After a year my iPhone 16 Pro with no limits is at 93%. Doesn’t seem worthwhile at all to save 1% after a year, lol. I even had way more cycles at 372.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iPhone 16 Pro Max 80% Charge Limit: One Year Later, Was It Worth It?
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Absolutely not worth it. I am a power user (17h per day) and upgrade to the latest Pro Max every year and just trade in every year. Before trade in it was:
Battery Health: Normal
Maximum Capacity: 93%
Cycle Count: 397
Manufacture Date: July 2024
First Use: September 2024.
Battery Health: Normal
Maximum Capacity: 93%
Cycle Count: 397
Manufacture Date: July 2024
First Use: September 2024.
My data point:
27 month old iPhone 13.
92% battery health.
Didn't start (manually, not supported in software) limiting to 80% at first.
Miss quite a few times.
Only used MagSafe for a few months due to heat.
Even wired charging once it gets warm I unplug and charge the rest later.
-R
27 month old iPhone 13.
92% battery health.
Didn't start (manually, not supported in software) limiting to 80% at first.
Miss quite a few times.
Only used MagSafe for a few months due to heat.
Even wired charging once it gets warm I unplug and charge the rest later.
-R
My 15 Pro at trade in was at about 85% capacity with over 600 cycles. I charged it to 100% nearly every day with adaptive charging turned on. My understanding is that it's not the 100% charge that is bad itself but keeping it there for an extended period.
Yeah it’s the deeper discharges that wear it out.
I have a 2015 iPhone 6 Plus on its original battery and that phone was used every day all day until 2023 - and the battery SOC was kept between 65% to 75% all those years.
2141 load cycles and CoconutBattery says battery health is still at 95% or so.
Seems like a lie, but the phone battery still seems strong.
I have a 2015 iPhone 6 Plus on its original battery and that phone was used every day all day until 2023 - and the battery SOC was kept between 65% to 75% all those years.
2141 load cycles and CoconutBattery says battery health is still at 95% or so.
Seems like a lie, but the phone battery still seems strong.
I wonder if there is as much impact at the lower end of the charge. For example, maybe going lower than 20% is more detrimental than the above 80% situation.
My 16 after one year is 100% with 197 cycles. I charged mostly via MagSafe to 80% but I also rarely had it go lower than 20%.
My 16 after one year is 100% with 197 cycles. I charged mostly via MagSafe to 80% but I also rarely had it go lower than 20%.
I think heat plays a significant factor in overall battery health degradation. In you live in a warmer climate, you’re battery health will suffer more. I live in an area where it’s 100+ from end of may until end of September-early October. It even dims my screen after a few minutes of use in the sun. My battery was replaced in the first half of last year when I had the back glass of my 14 Pro replaced and it is now at 83%. Really dumb that I can’t see my cycle count in settings on the 14 Pro for whatever dumb reason. I’ll have to check it one of the other ways.
Edit: 632 cycles
Edit: 632 cycles
Last edited:
16 Pro Max, First Use: September 2024. Set to 80% Charge Limit straight out of the box. 358 Cycle Count, 98% Maximum Capacity. 🤠👍🏻
Me too, I wonder how I'd feel if I could set it so that when it charges to 80% I actually see 100%. Not to help the battery just my emotions 🤪
My 12Max battery capacity is 84%. I charge it every night with MagSafe.
This is an unsurprising result.
Even assuming you only really need 60% of the battery capacity you paid for for your use case (so the phone largely stays between 20% and 80% without suffering greatly), lithium ion batteries degrade somewhat with time (regardless of cycles and even when kept only at moderate states of charge). So it's not like the battery will last indefinitely even if you never use it as a battery (people who have laptops that are left plugged in all the time run into this after a few years).
But even if we assume that there were no calendar degradation, let's be pessimistic that a phone battery gets 1000 cycles under abusive conditions before it hits 70% of usable capacity, and you'd generously get an extra 20% by babying it, so you get 1200 cycles before it hits 70% capacity if you only use 60% of the available capacity.
