iOS 26 battery life thread.

[Populus]

I will just say… I’m quite amazed at how good battery life is on my iPhone SE3 on iOS 26.2. I mean, better than iOS 18.7. Quite impressive, almost 8h from 100% to 0%, although it was WiFi only. Maybe on 5G the numbers aren’t as impressive…

 

[James6s]

In terms of energy consumption, the iPhone 17 should be more efficient than the 11th
--
Screenshot of a day when LTE/Wi-Fi was used.

Wow, that’s really impressive! 👌🏻

Yes I agree the 17 pro should be more efficient, but with the significant performance increases etc I guess with it comes more demand on the processor and battery + iOS 26 has been a power hungry update. Hopefully Apple will continue to improve and optimise battery life.

I estimate I’d get close to 10 hours of screen time if I let it go from 100 to 0%, which I’m very happy with (far better than my 16 Pro) I don’t ever let it go that low anyway to try and keep the battery healthy and happy.

 

[goldmac2006]

Wow, that’s really impressive! 👌🏻

Yes I agree the 17 pro should be more efficient, but with the significant performance increases etc I guess with it comes more demand on the processor and battery + iOS 26 has been a power hungry update. Hopefully Apple will continue to improve and optimise battery life.

I estimate I’d get close to 10 hours of screen time if I let it go from 100 to 0%, which I’m very happy with (far better than my 16 Pro) I don’t ever let it go that low anyway to try and keep the battery healthy and happy.

Adaptive power on or off?

 

[James6s]

Adaptive power on or off?

Adaptive power mode is off.

 

[PDXDP]

So, an update on the case with the alleged moisture in the connector. On Friday, I sent a diagnostic log about the supposed liquid in the connector to Apple Support. Today, after 5 days, I learned some “big news.” I’m supposed to put the phone in a dry place for 24 hours and let it air out. The exact same solution as before I had it disassembled at an authorized service center. I honestly wouldn’t expect such humiliating behavior from Apple.

I bought a MagSafe charger, which I absolutely do not want to use. Despite my repeated urgencies that I won’t put the phone anywhere anymore and won’t log into all apps and settings again, they wiped all my settings anyway. So to this day, I’m still reconfiguring things I’ve been used to having set up for years.

On Sunday, I’m heading to London and will visit the local Apple Store. This story will have a sequel.

 

[goldmac2006]

So, an update on the case with the alleged moisture in the connector. On Friday, I sent a diagnostic log about the supposed liquid in the connector to Apple Support. Today, after 5 days, I learned some “big news.” I’m supposed to put the phone in a dry place for 24 hours and let it air out. The exact same solution as before I had it disassembled at an authorized service center. I honestly wouldn’t expect such humiliating behavior from Apple.

I bought a MagSafe charger, which I absolutely do not want to use. Despite my repeated urgencies that I won’t put the phone anywhere anymore and won’t log into all apps and settings again, they wiped all my settings anyway. So to this day, I’m still reconfiguring things I’ve been used to having set up for years.

On Sunday, I’m heading to London and will visit the local Apple Store. This story will have a sequel.

So, you sent your iPhone 17PM to Apple to get it fixed, and then you found out they still think the connector might be wet?

I’m happy to hear you’re planning to get that iPhone checked out at the Apple Store. I private messaged you to see how things are going.

Did you get a Genius Bar appointment booked for the weekend? They’ll take a look at your iPhone, test it with their chargers, and clean the port. If it needs it, they’ll replace the usb c port.

Adaptive power mode is off.

And that’s impressive battery life.

Any background apps on?

 

[James6s]

So, you sent your iPhone 17PM to Apple to get it fixed, and then you found out they still think the connector might be wet?

I’m happy to hear you’re planning to get that iPhone checked out at the Apple Store. I private messaged you to see how things are going.

Did you get a Genius Bar appointment booked for the weekend? They’ll take a look at your iPhone, test it with their chargers, and clean the port. If it needs it, they’ll replace the usb c port.


And that’s impressive battery life.

