I've never enabled the 80% charging limit on any Apple device. Why? Because my 2 XS Max phones still last all day today on their original batteries at 85%. My two 13 Pro Max phones still last all day on their original batteries at 85%. I leave my 13 Pro Max plugged in until I am ready to leave each day and then they are plugged in in the car. Occasionally one of them runs down to 10% or so and then I plug it in. The other rarely goes below 80%.
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Apple's 80% Charging Limit for iPhone: How Much Did It Help After a Year?
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Limiting it to 80% effectively limits your capacity to 80%. You are living with a poor battery in order to avoid living with a poor battery. It makes no sense.
I left mine uncapped and it’s 93% after 290 cycles
I left mine uncapped and it’s 93% after 290 cycles
For me 80% is more than enough (coming from a 14 Pro), now using the 16 Pro Max. It's the same with my Tesla. I charge my Tesla to 100% when I need.
This. No idea why someone voted thumbs down lol
I wish that detailed screen was available on my iPad. 
It runs out of battery overnight at least once a week after I fall asleep with it open on a video game or movie. So I'm not concerned with a precise measurement so much as seeing at a glance if treating it like this for a year and a half is killing it fast enough to worry about the battery before I'd retire it for obsolescence anyway. (It's an iPad 9, but I've only had it since February, 2023.)
Also, at least according to Tom's Guide (see sidebar in article), different batteries will have different actual battery capacities compared to rated capacities on the same model. Comparing against someone else's levels isn't super useful except in broad strokes, probably.
It runs out of battery overnight at least once a week after I fall asleep with it open on a video game or movie. So I'm not concerned with a precise measurement so much as seeing at a glance if treating it like this for a year and a half is killing it fast enough to worry about the battery before I'd retire it for obsolescence anyway. (It's an iPad 9, but I've only had it since February, 2023.)Also, at least according to Tom's Guide (see sidebar in article), different batteries will have different actual battery capacities compared to rated capacities on the same model. Comparing against someone else's levels isn't super useful except in broad strokes, probably.
Seems like this thread has discovered a strange new anxiety disorder.
I suspect the hotter phones are killing the battery. The 15 PM was the hottest phone during minimal tasks I have owned.
The 80% is useful but it is only part of the answer to keep battery health high.
I did many research to understand on academic and studies, tests, to determine what would be the "real" habits ti keep you battery healthy and I can now share my experience.
I could try to find the papers, and video related to this if you like, but for example Linus Tech Tips did one that summarize it a bit :
The first causes of battery aging are :
- Cycles
- Heat
Basically the more you use it the more it will age, it is immutable but you can highly mitigate it. I change iPhone every year, but after one year of usage my battery is still 100% of heat by following those guidelines:
- Do not charge higher than 80% : it is harder from your phone to "push" electrons in the battery as the battery fills up, and can lead to more damage over time
- Do not discharge under 20% : as you battery get empty draining higher current and power from it can cause damage on the Long term.
- Limit as much as possible the battery drain when you can : plug your phone while in a call, in the car, while browsing in the bed, when playing a game... it is not always possible or convenient, but when possible it will help limit the number of cycles.
- Avoid heating up your iPhone as much as possible, since iOS17 there are now safety where the battery stops charging when hot though.
The sweet spot is to keep your battery as much as possible between 60 and 80 % of charge : charge it once at 60 and limit the charge to 80%.
From time to time of course charge it to 100% when you leave for a long day without charging point or to recalibrate the battery (it is doing it automatically sometimes).
Since 5 years I am applying those guidelines, and I always end-up with 100% health after one year of usage, and with 200 - 300 cycles a year.
If you really care about keeping your battery healthy those habits are worth considering, otherwise just live your life and just do not bother, it will age anyway !
I did many research to understand on academic and studies, tests, to determine what would be the "real" habits ti keep you battery healthy and I can now share my experience.
