Apple's 80% Charging Limit for iPhone: How Much Did It Help After a Year?

[Graphikos]

I still don’t get it. Why limit yourself to a phone with 80% battery capacity now just to avoid having a phone with 80% battery capacity in 2-3 years?

Just to give you the option to do it, if nothing else. There are probably far too many variables to really know if it makes much of a difference. I'd guess it's more about cycles than anything. If you were a heavy battery user and charged a lot, it probably would help to limit it. Then again, limiting it might mean you charge more often. 🙃

I set my new 16 Pro Max to 80%. I'm new to the Max and figured I could do without the top 20% with the larger battery. But I think I'll just let it be and not worry about it. I do, however, only charge our EV vehicle to 80% unless we foresee needing the extra range. Granted, a degraded EV battery is a lot more expensive to replace.

 

[@Brett]

iPhone 15 Pro Max 236 Charge Cycles 98% battery. I do not charge a lot perhaps every second day. Not a heavy phone user.

 

[trip1ex]

nice test! thanks. my informal test with a 13 where I am charging to about 80 all the time while the wife charges to 100 showed I'm 2% ahead after 2 years.

 

[DMG35]

We don't use 100% of the battery every day.

We have chargers in the office and power banks should the need arise.

The author specially said his battery went dead on him some days and he didn’t have a charger with him. So again, not much of a point to it if you are walking around with a dead phone.

 

[BeatCrazy]

I still don’t get it. Why limit yourself to a phone with 80% battery capacity now just to avoid having a phone with 80% battery capacity in 2-3 years?

In my experience, once devices start to get to <85% battery health, the overall stability and performance just tanks. Crashes, extremely fast draining, etc.

Better to keep that health high so the battery performs like you'd expect... it's not just actual runtime you're trying to achieve with limiting to 80%.

 

[RoomNumber237]

Got the iPhone 15 Pro about a month after launch last year and started using the 80% charging limit about a month later. Super impressed to still have 98% max capacity after 255 cycles.

 

[JohnC1959]

I still don’t get it. Why limit yourself to a phone with 80% battery capacity now just to avoid having a phone with 80% battery capacity in 2-3 years?

If I know I typically don't use more than about 60% of my battery then why not try to help save the battery. I can always either top it off or turn off this setting if I start having higher use days without a charger.

 

[scannypack]

15 Pro using 80% limit since day 1 (first use November 2023).

Health: Normal
Maximum capacity: 100%
Cycle count: 240

Mostly MagSafe and Qi charging. I work from home and have a MagSafe puck at my desk, and an old Qi pad at my bedside table. So, my device is sitting on a charger much of the day and all night. Sometimes my office would get to 83 degrees on a hot summer day with my phone on the MagSafe charger.

I rarely let my device dip below 50%. If I do, I often go in low-power mode or charge it up with an external battery pack.

I use always-on display, but not the wallpaper (just a black screen with the date and time and widgets).

The 80% limit is very easy for me b/c of wfh and almost always on WiFi, etc. It's not a burden. If you find it taxing or difficult to keep up with, probably do not use the 80% limit.

 

[uther]

100% after almost 200 cycles.

Have almost always had it set to the 80% limit, almost always charge with low wattage chargers overnight, MagSafe or USB-C. If needed I’d do a rare fast charge on one of the other chargers in the house.

I do relatively long drives often a couple of times a month, so having the 80% limit helps because the phone doesn’t stay at 100% while connected to wired CarPlay.

I also randomly charge every now and then if I notice the phone is under or near 50% and I’m just working and not using the phone at the moment. If I don’t notice it, I don’t.

We have charging cables or chargers at all the usual sitting spots around the house, as everyone should.

I never seem to run out of charge, maybe because it charges wherever I drive anywhere too, 🤷‍♂️ I’m happy with how it’s worked out for me and my charging habits.

 

[wdfly]

I have 99% at 187 cycles.

 

[JPack]

The author specially said his battery went dead on him some days and he didn’t have a charger with him. So again, not much of a point to it if you are walking around with a dead phone.

The author did it as a test. Those of us who are comfortable with 80% Limit are not running this risk.

