but it feels less transparent.
i wish there was a way to see what apps are killing it in background processes etc.
i wish there was a way to see what apps are killing it in background processes etc.
I have been on the public betas on my 16 Pro since July and it was never an issue until I installed the final release of ios26. Now it runs hot and I have to be careful in order to get a full day's worth of battery life. I am going to install the 26.1 public beta and see if that makes a difference.