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iPhone 16 Pro Max 80% Charge Limit: One Year Later, Was It Worth It?
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Yeah I’m really unsure about the whole point of limiting doesn’t seem like it really does much other then have a dead phone sooner lol I’ve got a 14pm and it’s at 90% and got it release week and I play a lot of game/ videos so a lot of charges on it maybe I just won battery lottery
I mustve missed last years post.
My 15 Pro Max was set to 80% the day I got it (launch) and by the time I traded it in last week it had gone down to 93% health.
The first year I charged it with USB C and more recently I moved to MagSafe. Didn’t really do anything heavy on it…just browsing the web, photos/videos of my cats, ChatGPT, YouTube. Games I played were mostly Balatro and Chess. And since late June an ungodly amount of Persona 5 Phantom X.
Have also set my 17 Pro Max to 80%. It will be getting the same usage. I am literally installing Persona 5 Phantom X as I type this.
The battery life on the 17 Pro Max is phenomenal and 80% is more than enough for me right now. I am not going below 20% either so that’s 40% not getting used at all.
My 15 Pro Max was set to 80% the day I got it (launch) and by the time I traded it in last week it had gone down to 93% health.
The first year I charged it with USB C and more recently I moved to MagSafe. Didn’t really do anything heavy on it…just browsing the web, photos/videos of my cats, ChatGPT, YouTube. Games I played were mostly Balatro and Chess. And since late June an ungodly amount of Persona 5 Phantom X.
Have also set my 17 Pro Max to 80%. It will be getting the same usage. I am literally installing Persona 5 Phantom X as I type this.
The battery life on the 17 Pro Max is phenomenal and 80% is more than enough for me right now. I am not going below 20% either so that’s 40% not getting used at all.
Just remember that, similar to laptops, there’s a bit of overprovisioning going on so that 100% when reported is actually 105%. The first 5% you get is “free” you’ll see steady degradation after that dips below 100%.
I’m at 89% after 2 years with my iPhone 15 Pro Max always charging to 100%, with multiple charges per day in the last 6 months. Moral of the story, it’s not worth it, replace your phones battery at the 50% mark or 2 year mark of however long you intend to keep it.
I’m at 89% after 2 years with my iPhone 15 Pro Max always charging to 100%, with multiple charges per day in the last 6 months. Moral of the story, it’s not worth it, replace your phones battery at the 50% mark or 2 year mark of however long you intend to keep it.
As everyone posts their own stats and anecdotes, there's only one truth here that any mobile tech enthusiast should have learned a long time ago...
Battery health and longevity is mainly luck of the draw. There's no magic bullet one way or the other. Short of very extreme abuse that is outside of what most people would regularly subject their battery to in normal use, nothing that you do is likely to have a significant effect one way or the other. It's the random chemistry of each individual battery that determines how it ages more than anything, and there's nothing you can do about that.
Battery health and longevity is mainly luck of the draw. There's no magic bullet one way or the other. Short of very extreme abuse that is outside of what most people would regularly subject their battery to in normal use, nothing that you do is likely to have a significant effect one way or the other. It's the random chemistry of each individual battery that determines how it ages more than anything, and there's nothing you can do about that.
Yeah it seems like it stays at 100% for a long time (I’ve had it stay there for a year) and then it goes down real fast. I went from 98 to 93% in about 3 months but I mostly blame the awful iOS 26 betas which made my phone run HOT
15 Pro Max charged to full - wantonly, I might add - all the time, but rarely drained lower than 60%, left plugged in at 100% often. After two full years of this, battery was at 92%. Just traded it in.
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?
My 14 PM just dropped to 99% last week. Coincidentally, it was a few days after the September announcement.
All I did was charge it when the battery got to around 35%. I always charged it to 100% and never used magsafe to charge.
To be fair, I probably don’t use my phone as often as most people do and I’m sure that factors into my battery life as well.
All I did was charge it when the battery got to around 35%. I always charged it to 100% and never used magsafe to charge.
To be fair, I probably don’t use my phone as often as most people do and I’m sure that factors into my battery life as well.
I never cared about limits, I plug in whenerver and wherever, car, home, office, leave charging overnight, let it drain overnight if forgotten.
'iPhone 16 Pro Max - 2 years this month and 87% with 736 cycle count
'iPhone 16 Pro Max - 2 years this month and 87% with 736 cycle count
iPhone 15 Pro Max after 2 years, 90% max capacity, 482 cycles. I kept it at 80% charge limit for the 2 years.
Lots of people reporting here how their battery is still close 100% after a year or so.
You can get the battery replaced at thousands of authorised service points all over the world. In addition, there are lots of non-authorised ones.
You can also order the replacement from Apple. A courier will pick the phone up and bring it back after a few days.
This has got nothing to do with planned obsolescence. If your battery has degraded by a few percentage points it won’t affect the usability of the device in practice.
If you don’t want to get the battery replaced (why?) then just buy a $20 power bank and juice up a bit while on the go.
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What a waste of your “energy”.
If you want to preserve your battery, charge your phone with a 5w power adapter at night, and fast charge only when you need top ups. It’s pretty clear that the more you fast charge your battery, the more quickly it will fail.
If you want to preserve your battery, charge your phone with a 5w power adapter at night, and fast charge only when you need top ups. It’s pretty clear that the more you fast charge your battery, the more quickly it will fail.
iPhone 16 Pro ordered at launch: 80% battery limit; 100% health; 178 cycles. It’s worth noting that batteries often begin with a greater than 100% capacity even though your health reading won’t show it.
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
My 15 Pro Max had 85% health and was definitely showing its age. I never used the charge limit. About 440 cycles. Sent it for trade in yesterday.
16 Pro Max: Charged it to 100% all the time / 301 Cycles / Capacity: 93%
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?
Battery Health: 95%
Charge cycles: 334
Charging: 100
Optimized Battery Charging: YES
16 Pro Max
planning on keeping the same settings with my 17 Pro Max🤷♂️
Charge cycles: 334
Charging: 100
Optimized Battery Charging: YES
16 Pro Max
planning on keeping the same settings with my 17 Pro Max🤷♂️