I am not checking mine as when I have done that with previous devices, it has frustrated me somewhat. The 16 Pro Max I have never charges above 80% and I get enough use out of it.
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iPhone 16 Pro Max 80% Charge Limit: One Year Later, Was It Worth It?
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I'm at 97%, 80% limit with 294 cycles.
So it seems cycles are unsurprisingly key
I have my 16 PM on a 90% limit, and battery life is seldomly a problem for me. Battery health is 98% after a year, daily average screen on is about 7 hours. Charging wireless at night and wired in the car. In my personal experience heat is the number 1 battery killer, so I have the iPhone in front of the airco in my car 😊
My first iPhone was the 3gs and I bought new iPhones ever 3-4 years. I always kept them between 30-80% as much as possible. The last two iPhones (XS and 13) I didn't care at all. It had no impact. All of them had above 84% health (as long as this info is available, all the others were at least above 80% of what they came with).
So no, if you have your phone for 3-4 years, the impact is minimal at best. And lets not forget all the other stuff that impacts battery life. Like heat. cold. gaming. direct sunlight. and so on.
Just don't mistreat them and don't let them get completely empty. Then you'll be fine...
So no, if you have your phone for 3-4 years, the impact is minimal at best. And lets not forget all the other stuff that impacts battery life. Like heat. cold. gaming. direct sunlight. and so on.
Just don't mistreat them and don't let them get completely empty. Then you'll be fine...
For my last 2 iPhones (both launch day devices - 14PM and 16PM) I have always kept the battery charge level between 30 - 80 percent (with a few exceptions when I was nowhere near any power outlet).
Current day:
- 14 PM Sunwoda batt is "stuck" at 89% since more than a year
- 16 PM Desay batt is 100% at 231 cycles
I have never touched nor used wireless charging and always use Apple wired chargers (5W for the 14PM and 18W for 16PM).
So for me the 30 / 80 charging rule has definitely worth it for the past 3 years.
Current day:
- 14 PM Sunwoda batt is "stuck" at 89% since more than a year
- 16 PM Desay batt is 100% at 231 cycles
I have never touched nor used wireless charging and always use Apple wired chargers (5W for the 14PM and 18W for 16PM).
So for me the 30 / 80 charging rule has definitely worth it for the past 3 years.
just use your phone normally, when it comes to low level just change your battery… enjoy your life
Not all batteries are equal. Batteries cannot be manufactured with the precision of a machined part. The Apple Battery Health number always starts at 100% for a new device. Coconut and other third party apps get the exact value on the day, and sometimes shows more than 100%. I have seen as much as 104% on a new device. Coconut values can and do increase as well as decrease.
I suspect a lot of the variability in this thread is due to different starting points.
I suspect a lot of the variability in this thread is due to different starting points.
iPhone 16 Pro
95% and 294 cycles, mix of charge MagSafe and USB-C, but did any one of you got "the approximate date" when it started doping the capacity, because i have looked at the capacity in June +/2months off and it was still at 100% so I'm sure the 5% down for me happen on the last 3-4 months not sure if there is reason or what will happen but also i have use my phone blow the 20% when there was no charger / i could not put it on charge.
95% and 294 cycles, mix of charge MagSafe and USB-C, but did any one of you got "the approximate date" when it started doping the capacity, because i have looked at the capacity in June +/2months off and it was still at 100% so I'm sure the 5% down for me happen on the last 3-4 months not sure if there is reason or what will happen but also i have use my phone blow the 20% when there was no charger / i could not put it on charge.
I thought when starting to read, what’s even the point when you only use your phone for a year? This feature seems to be mostly for those that use their phone longer for whatever reason, and maybe those that want to resell their phone.
Apart from that, I’m surprised how your unit faired.
As of writing, I’m at 93% with 468 cycles after 22 months of use with this 15 Pro. There has been the occasional day were I charged to full as I knew I’d need the extra time away from a cable.
I don’t have a MagSafe battery pack, and I have not charged wirelessly, except for maybe once or twice. I try not to go below 20%, but when I do it’s not a big deal to me (anymore).
I do have an automation that enables Low Power mode at 35% percent though, and one that asks to disable it when connected to a charger.
Apart from that, I’m surprised how your unit faired.
As of writing, I’m at 93% with 468 cycles after 22 months of use with this 15 Pro. There has been the occasional day were I charged to full as I knew I’d need the extra time away from a cable.
I don’t have a MagSafe battery pack, and I have not charged wirelessly, except for maybe once or twice. I try not to go below 20%, but when I do it’s not a big deal to me (anymore).
I do have an automation that enables Low Power mode at 35% percent though, and one that asks to disable it when connected to a charger.
My launch day iPhone 16 Pro is at 97% with 210 cycles and I have set it to 85% but I don't always keep it above 30%
Same phone charging to 100%:
Hmmmm
I’ve just turned off the optimised charging on my watch lol
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It would be much more interesting to compare what wireless charging adds to the mix?
Wireless charging produces a lot of wasted heat that ends up heating the battery (in addition to heat from charging). Since it is also slower than wired charging, the wasted heat + heat from charging is sustained by the battery for longer periods of time. Heat is the real enemy of lithium ion cells and causes them to degrade faster. How much faster? That is the thing I would like to know myself
Of course this might be even harder to pull of, but I would like to see a comparison, where the phone is charged only with wired chargers, half and half wired+wireless and then only wireless, and see how the three scenarios affect the battery life?