I could try to find the papers, and video related to this if you like, but for example Linus Tech Tips did one that summarize it a bit :
The first causes of battery aging are :
- Cycles
- Heat
Basically the more you use it the more it will age, it is immutable but you can highly mitigate it. I change iPhone every year, but after one year of usage my battery is still 100% of heat by following those guidelines:
- Do not charge higher than 80% : it is harder from your phone to "push" electrons in the battery as the battery fills up, and can lead to more damage over time
- Do not discharge under 20% : as you battery get empty draining higher current and power from it can cause damage on the Long term.
- Limit as much as possible the battery drain when you can : plug your phone while in a call, in the car, while browsing in the bed, when playing a game... it is not always possible or convenient, but when possible it will help limit the number of cycles.
- Avoid heating up your iPhone as much as possible, since iOS17 there are now safety where the battery stops charging when hot though.
The sweet spot is to keep your battery as much as possible between 60 and 80 % of charge : charge it once at 60 and limit the charge to 80%.
From time to time of course charge it to 100% when you leave for a long day without charging point or to recalibrate the battery (it is doing it automatically sometimes).
Since 5 years I am applying those guidelines, and I always end-up with 100% health after one year of usage, and with 200 - 300 cycles a year.
If you really care about keeping your battery healthy those habits are worth considering, otherwise just live your life and just do not bother, it will age anyway !
Nope
interestingly enough my MiL lives in Florida and goes to the beach at least several times a week with her phone! I live in NYC haven’t been to the beach all summer ….and still her iPhone 15 is 98% opacity vs mine 92% (like I said earlier bought together same day)I am even more convinced now it’s all based on luck, lol
With the iPhone 15 models that came out last year, Apple added an opt-in battery setting that limits maximum charge to 80 percent. The idea is that never charging the iPhone above 80 percent will increase battery longevity, so I kept my iPhone at that 80 percent limit from September 2023 to now, with no cheating.
My iPhone 15 Pro Max battery level is currently at 94 percent with 299 cycles. For a lot of 2024, my battery level stayed above 97 percent, but it started dropping more rapidly over the last couple of months.
I left my iPhone at that 80 percent limit and at no point turned the setting off or tweaked it. There were some days when I ran out of battery because I was without a charger for most of the day, and there were other times that I had to bring a battery along to make sure I didn't run out of power. It wasn't always convenient to keep it at 80 percent, but there were days when it didn't have too much of an impact.
It was always a treat when the iPhone randomly decided to charge to 100 percent, which is something Apple has baked in to the 80 percent limit to ensure the battery level stays calibrated.
For the most part, I charged using USB-C rather than MagSafe, but there was some MagSafe charging mixed in. There was probably a 70/30 split between wired charging and MagSafe charging. I did often let my battery get quite low before charging, and it didn't sit on the charger for long periods of time too often. Most charging was done in a room at 72 degrees. I'm adding this context because temperature is a factor that can affect battery longevity, and wireless charging is warmer than wired charging.
You can compare your level battery to mine, but here are a couple other metrics from MacRumors staff that also have an iPhone 15 Pro Max and did not have the battery level limited.
I don't have a lot of data points for comparison, but it does seem that limiting the charge to 80 percent kept my maximum battery capacity higher than what my co-workers are seeing, but there isn't a major difference. I have four percent more battery at 28 more cycles, and I'm not sure suffering through an 80 percent battery limit for 12 months was ultimately worth it.
- Current capacity: 87%. Cycles: 329
- Current capacity: 90%. Cycles: 271
It's possible that the real gains from an 80 percent limit will come in two or three years rather than a single year, and I'll keep it limited to 80 percent to see the longer term impact.
I did set my iPhone 16 Pro Max to an 80 percent limit, but I don't know if I want to continue the test given the lackluster results I had from 2023 to 2024. Will the thermal changes in the iPhone 16 models make any difference? Maybe, maybe not. There's a 90 percent charge limit option too, and that might be more feasible than 80 percent for most people, especially those that have phones with smaller batteries.
Let me know your current battery capacity and cycle count in the comments below, and weigh in on whether you think Apple's limits are worthwhile.
