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iOS 26's New Battery Life Mode Available Only on These iPhone Models

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Last week, we reported that iOS 26 introduces an opt-in Adaptive Power Mode on the iPhone, alongside the existing Low Power Mode.

iPhone-16-Battery-Life-Feature.jpg

Apple says that Adaptive Power Mode can make "small performance adjustments" when necessary to extend an iPhone's battery life, including slightly lowering the display brightness or allowing some activities to "take a little longer."

The full description of Adaptive Power Mode, from the first iOS 26 beta:
When your battery usage is higher than usual, iPhone can make small performance adjustments to extend your battery life, including slightly lowering the display brightness or allowing some activities to take a little longer. Low Power Mode may turn on at 20%.
Click to expand...
iOS 26 is compatible with the iPhone 11 series and newer, but unfortunately Adaptive Power Mode is only available on the iPhone 15 Pro models and newer. This is because the AI-powered feature requires an iPhone that supports Apple Intelligence.

adaptive-power-mode.jpg

We have confirmed that Adaptive Power Mode is not available on the iPhone 14 Pro and below.

The feature is available on the following iPhone models:
  • iPhone 15 Pro
  • iPhone 15 Pro Max
  • iPhone 16e
  • iPhone 16
  • iPhone 16 Plus
  • iPhone 16 Pro
  • iPhone 16 Pro Max
Adaptive Power Mode could end up being especially beneficial on the rumored iPhone 17 Air, which is expected to have an ultra-thin design that will limit the size of the device's battery. Still, Apple reportedly plans to release an iPhone 17 Air battery case.

Adaptive Power Mode is turned off by default. The option can be turned on continuously in the Settings app under Battery → Power Mode.

iOS 26 is currently in beta. The update will likely be released in September.

Article Link: iOS 26's New Battery Life Mode Available Only on These iPhone Models
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2025/06/21/ios-26-adaptive-power-mode-compatible-iphones/
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Battery cycle count introduced in iPhone 15 series never trickled down on iPhone 14 series and older, as well as the battery charge limit, so it is not unexpected for the AI-powered battery feature to be limited to the newest iPhone models.
 
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scrapesleon said:
this funny you need AI to manage battery performance but wait you also need a newer iPhone as well
Click to expand...
I was just thinking the same thing. A lot of folks are gonna be ticked off about that. 14 Pro is not that long ago. That's like almost three generations back? Apple is trying to force people to upgrade to the newer models in order to get those new features of the iOS 26.
 
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StrangeNoises said:
Won't having Apple Intelligence enabled use up more battery than this would save? TBH this sounds like a Machine Learning type of application rather than the whole LLM crap, and that's been around for ages; maybe it's just more about the capabilities of the battery management system?
Click to expand...
It’s about artificial product differentiation. And about needing more features to file under Apple Intelligence, since the original plan didn’t work out.
 
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Codeigniter said:
Could someone explain why this adaptive power mode is considered an “AI-powered feature?”

Is it not something coding could do? Like if iPhone temperature above a certain threshold, initiate lower brightness mode, reduce background activities. etc.?
Click to expand...

They probably could, but I assume lots of extra work for a different implementation.

I recommended to my wife last year that she should get an iPhone 15 to have peace of mind for a while. It's normal that older models start missing out on features, but the rate at which the iPhone 15 gets shafted because Apple cheaped out on RAM is really highly annoying and I regret the recommendation.
 
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seriously, is this just a joke?! battery management, charge limits, throttling processes, dimming screen, etc was able to be done with jailbreaks on even an iphone 5 a loooong time ago. you need AI processing now? LMAO. give me a break, apple. they clearly take their customers for complete idiots at this point. apple needs a ton less MBA bean counters and more talented engineers so they can actually innovate again.
 
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I wish they'd just fix the charging on hold feature which only puts charging on hold maybe once a week and can't be adjusted.
 
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Even Android 4 had better battery saving features. My Sony Xperia had a battery saving feature that you tapped on and your whole screen and theme would be black and you were able to only text and call. No network either.
 
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They already didn't support trivial features like "unload charge up to % percent" on older iPhones... Why am I not surprised, that now such a trivial extension requires AI. It's interesting to see that instead of artificial intelligence actually becoming intelligent, mankind is becoming dumber just so it doesn't notice that AI is a total misnomer.
 
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MacRumors said:


Last week, we reported that iOS 26 introduces an opt-in Adaptive Power Mode on the iPhone, alongside the existing Low Power Mode.

iPhone-16-Battery-Life-Feature.jpg

Apple says that Adaptive Power Mode can make "small performance adjustments" when necessary to extend an iPhone's battery life, including slightly lowering the display brightness or allowing some activities to "take a little longer."

The full description of Adaptive Power Mode, from the first iOS 26 beta:iOS 26 is compatible with the iPhone 11 series and newer, but unfortunately Adaptive Power Mode is only available on the iPhone 15 Pro models and newer. This is because the AI-powered feature requires an iPhone that supports Apple Intelligence.

adaptive-power-mode.jpg

We have confirmed that Adaptive Power Mode is not available on the iPhone 14 Pro and below.

The feature is available on the following iPhone models:
  • iPhone 15 Pro
  • iPhone 15 Pro Max
  • iPhone 16e
  • iPhone 16
  • iPhone 16 Plus
  • iPhone 16 Pro
  • iPhone 16 Pro Max
Adaptive Power Mode could end up being especially beneficial on the rumored iPhone 17 Air, which is expected to have an ultra-thin design that will limit the size of the device's battery. Still, Apple reportedly plans to release an iPhone 17 Air battery case.

Adaptive Power Mode is turned off by default. The option can be turned on continuously in the Settings app under Battery → Power Mode.

iOS 26 is currently in beta. The update will likely be released in September.

Article Link: iOS 26's New Battery Life Mode Available Only on These iPhone Models
Click to expand...
Ridiculous. This feature should of been available on older models, the new 15 Pro and up don’t need it they already have amazing battery, this is just ridiculous Apple has lost touch.
 
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