I upgraded to a 17 Pro from a 13 Pro and that battery, after 4 years and topping it up to 100% nearly every night still had a charge capacity over 80%. I've been charging to 85% with the 17 Pro but the angst of not seeing 100% when I grab it in the morning isn't worth the couple of % it sounds like it might save. I'm bailing and going back to 100% charge. iOS does a decent job of protecting the battery life with its smart charging.
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iPhone 16 Pro Max 80% Charge Limit: One Year Later, Was It Worth It?
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iPhone 15 Pro Max:
Manufacture Date : September 2023
First Use : October 2023
Maximum Capacity: 86%
Cycle Count. : 159
I always charge to 100%, and never with MagSafe. I also turn off location sharing, notifications, Siri, and background application updates, to extend the life of the battery. My previous iPhone, the iPhone 8+ lasted nearly 6 years on the same battery.
Manufacture Date : September 2023
First Use : October 2023
Maximum Capacity: 86%
Cycle Count. : 159
I always charge to 100%, and never with MagSafe. I also turn off location sharing, notifications, Siri, and background application updates, to extend the life of the battery. My previous iPhone, the iPhone 8+ lasted nearly 6 years on the same battery.
had my 16 Pro Max for exactly 12 months and only ever wirelessly charged it.
Capacity is at 92% with a cycle count of 398.
As someone who upgrades every year, my last couple of iPhones were in the 80% after 12 months so this isn’t a bad result.
Capacity is at 92% with a cycle count of 398.
As someone who upgrades every year, my last couple of iPhones were in the 80% after 12 months so this isn’t a bad result.
I decided a year ago to limit my maximum charging to 95%. In that time I have had 663 charge cycles (hot spotting from iPhone instead of home internet increases usage) and the alleged maximum is at 89%.
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?
Currently, I am on a ‘Upgrade and Protect’ plan where I give back my old iPhone and get a new (latest) one annually. So to be left with at 89% at the end of the year is fine.
Given other comments, curtailing full battery use doesn’t appear to be worth it. So this year, I will be going at 100% maximum and observe ‘Maximum Capacity’ as we go along.
Will report on findings this time next year!
iPhone 16 Pro purchased at launch. Always charged to 100%. Rarely let the battery drain to less than 20%. 98% health after 288 cycles. Not sure it's worth it to charge only to 80%. If anything, it might cause you to drop below 20% more often, further degrading the battery.
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ETA: I read over more of the thread and am now thinking it works even better than I thought! I see a lot of people in here with battery health under 90% with half as many cycles as my battery has, which is pretty crazy. I learned the hard way not to leave my devices with batteries plugged in and charged to 100% all the time, had a MBP battery that expanded and had to be replaced after using it plugged in without AlDente active. I install it on all my Mac laptops now and keep the max charge in the 60-80% range whenever they are plugged in, with occasional drain and fill to 100% to keep the battery calibrated.
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Yes, totally worth it! 16 PM, bought on release day, 80% limit all the time, 235 charges and still 104,9% capacity (coconut).
edit: i dont use social media crap, i am just using my phone for everyday usage, taking a lot of photos or playing chess on it (even on hot days while sitting in the sun).
edit: i dont use social media crap, i am just using my phone for everyday usage, taking a lot of photos or playing chess on it (even on hot days while sitting in the sun).
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I am at 96% maximum capacity with 329 cycle counts. I have never once limited the charge to 80%.
I also do a lot of navigating with the phone permanently plugged in… Turns out the 80% charge feature is a waste of time!
I also do a lot of navigating with the phone permanently plugged in… Turns out the 80% charge feature is a waste of time!
I’m 94% at 308 cycles.
I’m betting it makes more difference how you charge (cable vs MagSafe, speed charging or not), and how you use the phone (slow drain over the day, or 3D gaming for 3 hours). Plus if you live in a desert or Antarctica.
I think Apple mainly did this to show they care about battery life - which I honestly believe they do.
I’m betting it makes more difference how you charge (cable vs MagSafe, speed charging or not), and how you use the phone (slow drain over the day, or 3D gaming for 3 hours). Plus if you live in a desert or Antarctica.
I think Apple mainly did this to show they care about battery life - which I honestly believe they do.
My iPhone 15 Pro Max is exactly two years old. I had the maximum charge set to 80% until about three months ago when I changed it to 90%. When I am on holiday, I let the battery charge to 100% - this accounts for about 10 weeks. I very rarely us MagSafe to charge and my current battery health is at 92% after 338 charge cycles. I am wondering if MagSafe might be a significant factor in how fast a battery degrades?
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?
So it seems biggest parameter is luck. Meaning, some got a “better” battery than the margin Apple’s QA find as pass.
The elephant in the room is the fact Apple’s battery life are mediocre in comparison to other phones.
In the past, their aggressive iOS restrictions made iPhones win this game, but recent Android versions (14+ I think) has aggressive background processes killing similar to iOS with bigger batteries and for some phones newer tech batteries (https://www.androidauthority.com/smartphone-battery-golden-age-3550331/)
The iPhone 17 series is yet to use this newer tech.
The elephant in the room is the fact Apple’s battery life are mediocre in comparison to other phones.
In the past, their aggressive iOS restrictions made iPhones win this game, but recent Android versions (14+ I think) has aggressive background processes killing similar to iOS with bigger batteries and for some phones newer tech batteries (https://www.androidauthority.com/smartphone-battery-golden-age-3550331/)
The iPhone 17 series is yet to use this newer tech.