Other We should petition Apple to have a setting option to not charge to 100%

[Obioban]

Charging to 100% is hard on batteries-- it results in faster rates of wear, so you get less cycles out of them. Perhaps relevant to Apple, this is bad for the environment.

Apple knows this-- the optimize charging option delays charging from 80% to 100% to minimize the time the phone spends at 100%, to extend battery longevity.

Modern iPhone batteries, especially in the large phones, are needlessly large. I rarely get under 50% over the course of a day, and I use the phone a fair bit.

I'd very much like an option to never charge the phone beyond 80-90%. I don't need the extra capacity, so I'd effectively be getting more cycles for free. Better for Apple (warranty claims), better for me (less battery replacements), better for the planet.

 

[Cruncher]

It may come with the iPhone 15 Series: https://9to5mac.com/2023/09/12/iphone-15-limit-battery-charge/

We will see it when the reviews are up next Tuesday or Wednesday.

 

[LiemTa]

There isn't even a way to do this on Mac. There's 3rd party software but they're rife with edge cases and conditions under which the program isn't allowed by the OS to run, making them mostly useless

 

[flashflooder]

this is akin to putting a bra on the front of your car, or a cover on your new couch.
Yes, it'll stay nice for longer... but you never get to actually use it as intended.

Let's say charging to only 85% works and keeps your battery healthy longer... What you are preventing is actually the loss of overall battery capacity in the long term. So by only using 85% of your battery capacity, you retain the ability to use 100% of your battery for longer. I don't get the point, especially on a device that is essentially disposable these days.

 

[contacos]

I thought there was a shortcut to make it stop charging at x%. Also isn't that what optimized charging is for?

 

[Obioban]

I thought there was a shortcut to make it stop charging at x%. Also isn't that what optimized charging is for?

Optimize charging waits till right before it thinks you'll wake up to go to 100%, to minimize time spent at 100%.

this is akin to putting a bra on the front of your car, or a cover on your new couch.
Yes, it'll stay nice for longer... but you never get to actually use it as intended.

Let's say charging to only 85% works and keeps your battery healthy longer... What you are preventing is actually the loss of overall battery capacity in the long term. So by only using 85% of your battery capacity, you retain the ability to use 100% of your battery for longer. I don't get the point, especially on a device that is essentially disposable these days.

The average iPhone life is getting longer, not shorter, and they're more repairable than ever. Not sure what you mean by "these days".

What you'd gain is the ability to use the same battery pack for longer. It would take longer to degrade. When it degrades enough that 85% charge is no longer sufficient at your usage cycle, you could allow it to charge to 100%.

And, I'm not saying make it the default-- just a toggle in settings, battery.

 

[Obioban]

It may come with the iPhone 15 Series: https://9to5mac.com/2023/09/12/iphone-15-limit-battery-charge/

We will see it when the reviews are up next Tuesday or Wednesday.

A) that looks like exactly what I want!
B) how is that not an iOS feature for all iPhones...
C) new request: also on my laptop, please.

 

[Jackbequickly]

I remember when I suggested this over a year ago, everyone laughed and said it was stupid. My Ultra does this to conserve the battery, my iPhone should too!

 

[Bobajobbob]

I imagine Apple builds some kind of a buffer in to their battery use anyway. Is 100% actually 100% charged or is it really only 90% of battery potential capacity?

 

[Steve121178]

iOS already does "Optimised Battery Charging". No need for any more than that. Just use it & charge as you see fit.

I don't understand all this fuss about charging all the time. If there's a genuine fault with your battery then Apple or your Apple Care policy will take care of that if it meets the requirements for a free swap. As long as you don't wireless charge then you are good. And if you do and swap your phone every year or two then you'll be fine.

 

[flashflooder]

Optimize charging waits till right before it thinks you'll wake up to go to 100%, to minimize time spent at 100%.



The average iPhone life is getting longer, not shorter, and they're more repairable than ever. Not sure what you mean by "these days".

What you'd gain is the ability to use the same battery pack for longer. It would take longer to degrade. When it degrades enough that 85% charge is no longer sufficient at your usage cycle, you could allow it to charge to 100%.

And, I'm not saying make it the default-- just a toggle in settings, battery.

I get what you're saying... but what's the point of preserving the phone's battery capacity if you're never even using said capacity?

