iphone 16 plus has been nothing short of fantastic thankfully. gps all day. videos. etc still battery until almost midnight . but then again every release i do clean install. with no backups
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iPhone 16 Users Complain About Excessive iOS 18 Battery Drain
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I’m really glad I finally see an article on this. Brand new 16 Pro on 18.0.1 and getting about 5 hours screen on time with light usage. I recently set my charge limit to 80% and I’ll be lucky to wake up at 72%. I tried playing around with the settings and it’s still bizarre how terrible my battery is.
Some iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro users have been experiencing excessive and unexplainable battery drain, according to complaints on Reddit, the Apple Support Communities, and the MacRumors forums. While many of the reports are from iPhone 16 users, older iPhones running iOS 18 may also be experiencing battery life issues.
There is a long-running iOS 18 battery life complaint thread on MacRumors that was started while the update was still in beta, but there have been a fresh wave of complaints following iOS 18's launch and the debut of the iPhone 16 models.
Affected iPhone 16 owners have seen significant battery drain even when the iPhone is not in use. From MacRumors reader T1aaj:
From JulianL:
In some cases, much of the battery drain happens in standby mode when the iPhone isn't in use, suggesting a background activity could be causing problems for some users. Using the phone seems to cut the battery drain in these instances.
From huanbrother:
From kirbysmartdawg:
There are similar complaints about the iPhone 16 models and older iPhones running iOS 18 on Reddit, and while we always see reports of battery life issues when a new version of iOS comes out, there seems to be a definite uptick in the number of people having problems.
From Reddit user Ok-Interest-6561:
On Reddit, one user did an experiment with an iPhone 16 Pro and an iPhone 14 Pro, and claimed to have used both in the same way. The iPhone 16 Pro dropped to 58 percent battery life within 36 hours, while the iPhone 14 Pro was at 85 percent.
Battery drainage issues are difficult to diagnose because iPhone usage habits vary so much from person to person and from day to day. Impacted users have tried turning off ProMotion, disabling the Always On display, turning off background app refresh, removing widgets, turning off cellular, and entirely resetting their iPhones. Some people have seen improvement with some of these methods, but not all have, and the battery life issues persist for many despite troubleshooting.
Some users reported improvement with iOS 18.0.1 and the iOS 18.1 beta, but software updates have not worked for everyone. It is not clear exactly what's going on to impact battery, but it's sounding like there is an underlying bug that Apple will need to fix in a future iOS 18 update.
Article Link: iPhone 16 Users Complain About Excessive iOS 18 Battery Drain
Battery has been great for on my 16 Pro, and I haven't done a clean install since the iPhone 3G or 4.
Funny you mention this - I've experienced a weird bug where the flashlight is "on" in software, but not actually emitting light "on" in hardware. Do you by chance have your flashlight mapped to the action button?
might not be needed but that's just me. i never had issues with clean installs. its just something I like to do
Oh interesting! I wonder if others have this issue too.
I don’t. I still have the action button for mute/ringer like before.
Did you have the live activity for the flashlight around your dynamic island? This is how I noticed it.
it’s happened on my iPhone 14. It’s day and night. Since iOS 18 overnight I have to now carry a battery pack with me.
My iPhone 16 Plus has worked very well in terms of battery life. If battery life per charge seems short try using 90% maximum charge after using the phone for a week or so. I'm also appreciative that the 16 Plus charges surprisingly fast even on a 12 watt/2.4 ampere USB Type A to USB Type C charging connection.
Suxs then you buy one. Every year and every new hardware, every new Os version.
Rinse repeat nothing new here. Time to move on .
It's an Apple thing. Someone needs to make an apple song called growing pains.
Rinse repeat nothing new here. Time to move on .
It's an Apple thing. Someone needs to make an apple song called growing pains.
Same for me. I charge to 90 percent.
Some days it stays at that for an hour or so. But other days it will go through 5 to 10% in around 20 minutes. It is a beta so there is a lot going on. But I don’t have the same issue on the 15 Pro Max.
Very much not an Apple thing. Happens over on Android. Difference is. Apple actually fixes the issues.Suxs then you buy one. Every year and every new hardware, every new Os version.
Rinse repeat nothing new here. Time to move on .
It's an Apple thing. Someone needs to make an apple song called growing pains.
Anyone else remember when Apple used to be the gold standard for software updates and releases? Always worked, practically zero issues or bugs, etc…now? Even Microsoft does a better job at their operating systems and updates. I’m still convinced that Apple needs to clear house and get rid of the iOS team, bring in new talent that can do a proper job.
Vested interests and prioritizing shareholder value instead of making quality products and software. Fixing bugs isn’t sexy and it’s not a priority. Work buys me a new iPhone each year but I’ve yet to convince them to stop. I, however, still rock my personal 13 pro max and it will likely be the last iPhone/Apple product I buy unless there is a huge course correction at the company.
What’s one person though, you ask? Well, stating next year I will be able to keep my work from buying these phones and I will. I’m also moving my family off Apple products in general. If you want family tech support you go buy something else. Slowly the tide will turn but you gotta understand Apple will never crater. They will just continue the unabated slide backward into mediocrity
I don't think the Samsung Galaxy S models are much better. Having to support 120 Hz VRR on a fairly large screen plus the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC on the Galaxy S24 Ultra really drains the battery fairly fast
This is objectively false. I’ve got to plenty of weird Android devices to test including a Galaxy, a OnePlus etc. the Galaxy smokes the iPhone
Mind you, most of those high-end Android devices also use large batteries: The OnePlus 12 uses two 2,700 mAh batteries, the Galaxy S24 Ultra a single 5,000 mAh battery pack. They better have decent battery life at that capacity.