Wireless charging produces a lot of wasted heat that ends up heating the battery (in addition to heat from charging). Since it is also slower than wired charging, the wasted heat + heat from charging is sustained by the battery for longer periods of time. Heat is the real enemy of lithium ion cells and causes them to degrade faster. How much faster? That is the thing I would like to know myself
Of course this might be even harder to pull of, but I would like to see a comparison, where the phone is charged only with wired chargers, half and half wired+wireless and then only wireless, and see how the three scenarios affect the battery life?
Used to have it on 80% but at some point the OS suggested me to set it to 85% based on my usage pattern
My 16 Pro is at 97% with 280 cycles. 80-90% magsafe charging, usually to 100% over night. Conclusion: Don’t compromise your device by setting charge limit and charge when and how you want. It doesn’t make any noticeable difference. There are differences in battery quality however I guess, that’s why we see the differences here.
They slow charge to 100 percent now, the heat and stress is what kills them, not charging to 100 percent.
89% at 636 cycles on my 15 Pro which I (ab)use and charge without restrictions. Since this is the best phone Apple has released to date (newer ones are too heavy or too large), I don't worry and will just invest in a new battery every now and then.
Had my 16 pro max on the 80% diet. Just sold it with 100% battery health.
16 Pro Max, limited to 80%. 206 charge cycles, 100% battery health.
I have gone thru this experiment b4 and have found out/ learned that Between 90- 95% is always your best shot. I would advice you pin yours on 95% and see the diff. Have tried it woth my iPhone 15PM same with my present 16PM. Result has been same you would always fall Between 90-100 capacity, diff charging system/method - MagSafe more on direct charging…
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Looking at the various replies, there seems to be such variance in peoples experiences with and without “Optimised Charging” it'll be very hard to ever determine that the setting actually makes a difference. Variations in the actual battery itself can also impact the battery life, so in reality no 2 batteries are alike.
With the iPhone 15 series, I did an experiment and kept my iPhone's Charge Limit set at 80 percent for an entire year. It provided an interesting look at the impact of charge limits on battery longevity, so I decided to repeat it for the iPhone 16 line.
Since September 2024, my iPhone 16 Pro Max has been limited to an 80 percent charge, with no cheating. As of today, my battery's maximum capacity is at 94 percent with 299 charge cycles.
With last year's test, I spent a lot of time with my battery below 20 percent. I saw some comments suggesting that draining it so low could also affect battery capacity over time, so this year, I tried hard to keep my battery between 20 and 80 percent. I wasn't always successful, but my iPhone 16 Pro Max was in that middle charge area most of the time.
You can compare your own battery health with mine, but my guess is that my 94 percent battery capacity is about average, regardless of whether charging limits are on or off. In fact, my iPhone 15 Pro Max was also at 94 percent capacity at the 12 month mark when I did this same test last year.
I did a mix of charging via MagSafe and charging with USB-C, and my iPhone 16 Pro Max can get hot when charging over MagSafe, especially with MagSafe battery packs. Since I was trying to keep above a 20 percent charge, I did more wireless charging when I was out. I can't help but wonder if heat was an issue this year.
It continued to be inconvenient limiting my iPhone battery to an 80 percent charge. It was fine when home, but if I was out and wanted to use the camera or needed GPS, it often wasn't enough battery. When you set an 80 percent charge limit, the iPhone will charge to full every so often to calibrate, and I appreciated surprise days with 20 percent extra battery.
If I had to guess, I probably had a 50/50 split between MagSafe charging and fast charging with USB-C. Most charging was indoors at around 72 degrees, but there were times when I was outdoors with a battery pack in warmer conditions.
I use my older iPhones for software tests, so my iPhone 15 Pro Max is still around. At the two year mark, its capacity is 88 percent, down from 94 percent in September 2024. It has 352 cycles, and I've kept it at the 80 percent limit.
During this year's testing, my iPhone 16 Pro Max battery was still at around 98 percent just a couple of months ago, so I thought the limit was having more of an impact, but I saw a decent drop as we got closer to September. It was even at 95 percent about a week ago, but now I'm down to 94 percent.
I now have two years of data with my iPhone limited to an 80 percent charge, and I don't think it's been worth it. My coworker who also has a 16 Pro Max did not have an 80 percent charge limit set, and his battery capacity is 96 percent with 308 charge cycles.
Maybe setting an 80 percent limit improves battery health over a longer period of time, but over a one-year period, the results have been disappointing. Setting charging to a 90 or 95 percent might make more sense.
I have upgraded to the iPhone 17 Pro Max and did already limit it to an 80 percent charge for another 12-month test. I'm interested to see how the larger battery changes things, and whether the switch to aluminum will make a difference.
What's your iPhone battery capacity and cycle count? Let me know in the comments below, and weigh in on whether you think the 80 percent charge limit is a good idea.
Article Link: iPhone 16 Pro Max 80% Charge Limit: One Year Later, Was It Worth It?
In case anyone is plotting the numbers on a graph for statistical analysis… On my 16 Pro Max I use “Optimised” with a charge limit of 100%, after 341 cycles I’m at 93% health. I use MagSafe charging over night, every night.
16 pro max for 12 months: max charge 95%.
Battery health 95% with 320 charge cycle.
Not bad. My 14 pro max had 85% after one year without the limitation of charge.
Battery health 95% with 320 charge cycle.
Not bad. My 14 pro max had 85% after one year without the limitation of charge.