 

[flashflooder]

I imagine Apple builds some kind of a buffer in to their battery use anyway. Is 100% actually 100% charged or is it really only 90% of battery potential capacity?

I would wager there's some of this going on too

 

[cateye]

As certain as the sun rising and setting: The uniquely MacRumors obsession about battery cycles, capacity, and charging limits. I swear to god I don't know how some of you manage to use your devices at all, what with that severe anxiety of needing to know the exact state of your battery at all times.

Just use the device and stop worrying so much about the battery. It'll manage itself. And beyond that: Batteries are consumable. Realistically, there's little you can do to change the chemistry/crystallization curve of Li-ion, short of not leaving the phone in a scorching hot car all day. At some point, the battery will die. The end. Amen.

 

[LiemTa]

this is akin to putting a bra on the front of your car, or a cover on your new couch.
Yes, it'll stay nice for longer... but you never get to actually use it as intended.

Let's say charging to only 85% works and keeps your battery healthy longer... What you are preventing is actually the loss of overall battery capacity in the long term. So by only using 85% of your battery capacity, you retain the ability to use 100% of your battery for longer. I don't get the point, especially on a device that is essentially disposable these days.

This makes sense, but it also makes sense to be able to save the health of the battery for days you know you'll need it. The current situation we're forced to live with is the battery charging to 100% all the time

 

[Quarric]

I have an auto shutoff cable, alongside optimised charging that’s as much battery babysitting as I’m doing. When the battery doesn’t perform as well as I like it’ll be replaced. I went through a period of keeping a check on the battery health percentage, then I got my 13pros replaced with a 3rd party one, and because it’s not a certified Apple one, it can’t/won’t provide that in settings now, it’s actually quite freeing. It’s currently at 59% charged after 7h 50 mins screen on, and 2h 20 mins screen off usage, good enough for me.

 

[JPack]

I imagine Apple builds some kind of a buffer in to their battery use anyway. Is 100% actually 100% charged or is it really only 90% of battery potential capacity?

Apple doesn’t and that’s why the battery is only good for 500 cycles.

Vehicle Li-ion batteries do have a buffer that’s why is they can do 3,000 to 10,000 cycles.

 

[JPack]

this is akin to putting a bra on the front of your car, or a cover on your new couch.
Yes, it'll stay nice for longer... but you never get to actually use it as intended.

Let's say charging to only 85% works and keeps your battery healthy longer... What you are preventing is actually the loss of overall battery capacity in the long term. So by only using 85% of your battery capacity, you retain the ability to use 100% of your battery for longer. I don't get the point, especially on a device that is essentially disposable these days.

I didn’t know a $1,200 device was considered disposable. I guess nobody trades in their iPhone and nobody buys previously owned iPhones.

The irony of your statement is that literally all EVs have a feature that limits max charge capacity and manufacturers strongly recommend it. Why do you think Tesla suggests their 80/20 rule?

 

[Wokis]

What constitutes as 100% is arbitrary anyway. Starting to introduce such functions implies that this is something that the user should be concerned about. It would be bad product design especially for a lifestyle-centric company like Apple.

 

[JPack]

It may come with the iPhone 15 Series: https://9to5mac.com/2023/09/12/iphone-15-limit-battery-charge/

We will see it when the reviews are up next Tuesday or Wednesday.

Some people denied battery degradation was a thing until Apple first put it into iPads for iOS 11.3.

Some still denied it was a thing when Apple added it to iPhones in iOS 12.

We have now charge optimization and soon charge limits. Some people will still deny it ten years from today.

 

[flashflooder]

I didn’t know a $1,200 device was considered disposable. I guess nobody trades in their iPhone and nobody buys previously owned iPhones.

The irony of your statement is that literally all EVs have a feature that limits max charge capacity and manufacturers strongly recommend it. Why do you think Tesla suggests their 80/20 rule?

That's the whole point of my comment about phones being disposable. Most people keep a car closer to a decade, while I don't think a lot of people are still out there rolling with iPhone 6 / 6S's. So it makes sense to "baby" a car battery because it costs more and the expected lifetime is much longer.

I say "disposable" because I'm trading in a 3 year old device next week and getting 95% of my investment back.... I don't care what condition the battery is in, and neither does the party I'm trading it back to.

