iPhone 13 Does anyone else feel Apple purposely gimps battery life on models that are no longer “new” ?

[anubis1980]

Can you do a complete reset from the device or do you have to utilize iTunes?

I wanted to make sure that i used a newly downloaded ipsw file , I think you can do a reset from the device though, but I am definitely getting much better battery life .

So far 6 hours screen time over 2 days and down to 61% battery, so I’m very glad I reset

 

[anubis1980]

I have to agree with this assessment ! iOS 16 has neutered the otherwise amazing battery on my 13PM!

The battery health went from 101% to 96% within 2 months of installing 16!

I tested my battery using coconut on my Mac when on older iOS , iPhone said 100% but coconut said 98 , Its now down to 97 and matches coconut.
I’m wondering if iOS is just getting more
Accurate? Im not defending Apple, as Im not a huge fan of iOS 16 but that’s just my take.

 

[AlixSPQR]

Anybody remember when the iPhone 13 series was a serious battery beast? Every model except maybe the mini had exceptional battery life. And the 13 Pro Max was just insane.

How is it that iOS 16 drops and suddenly the battery life just magically diminishes? And you can’t say it’s battery health because I’ve watched battery test YouTube videos and the iPhone 14 beats the 13 almost by an hour each time.. which really just makes no sense.

You would think a trillion dollar company with as sophisticated as their software is would optimize it in a way to even improve battery life in older models year over year with new iOS releases.

I have a 13 mini and haven't experienced what you describe. I haven't earlier either. What I do experience is that every other update increases battery consumption, and every other decreases it. I suppose Apple includes something in major updates that are corrected in minor updates. But I don't know for sure.

 

[v0lume4]

I wanted to make sure that i used a newly downloaded ipsw file , I think you can do a reset from the device though, but I am definitely getting much better battery life .

So far 6 hours screen time over 2 days and down to 61% battery, so I’m very glad I reset

That’s really good battery life. Like really good.

Sorry, you’re saying that you did use iTunes?

 

[anubis1980]

That’s really good battery life. Like really good.

Sorry, you’re saying that you did use iTunes?

Used my Mac it has the restore function built into the finder now but used to be iTunes, but yes used the ipsw and chose to restore using this rather than the existing software on the phone.

 

[FeliApple]

I don't know if Apple purposely does it, but there is no doubt certain iOS updates have a dramatic effect on battery life on older devices. These issues are sometimes fixed at a later date though.

I have a 13 mini and haven't experienced what you describe. I haven't earlier either. What I do experience is that every other update increases battery consumption, and every other decreases it. I suppose Apple includes something in major updates that are corrected in minor updates. But I don't know for sure.

This has been stated many times, and I think there’s a confusion circling around this that’s been so long-standing that’s been ingrained in every conversation about this:

What you are saying is partly true: Apple does fix extreme battery drain issues with minor updates, but the battery life loss incurred by major updates is unsolvable and inevitable.

Let’s assume I am on some version of iOS 10 on an iPhone 6s. I get 7 hours of screen-on time on LTE. I update to iOS 11, battery life immediately plummets by two hours, dropping to 5 hours. iOS 11.0.1 is released, and battery life is cut in half, devices show extreme standby drain. Apple releases iOS 11.0.2, nothing. Everything continues as-is. Apple realises something is truly wrong, identifies it, fixes it. Apple releases iOS 11.1 with update notes that say “Fixed battery drain issues in some models of the iPhone 6s”. Battery life recovers... to that same 5 hours that iOS 11.0 had, or, perhaps, with a little luck, it is slightly better. Maybe... 5.5 hours. There can be a slight improvement, though it is rare.
But is that battery life as good as iOS 10 was? No. Never. Some people reported iOS 12 being an improvement over the fiasco that was iOS 11, throughout many devices. Fine, but was it as good as the original versions? iOS 7? 8? 9? 10? No. Never. And that’s the only important part of this: even if it improves relative to some version in the middle, it is always worse when compared to original iOS versions.

@AlixSPQR did you track it? Did you compare screen-on time with the same usage on iOS 15 and iOS 16? That said, the first major version is probably safe: iOS 10 was fine battery life-wise for the 6s; iOS 8 for the 5s; iOS 13 for the iPhone Xʀ, barring some exceptions like iOS 11. The issue seriously starts later.

And because it starts later, people forget. Unless the user tracks it, the user forgets what battery life was like back then. Do you think an iPhone 6s user who updated through every little version from iOS 9 through 14 and didn’t track it is going to remember exactly what battery life was like back then? No, they won’t remember, and I wouldn’t remember either were I to update, too. I only know the impact iOS 12 has had on my 9.7-inch iPad Pro because I tracked battery life throughout its entire usage period.

 

[marklcfc]

My SE2022 health has gone from 99% to 93% in the last few months, it's coming up to a year since I bought it though so maybe I've worn it out already .