Any background apps on?

Background app refresh is on for the apps I use everyday.

 

[goldmac2006]

Background app refresh is on for the apps I use everyday.

🤯 is battery life better when background app refresh is off? I turned it off except for the peak watch app

 

[GP-SE]

Turning off Adaptive Power made a noticeable difference on my 17 Pro Max. I'm not a heavy user at all, but I went 5 hours only dropping 1% in standby. Normally that would be 3%. I have Apple Intelligence turned off, and background app refresh turned off.

 

[goldmac2006]

Turning off Adaptive Power made a noticeable difference on my 17 Pro Max. I'm not a heavy user at all, but I went 5 hours only dropping 1% in standby. Normally that would be 3%. I have Apple Intelligence turned off, and background app refresh turned off.

Rly impressive. The drain would go faster if y’all watched it stream movies and played games.

 

[Morac]

I’ve found battery significantly better on my 15 PM since upgrading from macOS 26.1 to 26.2.

 

[goldmac2006]

I’ve found battery significantly better on my 15 PM since upgrading from macOS 26.1 to 26.2.

No adaptive power right?

Weirdly I’m still getting drain.

 

[Morac]

No adaptive power right?

Weirdly I’m still getting drain.

View attachment 2590917

I have adaptive power enabled, but it has never kicked in. It only activates if the phone needs to preserve battery life. I’ve actually never seen it activate yet in iOS 26. I’ve had the phone enter low power mode, but that’s it.

I did recently get an Apple Watch which I would think would drain my phone more because of the constant Bluetooth connection to the watch, but maybe because I’m not checking it as often it’s lasting longer.

 

[goldmac2006]

I have adaptive power enabled, but it has never kicked in. It only activates if the phone needs to preserve battery life. I’ve actually never seen it activate yet in iOS 26. I’ve had the phone enter low power mode, but that’s it.

I did recently get an Apple Watch which I would think would drain my phone more because of the constant Bluetooth connection to the watch, but maybe because I’m not checking it as often it’s lasting longer.

A lot of us disabled adaptive power due to the weird display changes and it has no effect or it makes battery drain worse.

When I used to have it on, the notification appears 2-3 times a day.

 

[Barbareren]

Adaptive power on or off?

I just cannot see how having AP off helps. 26.2 has improved the battery life, though.

 

[Barbareren]

A lot of us disabled adaptive power due to the weird display changes and it has no effect or it makes battery drain worse.

When I used to have it on, the notification appears 2-3 times a day.

Also I’ve never noticed any differences with the screen, nor any of the notifications you mention - not on iOS 26 or earlier… 🤷‍♂️

 

[Populus]

I need help. I already said battery life on my SE3 is really good and it doesn’t get warm at all but… I’m really struggling at deciphering the new Battery section on Settings. Here are a couple of Snapshots:

How do you read the new battery graphs? Especially the second one.

I had my iPhone charging while using it, and I guess those hours count towards those 3h of Screen-on time.

On the previous graphs I was able toto count how many hours of screen time belonged to the time it was unplugged, but here, the vertical lines (green and grey ones) don’t give me an estimate of how many minutes I spent there, that corresponds to a decline in battery percentage…

Please help.

 

[GP-SE]

I just cannot see how having AP off helps. 26.2 has improved the battery life, though.

When turned on it's another running process that is constantly analyzing usage patterns. Perhaps that constant running process is using CPU cycles causing battery drain. Also there must be a reason why it's only enabled on the 17 series by default. Apple states it uses AI to work... and AI is resource intensive.

 

[James6s]

🤯 is battery life better when background app refresh is off? I turned it off except for the peak watch app

I think if you turn background app refresh off completely for all apps, battery life will be better. Even when it’s off sometimes apps show in the battery usage as having some background use!

 

[James6s]

I just cannot see how having AP off helps. 26.2 has improved the battery life, though.

When it was active I saw no difference with regards to reduced battery consumption, only little glitches here and there as it made “performance adjustments”

Battery life is just as good and the same with it deactivated without the AI making the adjustments to reduce battery consumption.

