Yeah, I was actually looking forward to the .01 update yesterday...may have addressed some bugs, and heavy drain. Only the new phones got this though. So...maybe .02 update in the next 6 days?? IDK anymore.
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iOS 26 battery life thread.
- Thread starter goldmac2006
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That’s not true. The 17 models got a slightly newer build of iOS 26.0 as a day 1 update but no 26.0.1
26.0.1 is currently only available for the Apple Watch Ultra 3.
My iPhone 13 mini is dying fast on ios 26. I hope something is fixed in 26.1
I see no 26.0.1 for Apple Watch. But sometime next week it should be released for the iPhone.
Totally agree 👍 I ain’t going anywhere with it! It’s like that the SOT is being measured based on active screen time. I believe light usage is a total deviation from realistic usage; and when I used my iPhone more on Thursday I do see the battery going down faster. I did a longer fitness+ workout and the battery hits to 30% after the nearly 2 hour workout.
But screen active time only relies upon the usage of the iPhone OFF the charger and when used. Screen idle when media or video is playing (not gaming)
I’m a little bummed about the battery life not being as smooth as we’d hoped in the public release. It feels like it’s still in beta despite we are in the public release, and even in just a few seconds to a minute, we’re losing a bit of battery when these heat problems pop up.
It’s so unpredictable, and I totally agree that Apple should have addressed it sooner. I’m really looking forward to the 26.0.1 iOS release this Monday!
I think that those who update any iOS device, especially to a redesign like iOS 26, should expect a massive battery life impact and adjust their expectations from there.
If you expect nothing you can’t be disappointed, and like I’ve repeatedly stated, this always happens.
I think that if the user isn’t prepared to face a massive, irreversible battery loss (unless they update on day one and use the available downgrade time), they shouldn’t update.
Reality, however, says that everybody will update anything and everything to a quintillion major iOS versions after the original, expect perfection, and complain.
As long as you know what to expect, it’s fine.
Just get used to it, y’all. We are never alone in this situation.
I'm an exceptionally routine-oriented person. Same apps, same usage nearly every day. Unbelievable how much iOS 26 is sucking down battery. Been well over a few days since I've updated. I've even turned off background app refresh for everything but Carrot and Tractive (dog tracker) and its just abysmal. Most of the time it stays in my pocket, with less than an hour of SoT and it just melts battery while not even being used [iPhone 16 Pro Max with 100% battery life].
Agree with the other folks that the new battery usage information is worse to the point of being momentarily interesting at a glance but functionally useless.
Agree with the other folks that the new battery usage information is worse to the point of being momentarily interesting at a glance but functionally useless.
Alright everyone! If you’ve recently purchased an iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone Air, or iPhone 17, I’d love to hear your thoughts on the battery life so far please . I understand that it’s just the first day for most of you, but I’m also interested in hearing from y’all guys vs our iPhone 16 Pro and earlier users.
Thanks!
Thanks!
My 17 Pro Max holds up a whole day, and by that I mean 24 hours, and still has 30% battery life left.
That’s pretty nuts and I love it 😍
Great purchase, congratulations! The first year will be perfect in terms of battery life — enjoy it! 👌
really good man! What were you doing on your new iPhone, asides the typical set up and transfer battery drain and the stabilisation process?
Taking photos, watch Apple TV, listening to music, audible, surfing, over night listening to audible over speakers from my phone, that’s it
Typical usage and that’s terrific! Advertised time off the charger and still staying strong 💪 !Taking photos, watch Apple TV, listening to music, audible, surfing, over night listening to audible over speakers from my phone, that’s it
Hope our 16 pro and 15 pro users are back to normal in thermals soon…
17 Pro since Friday. Early days and mostly WiFi usage because I was sick at home during the weekend :/
Battery is solid so far. Still have the feeling that iOS 26 is pretty demanding with the new effects.
Battery is solid so far. Still have the feeling that iOS 26 is pretty demanding with the new effects.
the battery on my new 17 pro max seems to be the same as my previous 16 pro max. iOS26 drained it very quickly, and when I tried the new cleared icon theme, my phone got so hot.
16 pro max my phone was losing 1% very fast even in idle. Yesterday it was at 20% with very light usage just to reply back and within 30 mins it went down to like 5%. Had to downgrade to iOS 18 and the battery feels way better
Haha how should he know about the vapour chamber? It’s a tiny piece. It doesn’t make a sound or gives a signal 😄
Can you share screen-on time? Maybe a screenshot?
Also, poor battery life on the original version of iOS is practically unheard-of, even on .0 versions.
Of course, there are always some reports, but that’s due to a device-specific issue. Grab any iPhone 6s on iOS 15 and battery life will be utter garbage, and I suspect that is also the case for the iPhone 11 on iOS 26. One is device-specific, the other case is due to the iOS version itself and there is nothing the user can do.
The battery life on the 16 Pro Max is absolutely ridiculous on iOS 26. The phone is constantly warm and losing percentage just from doing almost nothing. With the 80% charge limit enabled, it was already down to 79% when I woke up, and it dropped to 76% just from checking my sleep stats and notifications. On iOS 18, the phone would stay at 80% for at least 1–2 hours with the same light usage and standby. There’s clearly a problem here, and it’s unacceptable for a phone that’s only one year old. The iPhone 17 is irrelevant in this discussion because this device is supposed to run well on iOS 26.
I know I said earlier that I wouldn’t update, but there are new features I needed, so I’m fine with my decision. Still, this is by far the worst update I’ve ever seen for battery life. It almost feels like going back to the iPhone 5 era, when battery life was awful—especially frustrating considering how great it was in the first year. Oh, and by the way, I only have 120 cycles with 100% battery health.
I know I said earlier that I wouldn’t update, but there are new features I needed, so I’m fine with my decision. Still, this is by far the worst update I’ve ever seen for battery life. It almost feels like going back to the iPhone 5 era, when battery life was awful—especially frustrating considering how great it was in the first year. Oh, and by the way, I only have 120 cycles with 100% battery health.
I haven't yet seen anyone talk about iOS26's new Adaptive Power mode.
Apparently it uses Apple Intelligence, and will analyze your use & charging habits for 7 days to start regulating the phones hardware to save battery life.
Today marks the first 7th day that people should start seeing results from Adaptive Power mode; had they enabled it since last Monday's iOS 26 release.
Will you guys start reporting on your results with it?
Apparently it uses Apple Intelligence, and will analyze your use & charging habits for 7 days to start regulating the phones hardware to save battery life.
Today marks the first 7th day that people should start seeing results from Adaptive Power mode; had they enabled it since last Monday's iOS 26 release.
Will you guys start reporting on your results with it?
I have noticed that my 15 Pro Max is draining much faster on iOS26 than it was on iOS18. At the end of the day, with typical use I previously had around 30% - 40% battery remaining and only on very heavy usage days had to plug in to make it through the day. The past two days I’ve been closer to 10% - 20% charge remaining. Hoping it’s just re-indexing / background activities that will finish and stabilise over the coming days.