 

[ctjack]

So you mean you think Apple purposely decreases battery life in older iPhones with each iOS update?
I mean, this accusation has been around since probably the beginning of iOS, since there is obvious motive on Apple’s part. And it’s possible that it’s true. But I’d say since there are probably millions of very smart people in the world who would love to scientifically prove that Apple is doing this and then take Apple’s money in class action lawsuits, but that hasn’t happened yet (or has it? If it has, why was it not huge news? And then why wouldn’t people continue suing Apple if it’s still going on?), it’s probably not likely. Not saying battery life doesn’t decrease with some iOS updates, but if it does (permanently, not just in the initial period after an update) it’s more likely that it’s just a consequence of iOS getting bigger/more complex. Or it could be the update causes particular apps to start drawing too much power, possibly in the background. There might be other possibilities besides foul play.

Yesterday we ordered lunch at panera bread - all updated app on 2 phones of my wife and mine. That is when she noticed that her pricing is more expensive than mine.
I am running se2020 and she is on 14PM - there is a price discrepancy on the model or phone number or account.
Long story short every item was priced at least 1 dollar more if not 2.

I googled right away and no other people mentioned the same. You would think that scientific people would be all over it but it is quiet - probably nobody fires up 2 apps at the same time to notice that.

 

[AlixSPQR]

@AlixSPQR did you track it? Did you compare screen-on time with the same usage on iOS 15 and iOS 16?

Yes, sort of. Shortcuts puts my phone in low power mode over night for six hours, and sometimes the battery drainage is minimal for this period, sometimes it is quite noticeable. From less than one percent up to 5 percent. I choose this since all other scenarios are to varied, in my opinion, to compare with eachother.

 

[BigMcGuire]

My .02...

I've been using cellphones since the days of the Droid 1 and HTC MyTouch. I was involved in rooting heavily when I used Android (HTC Thunderbolt, Note 3). I enjoyed playing around with ASOP roms and looking at the source code of app packages. I remember developers finding major apps taking random sound bites to identify music being played and other apps recording bits of phone call conversations - but that's another story.

I've been using phones for awhile. Battery care and monitoring batteries is a huge hobby of mine. I am a developer (mostly in the Windows world) and sys admin so I consider myself fairly technically literate.

I have never seen proof of any manufacturer intentionally gimping previous phones. It makes no sense - the harm from reputation loss would override new sales.

Most people do not monitor the battery degradation of their devices from day 1. Most people don't realize that when a new OS / feature comes out, they use their phones significantly more and notice battery loss. Battery usage is not very consistent either - sometimes my iPhone sips battery, sometimes it uses quite a bit more due to varying reasons.

In regard to Apple OS updates, I find the young 15.xx updates (ex: 15.01) to be not as good on battery as the later 15.3, 15.4 updates (for example) - Apple usually focuses on optimizing the major version later on while initially focusing on new features.

Other posters point out good info as well - most new OSs include new features that increase usage of resources. New devices often have bigger batteries, more processing power so they can handle these new features and have longer battery life than older devices. I ALWAYS update my OS for security reasons and imo Apple does really well with older device support.

It's silly to think that a device is going to continue to operate the same way for years and years. Between battery wear, OS upgrades, and changes in our life behavior (most of us don't realize we use our phones a LOT MORE today than we have in the past) - devices are going to degrade.

I find upgrading every 2 years to be the sweet spot for me between having a modern device with modern features and a fresh long lasting battery.

Every year there are threads like this - between wireless carriers deprioritizing older phones to _______ (manufacturer) intentionally gimping older devices to force people to upgrade - without fail.

 

[FeliApple]

Yes, sort of. Shortcuts puts my phone in low power mode over night for six hours, and sometimes the battery drainage is minimal for this period, sometimes it is quite noticeable. From less than one percent up to 5 percent. I choose this since all other scenarios are to varied, in my opinion, to compare with eachother.

I kind of meant screen-on time, too. Standby drain can be minimal but the most important factor is screen-on time.

Other scenarios are almost perfectly comparable, as long as they’re properly described.

 

[Splitrail]

Correlation does not necessarily imply causation.
Updates happen over time, and battery degradation occurs over time with use.
Without a side by side comparison with duplicate phones and carefully duplicated use of exact phone models starting from new condition (including the same chargers & charging procedures), some updated and some not, I don't see how anything can be based on anything other than anecdotal "evidence".
It would take dozens of phones, side by side, to evaluate this.

 

[antiprotest]

I think too many people mistake Apple's incompetence as greed or maliciousness. Apple is not greedy or evil with software. They are just not that good at it. There are many bugs that do not affect performance or battery life, and that affect the newest devices. Apple has nothing to gain from those. Stop overestimating Apple and think everything that happens is on purpose. They are incompetent.

 

[FeliApple]

Correlation does not necessarily imply causation.
Updates happen over time, and battery degradation occurs over time with use.
Without a side by side comparison with duplicate phones and carefully duplicated use of exact phone models starting from new condition (including the same chargers & charging procedures), some updated and some not, I don't see how anything can be based on anything other than anecdotal "evidence".
It would take dozens of phones, side by side, to evaluate this.