If you need that 100% because of your lifestyle or work, obviously charge to 100%. But many of us don't need 100% capacity every day. We work in offices where there are chargers on the desk.

 

[DMG35]

my work phone (iphone 15) is on 80% limit and the battery is still 100% health 1 year later exactly. Meanwhile my personal 15 pro i charge however and whenever i want and its down to 93%, both phones same age

the setting works well.

Odds are you use one phone more than the other which is also going to play a part in battery health.

Using a personal phone for social media, gaming, camera and video is going to put more stress on the battery because it gets it hotter. Just seems logical that the personal phone would have less battery health after a year.

 

[bchah]

80% limit, charged almost entirely by 5W Qi. Still hanging on at 100%!

 

[JohnC1959]

The author specially said his battery went dead on him some days and he didn’t have a charger with him. So again, not much of a point to it if you are walking around with a dead phone.

I suspect the author was treating this as a semi-fun 'challenge' and so pushed things on some days. Fortunately any person can choose just how much risk to take. After all, even at a full charge you risk heavy days that need a top off.

 

[DMG35]

The author did it as a test. Those of us who are comfortable with 80% Limit are not running this risk.

That’s great for you, but I’m not someone who sits at a desk and always has a charger handy as are a lot of other people.

 

[kevdyas]

iPhone 15 Pro Max using the 80% charge limit, often charged using a third party in-car (and remained on charge when at 80%) or desktop magsafe charger but sometimes wired.

 

[RacMumors-]

The only reaosn I'd use the 80% feature is to preserve battery health and retain more of the phones value for resale in a years time, when I upgrade again.

I've tried the 80% thing for a few days now and honestly its not ideal. The phone barely makes it through a day and i've had to add charge in my car a few times.

The ideal middle ground for me will probably be to bump it up to 90%.

 

[JohnC1959]

That’s great for you, but I’m not someone who sits at a desk and always has a charger handy as are a lot of other people.

Exactly, it's for some people and not others. That's why it's an option and an option that defaults to 100%. Everyone wins.

 

[Muero]

The idea of charging between 20 and 80% was born because of a coincidence (read more here) and it is not based on anything truly scientific.

Uh, the link provided here does not support your statement at all. The link gives some vague guesses (with no references) about other types of rechargeable batteries from history, but says nothing about whether modern batteries wear out faster when they spend significant time outside of the 20–80% range.

 

[Caesoose]

15 pro max
339 cycles
93% battery health

Never slow charged or optimised or anything. Used fast charging throughout entire year

 

[realnickperry]

Set to 80% since acquisition. 15 Max Pro and now at a disappointing 90% at 316 cycles. Mostly on a 15W MagSafe charger.

I do wonder if cycles is a useful metric. I often top-up through the day as an 80% fill is rarely enough to get me through. I suspect those frequent partial charges are harming full capacity.

 

[jclo]

100% after almost 200 cycles.

Have almost always had it set to the 80% limit, almost always charge with low wattage chargers overnight, MagSafe or USB-C. If needed I’d do a rare fast charge on one of the other chargers in the house.

I do relatively long drives often a couple of times a month, so having the 80% limit helps because the phone doesn’t stay at 100% while connected to wired CarPlay.

I also randomly charge every now and then if I notice the phone is under or near 50% and I’m just working and not using the phone at the moment. If I don’t notice it, I don’t.

We have charging cables or chargers at all the usual sitting spots around the house, as everyone should.

I never seem to run out of charge, maybe because it charges wherever I drive anywhere too, 🤷‍♂️ I’m happy with how it’s worked out for me and my charging habits.

Based on the replies in this thread, keeping it at a mid-level charge without letting it get super low also seems to make an impact. I do not regularly charge at night, so my phone gets below 20% regularly.

 

[roncron]

15PM purchased 2 months after launch.

Never limited the charge level. Every night, MagSafe charging to 100%.

Battery health now is 99%, cycle count = 175.

 

[zapp]

Charge to 100% every night, sits on a MagSafe charger when I'm sleeping. Currently at 94% and 316 cycle count.

 

[diegopm]

92% and 430 cycles, no charging limit.
15 pro Max.