Also, most people's cars sit for the majority of their service life, so sitting around on a 100% battery is obviously no bueno. Most people take their phone off the charger and immediately start using it, so it doesn't sit at 100% for that long.

I get that they both have batteries, but the care regimen is going to be very different.

 

[dwaltwhit]

I think this would be a nice option within the battery optimization setting. I have had my 14 pro for a year and have used the whole battery maybe a dozen times.

I think many will not opt for it because of the very real battery anxiety people get if their phone is "dying"

 

[eyoungren]

Charging to 100% is hard on batteries-- it results in faster rates of wear, so you get less cycles out of them. Perhaps relevant to Apple, this is bad for the environment.

Apple knows this-- the optimize charging option delays charging from 80% to 100% to minimize the time the phone spends at 100%, to extend battery longevity.

Modern iPhone batteries, especially in the large phones, are needlessly large. I rarely get under 50% over the course of a day, and I use the phone a fair bit.

I'd very much like an option to never charge the phone beyond 80-90%. I don't need the extra capacity, so I'd effectively be getting more cycles for free. Better for Apple (warranty claims), better for me (less battery replacements), better for the planet.

Currently my primary phone is an 11 Pro Max. I plug it in at night and go to sleep. Just like every smartphone I've had since 2009. I won't argue with you over an option for this, but I will tell you it's an option I won't use.

As I've said in another thread, adding battery anxiety and OCD to all the other anxieties I already have is not anything I want to do. So, I forget about this, don't care and certainly will never use any option for that if it's made available to me.

I think there's a whole lot of worrying about this on MR for devices that will either be traded in or sold in a year or two, handed down or will have their batteries replaced at some point.

I don't get the anxiety over it.

Optimize charging waits till right before it thinks you'll wake up to go to 100%, to minimize time spent at 100%.

I get up at some point between 2am and 4am. Since Apple introduced this, it's been pretty good at predicting when I'm going to get up. Doesn't change. For me anyway.

Finally - I have an iPhone 6s Plus as a secondary phone. It was on iOS 9.0.1 from 2015 to 2020, so no optimized battery charging. It's been through two Phoenix summers in a car with no A/C. The battery hit 79% in November 2021.

That's six years of use. Six years of being plugged in at night and me never worrying about 80%. Six years of me never giving a flying f about battery!

Tell me why I should start having anxiety over this now?

 

[eyoungren]

That's the whole point of my comment about phones being disposable. Most people keep a car closer to a decade, while I don't think a lot of people are still out there rolling with iPhone 6 / 6S's. So it makes sense to "baby" a car battery because it costs more and the expected lifetime is much longer.

I say "disposable" because I'm trading in a 3 year old device next week and getting 95% of my investment back.... I don't care what condition the battery is in, and neither does the party I'm trading it back to.

Also, most people's cars sit for the majority of their service life, so sitting around on a 100% battery is obviously no bueno. Most people take their phone off the charger and immediately start using it, so it doesn't sit at 100% for that long.

I get that they both have batteries, but the care regimen is going to be very different.

My only two comments here…I live in Phoenix, so no matter how much care you give a car battery about the most you can expect is 3 years of use.

Also…6 Plus on the left, 6s Plus on the right.

I'll spare everyone pics of all the other phones.

 

[Analog Kid]

I've always felt like this was a reverse Nigel argument...

"Why not just make 100 lower and make that the end of charge?"
"... This would go to 90."

 

[generdude]

Charging to 100% is hard on batteries-- it results in faster rates of wear, so you get less cycles out of them. Perhaps relevant to Apple, this is bad for the environment.

Apple knows this-- the optimize charging option delays charging from 80% to 100% to minimize the time the phone spends at 100%, to extend battery longevity.

Modern iPhone batteries, especially in the large phones, are needlessly large. I rarely get under 50% over the course of a day, and I use the phone a fair bit.

I'd very much like an option to never charge the phone beyond 80-90%. I don't need the extra capacity, so I'd effectively be getting more cycles for free. Better for Apple (warranty claims), better for me (less battery replacements), better for the planet.

There is a Shortcut to limit phone charge to 80% here: https://www.youtube.com/watchv=l1vdmzuFS7g&ab_channel=DanielAboutTech