Article Link: Apple's 80% Charging Limit for iPhone: How Much Did It Help After a Year?
Apple should increase battery capacity!
A well known deficit over many, many, too many years – just for getting iPhones 1 or 2 mm thinner (not worth it)
This is the typical Apple style to cope with reality: Just cover it with a "new feature" 👎
The same they didn't design the frame around the display with an overhang (protrusion) also at the back side (like every plastic cases do). No, Apple intends a "slim, elegant design" ... but this "beauty" is hidden, because everybody want to avoid a crash of glasses
The same manner when they didn't make a complete new keyboard design because of "Butterfly"-Gate (5 years along the wrong way, even it was easy to realize, that this "Butterfly" problem cannot be solved)
Easisest solution for me- 100% charge at home or over night. And I cap the capacity as soon as I leave the house to 80% so it's not constantly charging over Carplay. Simple.
With the iPhone 15 models that came out last year, Apple added an opt-in battery setting that limits maximum charge to 80 percent. The idea is that never charging the iPhone above 80 percent will increase battery longevity, so I kept my iPhone at that 80 percent limit from September 2023 to now, with no cheating.
My iPhone 15 Pro Max battery level is currently at 94 percent with 299 cycles. For a lot of 2024, my battery level stayed above 97 percent, but it started dropping more rapidly over the last couple of months.
I left my iPhone at that 80 percent limit and at no point turned the setting off or tweaked it. There were some days when I ran out of battery because I was without a charger for most of the day, and there were other times that I had to bring a battery along to make sure I didn't run out of power. It wasn't always convenient to keep it at 80 percent, but there were days when it didn't have too much of an impact.
It was always a treat when the iPhone randomly decided to charge to 100 percent, which is something Apple has baked in to the 80 percent limit to ensure the battery level stays calibrated.
For the most part, I charged using USB-C rather than MagSafe, but there was some MagSafe charging mixed in. There was probably a 70/30 split between wired charging and MagSafe charging. I did often let my battery get quite low before charging, and it didn't sit on the charger for long periods of time too often. Most charging was done in a room at 72 degrees. I'm adding this context because temperature is a factor that can affect battery longevity, and wireless charging is warmer than wired charging.
You can compare your level battery to mine, but here are a couple other metrics from MacRumors staff that also have an iPhone 15 Pro Max and did not have the battery level limited.
I don't have a lot of data points for comparison, but it does seem that limiting the charge to 80 percent kept my maximum battery capacity higher than what my co-workers are seeing, but there isn't a major difference. I have four percent more battery at 28 more cycles, and I'm not sure suffering through an 80 percent battery limit for 12 months was ultimately worth it.
- Current capacity: 87%. Cycles: 329
- Current capacity: 90%. Cycles: 271
It's possible that the real gains from an 80 percent limit will come in two or three years rather than a single year, and I'll keep it limited to 80 percent to see the longer term impact.
I did set my iPhone 16 Pro Max to an 80 percent limit, but I don't know if I want to continue the test given the lackluster results I had from 2023 to 2024. Will the thermal changes in the iPhone 16 models make any difference? Maybe, maybe not. There's a 90 percent charge limit option too, and that might be more feasible than 80 percent for most people, especially those that have phones with smaller batteries.
Let me know your current battery capacity and cycle count in the comments below, and weigh in on whether you think Apple's limits are worthwhile.
Article Link: Apple's 80% Charging Limit for iPhone: How Much Did It Help After a Year?
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I’m a battery/efficiency hobbyist and use an automated custom charge optimization (smartplug + shortcut automation), so just plug-in once/day and forget about it. Apple’s built-in charge optimizations are better than nothing, but are too dumbed down to capture the full benefits - I wouldn’t use them.
My iPhoneXR battery is performing as expected (averaging ~7hrsSoT/50%Batt per day, so ~1k cycles), and I’m planning on upgrading to an iPhone 17.5 or so, after Apple drops iOS support for the XR:
Will then move the XR to secondary use (motorcycle MP3 player) for another 6.5yrs, retiring my previous iPhone5 at 13yo. FWIW, HERE’s a recalibration/rundown test at 9.5yo, and it’s performing just fine, now at 11.5yo. (Note: my phones generally only see 100% for rundown tests and recalibrations.)