If you only use, on average, 60% of the capacity per day, then you'll get 4.5 years before the battery hits 70%, and 5.5 years babying it. So you'd need to hold onto your phone for at least 4.5 years before it has much of an impact, and even then if you only use 60% per day you would still get through the whole day either way.
So, if you upgrade your phone within 5 years, it's still going to have as much capacity as you need to get through the day whether you baby it or abuse it, and nobody is going to care much about that extra 20% of battery capacity when buying a 5-year-old phone. You just spent 5 years with a smaller-capacity battery (which would hurt on the rare occasions you actually needed it) and got nothing. (And in reality, after 5 years, you probably need a new battery just based on age, so you're spending $100 or so to replace it anyway.)
Let's say instead you're a heavy user who uses 120% of the capacity per day; you need to charge either way, but instead of a top-up (for the abusive case), if you're babying it you'll need to put a "full" charge in at least once just to get through the day. In that case, the abusive case would last 2.3 years and the babying case 2.7 years, at which point you're out $100 or so for a new battery (assuming you keep your phone longer than 2 years).
So for that extra 5 months of delay in spending $100, you have had to charge your phone 2-3 times per day for the entire 2.7 year life of the battery. At the start you're just squeaking by with one full charge, later on you're having to charge it twice just to keep the battery within your decided limits.
The abusive user got the first year or so with a just a quick top-up toward the end of the day, and the next 1.3 years with still only one charge.
So, basically: If you spend $1000 or more for a phone, is it really worth having to charge the phone three times a day every single day and increase the chances of running down completely just to delay spending $100 for a new battery by a few months after two and a half years?
Then there's those of us with a 2-year upgrade cycle on our cell plans--it's fine after 2 years either way, so why would I spend nearly the entire life of the phone with a battery 20% smaller than I paid for? After two years even in the abusive case it's still got 80% of the original capacity, so I'm out nothing.
Even assuming you only really need 60% of the battery capacity you paid for for your use case (so the phone largely stays between 20% and 80% without suffering greatly), lithium ion batteries degrade somewhat with time (regardless of cycles and even when kept only at moderate states of charge). So it's not like the battery will last indefinitely even if you never use it as a battery (people who have laptops that are left plugged in all the time run into this after a few years).
But even if we assume that there were no calendar degradation, let's be pessimistic that a phone battery gets 1000 cycles under abusive conditions before it hits 70% of usable capacity, and you'd generously get an extra 20% by babying it, so you get 1200 cycles before it hits 70% capacity if you only use 60% of the available capacity.
If you only use, on average, 60% of the capacity per day, then you'll get 4.5 years before the battery hits 70%, and 5.5 years babying it. So you'd need to hold onto your phone for at least 4.5 years before it has much of an impact, and even then if you only use 60% per day you would still get through the whole day either way.
So, if you upgrade your phone within 5 years, it's still going to have as much capacity as you need to get through the day whether you baby it or abuse it, and nobody is going to care much about that extra 20% of battery capacity when buying a 5-year-old phone. You just spent 5 years with a smaller-capacity battery (which would hurt on the rare occasions you actually needed it) and got nothing. (And in reality, after 5 years, you probably need a new battery just based on age, so you're spending $100 or so to replace it anyway.)
Let's say instead you're a heavy user who uses 120% of the capacity per day; you need to charge either way, but instead of a top-up (for the abusive case), if you're babying it you'll need to put a "full" charge in at least once just to get through the day. In that case, the abusive case would last 2.3 years and the babying case 2.7 years, at which point you're out $100 or so for a new battery (assuming you keep your phone longer than 2 years).
So for that extra 5 months of delay in spending $100, you have had to charge your phone 2-3 times per day for the entire 2.7 year life of the battery. At the start you're just squeaking by with one full charge, later on you're having to charge it twice just to keep the battery within your decided limits.
The abusive user got the first year or so with a just a quick top-up toward the end of the day, and the next 1.3 years with still only one charge.
