iPhone 16 Pro Max 80% Charge Limit: One Year Later, Was It Worth It?

[zanoii]

Not worth it. I am at 90% with 491 cycles and I charge up to 100%.

16 pro here with similar numbers:
477 cycles, 92% health.

Always limited to 80% except for a few special occasions over the year.

Maybe 80% MagSafe charging, of which 50% was a slow 7.5W qi charger and the rest a 15W MagSafe charger.

Many variables, but I agree: Not worth it.

 

[nordique]

I did mine for a year without any limit and over 277 cycles … 98% was the final count
16 pro max

 

[SebCohen]

All that stress is not worth the, potential, price of a new battery.

 

[Bryan Bowler]

Juli, I really appreciated your article on this last year and even more so this year. It’s great to compare data and likes/dislikes. Thank you!

My 16 Pro Max. 80% limit. In service 1 year. Battery 100% with 233 cycles. 2/3rds nightly charging on MagSafe. 1/3rd plugged in charging.

Wife’s 16 Pro. 80% limit. In service 1 year. Battery 100% with 235 cycles. All nightly charging on MagSafe.

 

[Shoju]

More or less the same experience on my 16 Pro Max that I mostly limited to 80 but began limiting it to 90 within the last weeks (and some cheating during travelling in summer where I set it to 100% charging). Charged almost entirely via MagSafe over night.

326 cycles
91%

With 5-6% of that max capacity disappearing within the last three months alone…

 

[bice]

Why was this on main page? This should be a thread.

1. It isnt a rumor, or news
2. It is strongly opinionated
3. It reads like a forum thread - only thing it’s missing is a poll

Why is MacRumors posting this on front page? Slow news day?

Atleast make it an interesting thread topic… maybe a “post photos of your dog” thread?

My take was just the opposite:
"Finally some interesting read on the main page!"

The rumor-part of the name is not really a definition of the site, anymore.

 

[t0rqx]

Pretty sure Apple manipulates the numbers, same with antennnagate when they showed full bars even if you had no reception.

 

[yadmonkey]

15 Pro Max, almost exclusively MagSafe and 80% tops.

 

[winexprt]

I've had 80% charging enabled on my 15 Pro Max since day one. Only ever USB-C charging, never any MagSafe.

It just went below 100% max capacity a few days ago. That's 2 years at 100% capacity. Best result I've ever had from an iPhone.

 

[erthquake]

My 16 Pro capacity is still at 100% after one year (285 cycles). However, my phone sits on a Magsafe charging stand nearly all day at work, so keeping it as 80 percent has probably helped. Besides wireless charging in my car during commuting, I charge it to 80% (wired) some nights before bed.

 

[aeternitas]

No. I have a 16 Pro Max since day one. Still 100% health at ~210 cycles. Never used the 80% charge limit. I rather get a full charge all the time. If my battery deteriorates even after my apple care coverage expires I rather pay Apple to get a battery replacement. I spend more money each week on gas anyway, so I'm not going to make a fuss about a ~$100 charge once every couple of years.

 

[Artemis70]

I have done experiments with the 80% limit on iPhones and MacBooks for years.
With my iPhone 12 Pro Max I didn't have the iOS option yet but created an automation to warn me when at 75% such that I could stop charging, which I almost always did. My wife had an iPhone 12 Pro that charged to 100% daily. Results after two years: my battery condition was significantly worse than hers.
With our iPhone 14 Pro's we started out the same. After 6 months, hers was still at 100% while mine had dropped a couple of percentages. I stopped at that point.
On my MacBook Pro's (multiple generations) I had an application called AlDente that can limit charging at whatever percentage you choose. Here I also had a comparison for the last two MacBook Pro's I had as my son had equivalent hardware that we could compare. With the MacBook Pro's the results weren't as convincing as with the iPhones, but still my MacBook Pro's didn't fare better in battery quality than his.

End result: I don't buy it anymore that limiting to 80% helps keep your battery in better shape.

 

[Fatboy71]

Not sure if it's worth it.
My 16 Pro Max got on release day is on 145 cycles and mine was set to charge to 100 percent, and my battery health is still on 100 percent.

I've used a mixture of wireless charging, and wired charging with the 20W Apple Charger.

 

[aditya1503]

I've mainly charged to 80%, maintained between 40-80 mostly, once a few weeks I charge to 100% when going on trips, only USB C, no wireless charging

 

[Pagan43]

iPhone 15pro November 2023, 80% Limit from day one and recharge in cases at 40%. After 400 cycles battery capacity is down to 90%. 🤷‍♂️

 

[Apple Mac Daz]

Never used it and day 1 device is still 100% health

 

[God of Biscuits]

my 15 Pro Max is 2 years old, has 327 charge cycles on it, and is at 95%. I set it to do battery conditioning since it became available as an OS feature.

 

[trip1ex]

The real test is vs the same phone charging all the way up.

In my experience you maybe gain a few extra percent over a year or two.

 

[danskin]

For people who plan to keep their phone for several years, getting a battery replacement might be a better choice.

 

[xmoo]

Charge my 16 Pro Max every other day. The battery last for about 1,5 days. Only use usb-c cable. With my previous iPhones, I would do wireless charging, magsafe charging, wireless carplay. And after a year my battery health would be at 85%. Learned from it. Just use usb-c, only charge when needed and if the device gets hot, disconnect the cable.
Ps. Mine is also set to 80% limit and automatic battery safe mode after 20%.

 

[Squozen]

My iPhone 12 Pro on the original battery doesn’t have the ability to limit charge to 80%. The capacity after five years is 89% and I use the snot out of it, including daily wireless charging.

 

[FrozenShivers]

Iphone 16 Pro/100% capacity/153 charge cycles. I rarely charge above 80%, I wouldn't expect my battery to have degraded too much considering my low cycles anyway mind you.

 

[jsamuels]

After a year of only wireless charging and without doing anything other than optimized charging options, my 16 PM is still at 100%.

 

[The Cockney Rebel]

I never used a charge limit, and my battery is still at 100%.

All wireless charging.

I see no point in babying your battery, when (if needed) you can just get a new one, for less than £100.

Just use your device, and enjoy it.

I'm selling the phone, next week.

 

[Robster100]

Not worth it. My iPhone 16 Pro is set to fully recharge using optimised charging. I am also at 94% and at 357 cycles.

No difference whatsoever!