I have links to the best credible/corroborating battery research - they all say the same things. THIS is a favorite, also debunking the low SoC issue (my phones see less than 10% way more than over 90%).
My iPhoneXR battery is performing as expected (averaging ~7hrsSoT/50%Batt per day, so ~1k cycles), and I’m planning on upgrading to an iPhone 17.5 or so, after Apple drops iOS support for the XR:
Will then move the XR to secondary use (motorcycle MP3 player) for another 6.5yrs, retiring my previous iPhone5 at 13yo. FWIW, HERE’s a recalibration/rundown test at 9.5yo, and it’s performing just fine, now at 11.5yo. (Note: my phones generally only see 100% for rundown tests and recalibrations.)
I have links to the best credible/corroborating battery research - they all say the same things. THIS is a favorite, also debunking the low SoC issue (my phones see less than 10% way more than over 90%).
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I have a batch from Dec-23 and health is 98% with only 67 cycles, i feel like there is something wrong with it.
iPhone 15 Pro Max purchased in March 2024 (so 6 months old) - set to 80% limit within the first couple of days. (Only turned off twice to charge to 100% since on days I knew I'd need a longer runtime)
Cycle count 131
Maximum Capacity 99%
This is much better than the last few iPhones I've had (12 Pro - replaced battery after 3 years to go to another family member, XS - other issues meant I replaced it early, and probably the 6 that needed it's battery replaced before 2 years were up - but tracking battery Health was only through 3rd party tools, and I'm not sure I did it until I knew it was having problems)
I did purchase the Pro Max to get the better optical zoom, the larger screen for my aging eyes, and the bigger battery capacity so I could run it with the 80% limit set most of the time.
Cycle count 131
Maximum Capacity 99%
This is much better than the last few iPhones I've had (12 Pro - replaced battery after 3 years to go to another family member, XS - other issues meant I replaced it early, and probably the 6 that needed it's battery replaced before 2 years were up - but tracking battery Health was only through 3rd party tools, and I'm not sure I did it until I knew it was having problems)
I did purchase the Pro Max to get the better optical zoom, the larger screen for my aging eyes, and the bigger battery capacity so I could run it with the 80% limit set most of the time.
They always test the battery and the requirements for replacement under warranty are very high despite the phone not lasting through the day. At least in my experience.
Indeed. Heat and deep discharges have a catastrophic effect on battery life. Compared to this, the benefits of the 80% limit is minimal for a device which is not plugged in all the time.
Yeah that makes sense. Mine gets hot frequently. I don't think I've ever had an iPhone that gets as hot as frequently as this one.
But if your phone hits under 80% capacity it automatically triggers a service message. If you're having drain issues without low capacity then that could very well be an entirely different issue.
In Spain, the law that grants a three-year warranty on consumer goods, including electronics like an iPhone, is based on **Royal Legislative Decree 1/2007, of 16 November**, which approves the revised text of the **General Law for the Defence of Consumers and Users** and other complementary laws.
Under this law, the warranty period for consumer goods was extended to three years as of January 1, 2022. This means that during this period, the seller is responsible for any non-conformity that arises, including significant battery degradation.
Specifically, if the battery of an iPhone degrades below 80% capacity within this three-year warranty period, it would be considered a non-conformity issue. Apple would be obliged to replace the battery or, if necessary, replace the device, under this law.
Here is the relevant part of the law:
- **Article 120**: This article addresses the seller's liability for any non-conformity that exists at the time of delivery of the goods and manifests within the three-year warranty period.
- **Article 118**: It specifies that the seller must repair or replace the product when a non-conformity is present, at no cost to the consumer.
For more detailed information, you can refer to **Real Decreto Legislativo 1/2007**, particularly **Articles 118 to 122**, which outline the warranty obligations in Spain.