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Apple's 80% Charging Limit for iPhone: How Much Did It Help After a Year?
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If that battery charge limit function is available on the iPhone 16 Plus, I'll probably set the limited at 85% under iOS 18.x. Hopefully, that means over 92% after one year of use. Especially since the iPhone 16 Plus has a 4,674 mAh battery, which means way less charging needed daily.
Exactly, people don’t realize that the 80% is about maintaining that as much as you can as that’s the optimal battery condition. I keep mine plugged in as much as possible and like you, after a year I’m still at 100%.
Much of this is not only battery lottery but how the cycles are accrued. For example:
- you keep the phone on the dashboard in hot climates
- you use the phone outside at max brightness with a poor cell signal in hot climates
- Is your phone constantly sitting at 100% or always on the charger
- etc
Guys my 16 Pro is on its way and it will be my first iPhone ever.
So do you recommend 80% optimization?
Clearly I will adapt it to my use.
Is “slow” charging also recommended, perhaps at night?
I was thinking of waiting for magsafe 3-in-1 stations with 25w charging, but being at night most of the time actually fast charging is of little use to me, and if that can increase battery longevity then I can avoid waiting.
So do you recommend 80% optimization?
Clearly I will adapt it to my use.
Is “slow” charging also recommended, perhaps at night?
I was thinking of waiting for magsafe 3-in-1 stations with 25w charging, but being at night most of the time actually fast charging is of little use to me, and if that can increase battery longevity then I can avoid waiting.
It looks like the 80% charging limit does have a significant impact on battery life (statistically speaking) - https://9to5mac.com/2024/10/04/does-limiting-iphone-charging-to-80-extend-battery-life/
From this article:
From this article:
YES - absolutely 👍
YES - if you do both - 80% & slow over night - your battery will last much longer it's 100% Capacity
89% after 344 cycles. I do not use the 80% limit and the phone lives on a wireless charger most of the day and night. The phone is basically in use as a media player in my semi truck 10-12 hours a day so it leads a very hard life. I love Magsafe and rarely use a cord. The whole thing is nothing more than a feel good measure brought on by a lawsuit. Batteries are cheap and fact is most people don’t keep their phone long enough to ever replace it. There might be a marginal gain in battery longevity using the feature but it’s small and not worth the aggravation of lower battery life that one day you need it.
Hey guys I just sent feedback to Apple asking them to add in a battery estimate feature into the Apple Watch. This would learn the usage patterns of the user and give a battery life estimate in hours both at current charge level and also an estimate at 100% charge. This is similar to apps like "Battery Day" and "Battery Grapher" and also what Garmin offers. The limitation on those apps that I have discovered (as cool and useful as they are) is that they don't update the battery life estimates when you switch to low power mode. I often use low power mode when I go away on a hike for a couple of days or if I go away travelling etc. I want the estimate to update to reflect my usage when in low power mode and a separate estimate/data set when in full power mode. The data needs to be separated because if it learns my usage while in low power mode then it will give an unrealistic estimate when I am in full power mode and vice versa.
If you don't know what I mean then imagine on your watch face, instead of showing your battery percentage complication, you could have a complication that shows expected run time which is the estimate of how many hours your watch has until dead. This number is based on learned usage patterns so it is quite accurate because it knows that in the afternoon (after work/school) you are more likely to use more battery because of GPS activities or around midday you tend to receive phone calls or whatever your specific usage patterns are. So it will give you a live estimate of the number of hours of battery life you have left and show it on the screen of your watch as a complication. This estimate will also change if you put your watch into low power mode or if you changed settings like making your screen dimmer or turning off blood oxygen monitoring etc. Garmin does exactly this same thing in their watches and it's super helpful to be able to see how many hours/days of battery you have left and tweak settings to squeeze out more life if you don't need specific features.
If everyone sends feedback to Apple asking for this then it is much more likely to happen. Apple's feedback tool generally works on the number of reports or requests that they receive for that topic/item so the more people that write in asking for it, the more chance we have of getting this tool. Power by numbers!!
Post your feedback here or in the Beta Software Program Feedback App (if you are part of the beta program).
If you don't know what I mean then imagine on your watch face, instead of showing your battery percentage complication, you could have a complication that shows expected run time which is the estimate of how many hours your watch has until dead. This number is based on learned usage patterns so it is quite accurate because it knows that in the afternoon (after work/school) you are more likely to use more battery because of GPS activities or around midday you tend to receive phone calls or whatever your specific usage patterns are. So it will give you a live estimate of the number of hours of battery life you have left and show it on the screen of your watch as a complication. This estimate will also change if you put your watch into low power mode or if you changed settings like making your screen dimmer or turning off blood oxygen monitoring etc. Garmin does exactly this same thing in their watches and it's super helpful to be able to see how many hours/days of battery you have left and tweak settings to squeeze out more life if you don't need specific features.