 

[goldmac2006]

Also I’ve never noticed any differences with the screen, nor any of the notifications you mention - not on iOS 26 or earlier… 🤷‍♂️

Exactly 👍 and I only report data from iOS 18 up until WWDC when I installed the beta last June. But ngl I felt iOS 18 had better battery life on average compared to this year’s version.

I just cannot see how having AP off helps. 26.2 has improved the battery life, though.

Is it just a gimmick ? My 15 pro colleagues have also turned it off, thinking the battery drain is the same and they didn’t like how it only changes the promotion display refresh rate and brightness during the day, check earlier posts for more information . I had done the same thing with them.

I think if you turn background app refresh off completely for all apps, battery life will be better. Even when it’s off sometimes apps show in the battery usage as having some background use!

You’re right, bro. 😎 I thought I could leave it on for the peak watch app because it needs it for some reason, but it’s not mandatory. Also, having it on custom (on for the apps you want and off for the others) ensures that any newly installed app will still have background app refresh. To slow down the degradation of the battery health capacity, I must follow the instructions of what the Apple Genius told me back then . Thank you, and happy holidays!

 

[Barbareren]

When turned on it's another running process that is constantly analyzing usage patterns. Perhaps that constant running process is using CPU cycles causing battery drain. Also there must be a reason why it's only enabled on the 17 series by default. Apple states it uses AI to work... and AI is resource intensive.

I get that another CPU process might affect battery life somewhat, but that would apply to so many system processes like True Tone etc., and I'm pretty sure we've had AP long before the 17-series. It's on by default on my 15 and 16 PM. And I don't use AI. I really don't think AP is dependent on AI.

 

[GP-SE]

I get that another CPU process might affect battery life somewhat, but that would apply to so many system processes like True Tone etc., and I'm pretty sure we've had AP long before the 17-series. It's on by default on my 15 and 16 PM. And I don't use AI. I really don't think AP is dependent on AI.

Adaptive Power is new for iOS 26, it's on by default only for the 17 series. Also it does use on device intelligence to function. I agree it doesn't tax the system hard, but from my limited testing disabling it improved my battery life.

Here is a link explaining the details:

Use Adaptive Power to extend the battery life of your iPhone - Apple Support (CA)

Adaptive Power helps extend your iPhone's battery life when you use it more.

support.apple.com

 

[Barbareren]

Adaptive Power is new for iOS 26, it's on by default only for the 17 series. Also it does use on device intelligence to function. I agree it doesn't tax the system hard, but from my limited testing disabling it improved my battery life.

Here is a link explaining the details:

Use Adaptive Power to extend the battery life of your iPhone - Apple Support (CA)

Adaptive Power helps extend your iPhone's battery life when you use it more.

support.apple.com

Aight. Thanks for the link, and your experience. A bit weird for me as I remember it always been on in my pre-17-series, but okay. Apple AI is not activated on my devices though, even though AP is, so I suppose it works differently on the 17… 🤷‍♂️ Personally I can’t notice any difference in battery life with it being on or off, but that’s just my experience.

 

[goldmac2006]

Adaptive Power is new for iOS 26, it's on by default only for the 17 series. Also it does use on device intelligence to function. I agree it doesn't tax the system hard, but from my limited testing disabling it improved my battery life.

Here is a link explaining the details:

Use Adaptive Power to extend the battery life of your iPhone - Apple Support (CA)

Adaptive Power helps extend your iPhone's battery life when you use it more.

support.apple.com

I get that another CPU process might affect battery life somewhat, but that would apply to so many system processes like True Tone etc., and I'm pretty sure we've had AP long before the 17-series. It's on by default on my 15 and 16 PM. And I don't use AI. I really don't think AP is dependent on AI.

Any AI related thing including Apple Intelligence and adaptive power relies on the A17 pro to A19s cores. And all that power is drawn from it. Ngl it only helps with heat but battery drain is the same ! No change.