So, basically: If you spend $1000 or more for a phone, is it really worth having to charge the phone three times a day every single day and increase the chances of running down completely just to delay spending $100 for a new battery by a few months after two and a half years?
Then there's those of us with a 2-year upgrade cycle on our cell plans--it's fine after 2 years either way, so why would I spend nearly the entire life of the phone with a battery 20% smaller than I paid for? After two years even in the abusive case it's still got 80% of the original capacity, so I'm out nothing.
We’re close. I have optimize battery charge on and just leave it charging overnight
You said it very well. Why hamstring yourself early when the natural wear will limit its capacity Later on anyway?
Just use it and enjoy.
I'm right there with you. 15PM since release date (Aug 2023 Mfg date), no charge limit, 551 cycles, 90% capacity.
Have an iPhone 16 Pro Max since launch.
Set it to charge to 95% max and after 354 charge cycle count my battery health is at 95%.
Mixture of USB-C fast charging at my work desk during the day and MagSafe charging most nights.
Hope you’re gathering data points!
Set it to charge to 95% max and after 354 charge cycle count my battery health is at 95%.
Mixture of USB-C fast charging at my work desk during the day and MagSafe charging most nights.
Hope you’re gathering data points!
The 80% limit is absolutely not worth the hassle. I have always charged my 16 Pro to 100% via MagSafe and I’m at 97% capacity after a year.
I use both iPhone and Samsung Fold 4 and I noticed Samsung's battery saver equivalent feature has been using a sketchy method of keeping the device to use the battery as the source of power when limited at 80%, even though it was plugged in I assumed the device would convert to AC power and disconnect from battery when it reached 80%. This would use up battery cycle faster. It does use AC power when it reaches 100%, however.
I haven't checked but I'm curious if Apple may be doing similar thing.
I haven't checked but I'm curious if Apple may be doing similar thing.
Your 15 Pro Max: limited to 80% with a self-admitted inconvenience. 88% health after 352 cycles and only two years. Battery rated for 1000 (!) charge cycles before it reaches 80% health.
My iPhone Xʀ (running iOS 12): No limits whatsoever, started the day with 100% regardless of battery remaining (yes, if it was at 99% I charged it anyway. I like to start the day with 100%). SIX YEARS OLD. 89% health after 360 cycles.
Battery rated for 500 charge cycles before it reaches 80% health. Only battery conservation technique? I charge with a 5w Power Adapter.
MacRumors writer and OP, forum members, world, Apple, and battery chemistry gods… make it make sense. Why would I ever implement a charging limit if whether it will “work” or not is essentially a coin toss?
I’m sure there are many users who can give better numbers while limiting charge. For every example you give me I can give you a counter-example of somebody who just does not care and has similar or better numbers.
My iPhone Xʀ (running iOS 12): No limits whatsoever, started the day with 100% regardless of battery remaining (yes, if it was at 99% I charged it anyway. I like to start the day with 100%). SIX YEARS OLD. 89% health after 360 cycles.
Battery rated for 500 charge cycles before it reaches 80% health. Only battery conservation technique? I charge with a 5w Power Adapter.
MacRumors writer and OP, forum members, world, Apple, and battery chemistry gods… make it make sense. Why would I ever implement a charging limit if whether it will “work” or not is essentially a coin toss?
I’m sure there are many users who can give better numbers while limiting charge. For every example you give me I can give you a counter-example of somebody who just does not care and has similar or better numbers.
Release day 16 Pro is at 94% health and 317 cycles. I charge by various methods, including MagSafe overnight, slow and faster USB C, and a MagSafe battery pack. Lots of random charges when driving with wired CarPlay. I just let the phone do its thing and not worry about limiting the charging. I'll replace the phone or the battery when needed.
Charge limit never made sense to me. Deprecate your daily charge limit to 80% in order to prevent it from being 80% in 2-3 years? I’d rather just go to 100% and use the 81-100 capacity during those years.