If everyone sends feedback to Apple asking for this then it is much more likely to happen. Apple's feedback tool generally works on the number of reports or requests that they receive for that topic/item so the more people that write in asking for it, the more chance we have of getting this tool. Power by numbers!!
Post your feedback here or in the Beta Software Program Feedback App (if you are part of the beta program).
Feedback - Watch
Apple wants to hear from you. Send us your comments and feedback about Apple Watch.
www.apple.com
checked again, and now its reporting 90% @ 323 cycles. seems low for having the 80% limit on, almost never using fast charging, and almost never leaving it on overnight. I do have it in my pocket a lot so maybe it is more the heat and lottery than anything.
Okay, so this could just be coincidence, but I have been using optimised charging - for the first time - for 5 nights whilst travelling and my stats have deteriorated to:
98% capacity after 283 cycles.
(Admittedly it could be that it was going to happen anyway; or that charging to 100% triggered a recalibration.)
15 Pro Max: 87% health, 442 cycles
1st use November 2023
Never used any limiting battery features, charge as I need, battery life has declined a lot in the last couple weeks since iOS 18. I use about 10 hours screen on time / 24 hours, and use about 150% battery on average per day.
I'm going to pay for a battery replacement.
1st use November 2023
Never used any limiting battery features, charge as I need, battery life has declined a lot in the last couple weeks since iOS 18. I use about 10 hours screen on time / 24 hours, and use about 150% battery on average per day.
I'm going to pay for a battery replacement.
I've always charged overnight to 100 percent. After three years of use, my second generation SE was at 84 percent capacity when I traded it in.
On my new 16, I used the optimized option. I work from home, so I don't use my phone a ton; I was basically charging every other night and even then I'm not sure I ever dropped below 70 percent. When I checked the battery the other day, it recommended I use the 80 percent limit. So I've now set both my iPhone 16 and my iPad mini 7 to the 80 percent limit.
Assuming the sweet spot is to keep your battery between 20 and 80 percent charged, my thinking is this: If you use less than 60 percent of the the charge in a typical day, it's probably better to use the 80 percent limit. That will keep you in the sweet spot. If you use more than 60 percent charge in a typical day, it's probably better to use the optimized option.
On my new 16, I used the optimized option. I work from home, so I don't use my phone a ton; I was basically charging every other night and even then I'm not sure I ever dropped below 70 percent. When I checked the battery the other day, it recommended I use the 80 percent limit. So I've now set both my iPhone 16 and my iPad mini 7 to the 80 percent limit.
Assuming the sweet spot is to keep your battery between 20 and 80 percent charged, my thinking is this: If you use less than 60 percent of the the charge in a typical day, it's probably better to use the 80 percent limit. That will keep you in the sweet spot. If you use more than 60 percent charge in a typical day, it's probably better to use the optimized option.
Throwing this in here for anyone who wants it:
iPhone 15 Pro Max, first use in November 2023. Optimized charging to 100% every night. Typically use between 50-60% battery each day -- only turn on 80-90% max charging if I'm using the GPS on a long road trip or if I'm using SiriusXM while on a full-day photography shoot (which can drain battery).
251 cycles, 100% battery health.
iPhone 15 Pro Max, first use in November 2023. Optimized charging to 100% every night. Typically use between 50-60% battery each day -- only turn on 80-90% max charging if I'm using the GPS on a long road trip or if I'm using SiriusXM while on a full-day photography shoot (which can drain battery).
251 cycles, 100% battery health.
Here I am 3 months later, up to 249 cycles and the phone says 96%. iMazing is a bit nicer, saying 3189 mAh (98.0%).
Thank you, iOS 18.1 and 18.2
0 or 1 depending on initial partial charge and if it was counted.,
I'm not sure I understand the logic of all this. Apple says that if your battery health goes below 80% before the warranty expires, you get a new battery. Obviously this 80% number is a critical fail point. Now some people are purposely limiting themselves to this "fail" point in order to avoid it happening sometime in the future? Makes no sense to me.
Not when AppleCare is now a subscription option, and therefore you may hang onto your device long enough to take advantage of that. There are rare times when you’d have a faulty battery too, to which would be covered by Apple.
comparison is pointless without controlled conditions. difference in usage pattern and heat exposure will have massive impact.