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iPhone 16 Users Complain About Excessive iOS 18 Battery Drain

On my XR, battery life is significantly degraded after upgrading to iOS 18. In addition, my battery health was at 84% while on iOS 17. Instantly after upgrading to iOS 18, it went down to 78%. On iOS 17, if hardly used, and fully charged in the morning, my XR would never go below 89% battery life at the end of the day. After upgrading to iOS 18, battery life is consistently at 60% or below at the end of the day, I do not even have to use the phone.
 
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SactoGuy18 said:
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.
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My fairly pedestrian pixel 8 pro goes for over a day between charges and it’s got a normal battery in terms of capacity. But you can also leave the screen on all day long because, unlike Apple, VRR actually works. It was wild the first time I realized I’d actually set my screen to never sleep and the pixel was still over 70% at 4pm. What I’m beginning to suspect is that iOS is such a mess under the hood they can’t do proper VRR- and apparently there are some videos out there that show frame limiting and whatnot so maybe it’s not hardware but lack of software know-how. I couldn’t say for sure but it seems like it
 
I noticed at a certain point in the beta cycle that my 15PM would heat up unbearably hot. It regularly wouldn't complete charging overnight and I'd wake up to a 'phone will continue charging when it cools down' notification, etc. It was pretty severe. Battery health went from 98/99% down to 92% in less than a week.

One of the later beta releases fixed it ... mostly. Launching the YouTube app would still fire up the blowtorches. I resorted to viewing YouTube via Safari (which isn't a great experience) and that was fine. It was only the actual app. When I got my 16PM (18.1 beta) the YouTube problem persisted. On a hunch, I deleted my entire 'downloaded' set of YouTube videos (Premium accounts can download videos to the local device in the app -- and I noticed the app was constantly trying to process or redownload or something). It was many GB of downloaded videos. Problem disappeared instantly and the battery's been a champ ever since.
 
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I‘m currently running an iPhone 15PM and ordered an iPhone 16PM due to bad battery life of the 15PM.

After having read this thread, I’m contemplating whether I should cancel my order.

I must admit that since the update to 18.0.1, the battery life of iPhone 15PM has quite improved.

Maybe Apple accidentally exchanged the code for the iPhone 16 PM for the iPhone 15PM. 🤪
 
For me I have isolated my battery drain in idle by experimenting... when my Apple Watch is on, my iPhone 16 drains 1% an hour. With it switched off (not a permanent solution lol!) I have zero drain. Bluetooth connection surely should not be draining like this?
 
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rob2bob said:
For me I have isolated my battery drain in idle by experimenting... when my Apple Watch is on, my iPhone 16 drains 1% an hour. With it switched off (not a permanent solution lol!) I have zero drain. Bluetooth connection surely should not be draining like this?
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Most definitely not! What shocks me is how (still) unoptimized the link to the watch is. My Garmin Fenix app had no discernible impact on battery life. The ultra 2 and 10 we tested at work showed something quite similar to you.
 
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MacRumors said:


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.

iphone-16-pro-max.jpg

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
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My day one iPhone 15 pro was burning when they shipped it to me and they patched it to not burn but battery is still the worst of any iPhone nd I had them all
 
For me it's Bluetooth draining the battery when I'm sleeping. Not sure what it's doing but it drains a third of the battery overnight. Had to create an automation to turn off Bluetooth permanently.
 
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Big Fat Lies! said:
Nearly every upgrade I’ve noticed that third-party apps are largely to blame. Whenever I see the battery drain, I launch Omnistat to check if the processor is running above 5% for both User and System. If it is, I start killing third-party apps one by one until the processor drops to 5%. Inevitably, it’s TikTok, YouTube, X, Instagram, and so on. After killing these apps, both the processor and battery are better.
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The app is 4 years old. Do you notice any issues with Omnistat 2 and iOS 18?
 
piria said:
For me it's Bluetooth draining the battery when I'm sleeping. Not sure what it's doing but it drains a third of the battery overnight. Had to create an automation to turn off Bluetooth permanently.
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Agree it seems to be Bluetooth related. Trouble is if I turn it off then my Apple Watch is not linking correctly. Until they fix the issue I can’t win either way.
 
Considering hopping to Android if the battery doesn’t improve soon. My 15 pro and now 16 pro have had mediocre battery life. I’m sitting at like 75% battery with 1 hour of screen usage today. Normally I’d expect around 85% battery. I’m not using GPS or streaming music. Just browsing Reddit or work emails. Light stuff.
 
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I’ve exchanged my 16 pm with a new unit today. Seems like it’s a newly manufactured unit with battery manufactured date September 2024. However my speaker quality seems to be playing lower quality audio…. I’m not sure if anyone faces this issue
 
I just switched from 14 Pro to 16 Pro Max and was expecting battery life, as some of the other users say. But it isn't.