Disagree, completely. What you're asking isn't easy to pull off, and you do not need a million devices to correctly ascertain that iOS updates obliterate battery life.

Even then, I have tested several updated vs non-updated devices, oftentimes with the updated devices in better battery condition and they always lose.

The fact that thousands upon thousands have shared screenshots of their own replicated usage netting worse battery life after updates means a lot. People have shared screenshots of the iPhone 6s on iOS 10 and the same usage on iOS 15 even with new batteries and they have concluded that battery life is far worse. You don't need lab conditions to test real-world impact.

It's very easy to shield yourself with that simply because it is incredibly difficult to test:

I can replicate iOS 10 vs iOS 13 on the 6s and you'd either dismiss it as anecdotal or say that "perfect conditions weren't matched", even with replicated settings and usage. I have replicated them, actually.

There's nothing that would satisfy deniers. You want 100% replication through the entire lifespan, and it is both impossible and irrelevant. Real-world usage proves you wrong, every time.

Like I said: I have matched usage and conditions on two 6s: one on iOS 10 and 63% health, one on iOS 13 and 94% health. The former got 7.5-8 hours, the latter strained to get 5. Same usage, same settings, better conditions for the updated device. It still lost.

 

[subjonas]

Yesterday we ordered lunch at panera bread - all updated app on 2 phones of my wife and mine. That is when she noticed that her pricing is more expensive than mine.
I am running se2020 and she is on 14PM - there is a price discrepancy on the model or phone number or account.
Long story short every item was priced at least 1 dollar more if not 2.

I googled right away and no other people mentioned the same. You would think that scientific people would be all over it but it is quiet - probably nobody fires up 2 apps at the same time to notice that.

Well that’s a very specific problem that may not be widespread, and there would be much less financial motivation for people to try to sue over that. Is that what you meant?

 

[George Dawes]

Battery life on my 13 m p was mind blowing when I first got it , literally days without charging

Now I run out 50% a day doing nothing… something fishy definitely happening

 

[BigMcGuire]

Battery life on my 13 m p was mind blowing when I first got it , literally days without charging

Now I run out 50% a day doing nothing… something fishy definitely happening

Yeah my 13PM - I can use it 3+ days easy without charging. The battery life on that thing is more amazing now than when I first got it! Absolutely amazing device.

At 185 cycles too! lol

When I used it in a business trip and had 12 hours of usage in a day, it didn't even use 50% of the battery.

I use about 3 hours of screen on time per day and it barely uses 25% of the battery.

Looking forward to this phone for this year, and maybe next!

Without usage I think I could get 5 days of standby.

 

[Splitrail]

Battery life on my 13 m p was mind blowing when I first got it , literally days without charging

Now I run out 50% a day doing nothing… something fishy definitely happening

Too much Roth & Hagar coming out of the speakers! 🤣

 

[paul.p]

If it’s not broke don’t fix it..i keep my phone on the iOS it came with until an app i need in everyday life stops working on an old iOS..by then it’s usually time to upgrade the phone anyways. I’m not worried about a gimmick feature just for other stuff to F up..

 

[eyeseeyou]

No but we know Apple purposely disables features on "old" phones that can use.

 

[baxterboy]

It's remarkable that apple gets away with having customers needing to replace a battery when the product is 70% healthy.

 

[Andeddu]

It's remarkable that apple gets away with having customers needing to replace a battery when the product is 70% healthy.

I don’t agree because the Apple battery health meter is inaccurate. The reality is that 70% is likely around 30-40%. All batteries degrade though. My dad had a One Plus Android for 3 years and the battery was unusable by the end. If we are talking about phones, 2-3 years of use prior to a battery replacement is all you can realistically expect.

 

[FeliApple]

It's remarkable that apple gets away with having customers needing to replace a battery when the product is 70% healthy.

That's just how Li-ion batteries are, but heavily degraded batteries work fine on original iOS versions.

Customers only need to replace batteries because, in most cases, they willingly update (occasionally they're forced to), otherwise, they wouldn't need to, especially on Plus models. A 6s Plus on iOS 9 and 10, a 7 Plus on iOS 10, an 8 Plus on iOS 11 or 12, I reckon users of those devices would never have to replace a battery. Regular models wouldn't need to have their batteries replaced either, but I chose Plus models as the perfect example: if my iPhone 6s with 63% health still works fine on iOS 10, a Plus model would never feel the impact at all.

 

[eyeseeyou]

“Old” batteries do not function exactly as well as “new” batteries also has something to do with this.

 

[BigMcGuire]

“Old” batteries do not function exactly as well as “new” batteries also has something to do with this.

People also seem to forget that phones of old had HORRIBLE battery life, fairly quickly too.

I rooted my Samsung Note 3 and had several apps that would monitor battery health. After 6 months my OEM battery was at 50% health. Not 80%, 50% something. Now sure, I went on Amazon and bought a $17 Anker battery to put in its place but still, even that battery didn't last very long either. My HTC My Touch and Droid 1 weren't all that great.

Devices have come a long way and batteries today are a dream compared to what we had. lol. (My opinion).