I’m a battery/efficiency hobbyist - I prefer to follow credible/corroborating scientific research over a random blogger, YouTuber, or ‘journalist.’ Mostly good info in those links, but IMHO, also some really bad advice too.
After 3yrs, my XR started consistently shutting down @14%, so I went to
BattUniv for recalibration advice. A single full discharge/charge cycle
fixed it perfectly. For unexpected shutdowns, AppleToolBox instead suggests ‘these can all be fixed by restoring your device?’ - way too much of a PITA for me.
Lots of myths state low low states of charge are harmful batteries, and while that may be true in long-term storage situations (where self-discharge eventually depletes below critical minimums), it’s just not a factor for daily use devices, esp. with manufacturer’s built-in safety margins. Scientific research (eg,
link1 and
link2), seems to indicates the lower you can go, the better, with <60% as the stress-free zone and rendering cycle count essentially moot.
The last paragraph from the Apple discussion blogger suggesting that a plugged-in 80% SoC is a good trade-off to save ~20 cycles/yr (ie 5% overnight batt depletion) is laughable. Sure idle overnight at 80% is better than 100%, but it’s still in the batt stress zone. Idle <60% is far better and can be automated with cheap light timers, smartplugs, and/or usb dongles.
Does this stuff actually work?
Anecdotally, here’s my
3yo XR and
10yo 5 still capable of 100% and 60% Apple ‘upto’ SOT spec. To put that in perspective, see how many new 14-series can achieve 60% Apple spec.
(Also both articles recommend Apple’s ‘Optimization’ - IMHO, this feature is net detrimental to the battery and more of a ploy to use your phone/batt as an AirTag crowdsource beacon… but hey, that’s just my conspiracy theory.)