My 16PM manufactured in September 2024 stats:

Today - 1h 27 min screen time and 51 mins idle = 87% battery left.
Yesterday - 4h 9 min screen time and 2h 43 min idle = 49% battery left
Monday - 4h 57 min screen time and 4h 52 min idle = 40% battery left

So, as I see among other users, I would be lucky to achieve a screen time of 8-10 hours and still have 50% battery time.

All of this after new installation (DFU mode via cable + MacOS), 18.0.1 installed.

Checklist of settings:

AOD - disabled
5G - disabled
Location Services - only selected
No stats is being sent to Apple or Developers
Background apps - turned off

Since Poland does not have an Apple Store (physical, official store - only online distribution), I spoke to Apple Online Support, which is available here. We went through the whole diagnosis (including remote diagnosis, which was fully correct). They could not help with this issue. I was only advised to observe the device, give it some time, and, if needed, speak to the local warranty service. However, Apple's representative doubts that this may be somehow related to the battery or hardware.

Since I bought this device through T-Mobile, I have no option but to exchange the phone immediately (there is a total lack of devices here; I have been waiting for my unit for close to one month).

I can assume (or be almost sure) that even if I decide to ask the service for the extended diagnosis, they will state that the device works ok.
 
Definitely having issues with my 16PM. Unplug at 7 am and then drains from 100% to 0% in 4 hours. "Home & Lock Screen" is usually at top of battery usage list. Right now, I have my phone plugged into a 5-watt charger at my office desk and even when charging it has lost 40% power from when I sat down, with 5-watt charger I am looking at running out of battery in the next 30 min :-(.
 
Iphone 15 pro max here and 1,5 hours of use = 70% battery drain?!

No lock screen widgets, weather apps removed and a whole series of other things tried, backgrounding of apps locked down to most essential, always limited brightness, no always on, … etc

It is crazy. I had no issues on my 14PM, adopted my wife’s 15PM and it has been a daily struggle combined with the upgrade to 18.0.1. I even disabled Ring alerts. Battery health is 99%. Charge limit of 85% … and with 1.5 hours of use, my phone sits at 15 %

I cannot afford two weeks of time to restore my phone and all apps, data, usernames and passwords one at a time …

Oh and as far as third party apps mentioned earlier, I don’t even have tiktok, use youtube, x, instagram, …

I am talking phone, messages, facetime, safari, lock screen, weather, and limited amazon, pro weather, discord, … again … like using the phone 1-2 hours a day … tops.
 
My wife and I both have 14 Pros bought around the same time. She's on 17.6 and I upgraded to 18. I get 4.5 hours screen time max out of my phone to get from 100% to 1%. She gets 10-12! I used to get that much before I upgraded to 18.

There's significant idle and active drain. Home and lock screen was eating a lot of screen off time per hour. I removed all widgets from the lock screen and it had a minimal effect. I removed all widgets everywhere and a small effect. The HomeAssistant app was eating a ton of background time, like every minute of every hour. Removing that reduced that background usage on the hourly usage chart but still, barely 4.5 hours of usage out of it. I can watch the battery drop by 5-10% every time I used the phone. Using the phone as a telephone for an hour easily sucks a good 20-25%.

I am really kicking myself for upgrading and not having a local pre-upgrade backup. I might have to wipe back to 17.6 and rebuild. UGH.
 
icerabbit said:
Iphone 15 pro max here and 1,5 hours of use = 70% battery drain?!

No lock screen widgets, weather apps removed and a whole series of other things tried, backgrounding of apps locked down to most essential, always limited brightness, no always on, … etc

It is crazy. I had no issues on my 14PM, adopted my wife’s 15PM and it has been a daily struggle combined with the upgrade to 18.0.1. I even disabled Ring alerts. Battery health is 99%. Charge limit of 85% … and with 1.5 hours of use, my phone sits at 15 %

I cannot afford two weeks of time to restore my phone and all apps, data, usernames and passwords one at a time …

Oh and as far as third party apps mentioned earlier, I don’t even have tiktok, use youtube, x, instagram, …

I am talking phone, messages, facetime, safari, lock screen, weather, and limited amazon, pro weather, discord, … again … like using the phone 1-2 hours a day … tops.
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I wouldn’t say 2 weeks. I restored system form iCloud without backup so photos, passwords, notes, contacts, reminders were restored as a part of the online account. I had to manually restore apps and settings). Apps mostly have info in cloud but some require manual work. The whole process took me 4-5h.
 
WarmWinterHat said:
That I disagree with. While the 13 Pro, which is what I upgraded from, had a smaller notch than the 12, I think it was A LOT less obtrusive and out of the way than the Dynamic Island/pill. That little bar of screen above the pill is an absolute waste of space and I don't get why people like it batter.
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I believe the space above the pill was intended to help create the illusion of a "true" all-screen device (i.e. one lacking any cutouts whatsoever). That's what it does for me. Maybe it's like those "magic eye" books from the 90's where some people see the image right away and others never see it.
 
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