iPhone 16 Pro Max MagSafe charging increases your cycle count exponentially.

[Lift Bar]

Yes. MagSafe causes battery cycle count to increase significantly faster.

For example: i suspect that the heat from MagSafe “tricks” the phone into thinking it’s consuming more wattage and thus the faster it reaches 1 cycle count as compared to usb charging.

Thanks for your follow-up, but I think you’re holding onto a technical premise that isn’t correct. Battery cycles are calculated based on cumulative usage, when you’ve used 100% of the battery’s capacity, whether it’s over one session or multiple. There is no known mechanism by which heat from MagSafe can “trick” the phone into thinking it’s using more power because the battery management system measures actual energy flow, not external factors like heat or wattage.

MagSafe and other wireless chargers do generate more heat than wired charging, especially if the phone is in a case. While this wouldn’t impact cycle count, heat can degrade battery health over time, which might shorten the battery’s overall lifespan.

It’s a valid concern, and it’s one reason why some users stick to wired charging for regular use and reserve MagSafe for convenience.

 

[TechnoMonk]

Just use your phones folks, I take my my launch day iPhone 13 PM multiple times a week to sauna and steam room. iPhone battery tolerance is pretty good, and algorithms turn off the phone well before degradation. My iPhone 13 PM after 3+ years is still going at 88%.
The obsessive disorder about battery life is unhealthy.

 

[3304614]

I’ve used MagSafe for charging each and every day with my iPhone 12 Mini for… how long has it been… 1108 days (so says Alexa… won’t bother asking Siri, lol).

I can’t specifically see my cycle count on the iPhone 12 Mini (I think that’s a iPhone 15 and 16 feature). But my battery health is exactly what one would expect after 1108 days of use.

It’s possible that your brand new iPhone 16 Pro Max is inferior to my old iPhone 12 Mini. I mean, anything is possible. But… probably not, lol.

 

[MacCheetah3]

I can’t specifically see my cycle count on the iPhone 12 Mini (I think that’s a iPhone 15 and 16 feature).

FYI, if you wanted to for the sake of this discussion — otherwise, I recommend you continue to not worry...

Beyond apps such as coconutBattery, if you’ve allowed/enabled:

Share analytics, diagnostics, and usage information with Apple - Apple Support

Apple asks customers to help improve iOS by occasionally providing analytics, diagnostic, and usage information. Apple collects this information anonymously.

support.apple.com

Then:

How To Check iPhone Battery Cycle Count With A Shortcut - iOS Hacker

In this tutorial we will show you how you can check iPhone battery cycle count using a shortcut. This method works in 2023 and is supported by iOS 16 and latest iPhone models.

ioshacker.com

You don’t need a shortcut, it just parses the file.

https://www.reddit.com/r/ipad/comments/10r5mr2/psa_check_battery_health_and_cycles_without_any

The battery info is typically the final blob/paragraph of the file. And here are some explanations:

Shortcut: Check Your iPhone's Battery Cycle Count!

Apple says iPhones are designed to retain 80% of their original battery capacity after 500 charge cycles. Unfortunately, there hasn't been an easy way to

www.payetteforward.com

P.S. For unknown reasons, I’ve had some iDevices not log all values. The keys (e.g., MaximumCapacityPercent) are there but the value is not. Of course, this is also reflected in the shortcut results.

 

[Andrey84]

I suggest OP to take a curious attitude. You had a hypothesis, and many people have disproven it with their statistics. Think of this process as just getting to the truth, nothing more.

My usage is normal, around 2h 20m a day, details of usage are attached.

In my experience, 100% of battery usage = 1 cycle when charging with MagSafe.

I have 47 cycles from 89 days of daily use. I've set the charging limit to 80% - maybe this has helped.

 

[Mistletoe66]

I suggest OP to take a curious attitude. You had a hypothesis, and many people have disproven it with their statistics. Think of this process as just getting to the truth, nothing more.

My usage is normal, around 2h 20m a day, details of usage are attached.

In my experience, 100% of battery usage = 1 cycle when charging with MagSafe.

I have 47 cycles from 89 days of daily use. I've set the charging limit to 80% - maybe this has helped.

Thank you. As you can see I charged exclusively using MagSafe on white portion. For the red portion it’s exclusively usb c.

When I reach the 3rd cycle at approximately an additional 75% ish battery usage(?),
I will try exclusively charging using MagSafe again and see whether it will have the same trend of 100% battery usage = 1 cycle.

 

[Andrey84]

View attachment 2470264
Thank you. As you can see I charged exclusively using MagSafe on white portion. For the red portion it’s exclusively usb c.

When I reach the 3rd cycle at approximately an additional 75% ish battery usage(?),
I will try exclusively charging using MagSafe again and see whether it will have the same trend of 100% battery usage = 1 cycle.

Thank you for the screenshots.

I don't think these graphs give any additional information though.

If the battery usage bars in the white area are low, it just means this day your usage was lower - nothing to do with how you charged it.

The testing needs to be more scientific. Keep your usage broadly the same over the next 4 weeks. Charge with USB-C only for 2 weeks and then charge with MagSafe only for 2 weeks. Record the cycle count at the beginning of the experiment, and also every 2 weeks to get the cycle count increase numbers.

Monitor it like this:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
For similar phone usage
For similar time connected to the charger

• Wired-only charging for 14 days: cycle count increase = X
• MagSafe-only charging for 14 days: cycle count increase = Y

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Shorty89]

Yes. MagSafe causes battery cycle count to increase significantly faster.

For example: i suspect that the heat from MagSafe “tricks” the phone into thinking it’s consuming more wattage and thus the faster it reaches 1 cycle count as compared to usb charging.

Please show us your evidence

 

[Pierre535]

Six frivolous exchanges and people complain that Apple is so expensive.

 

[Lift Bar]

View attachment 2470264
Thank you. As you can see I charged exclusively using MagSafe on white portion. For the red portion it’s exclusively usb c.

When I reach the 3rd cycle at approximately an additional 75% ish battery usage(?),
I will try exclusively charging using MagSafe again and see whether it will have the same trend of 100% battery usage = 1 cycle.

Man, this is almost inspiring in the persistence to being wrong. Maybe this analogy will help:

Think of your battery like a fridge stocked with groceries. Every time you take food out, you’re using part of the fridge’s capacity. A cycle happens when you’ve emptied and restocked all the groceries, whether all at once or little by little.

How the groceries are restocked, delivery (MagSafe) or in person (USB-C), doesn’t matter. The fridge only cares about how much was taken out and replaced, not how it got there.

If you’re seeing more cycles with MagSafe, it’s not because the phone is “tricked.” It’s that more “food” (battery power) is being used during that time, maybe from apps background or otherwise or the screen being on.

Hope this helps!

 

[Reason077]

MagSafe is no different to me in terms of real world use. I have used a regular 13 for 2 years and have exclusively MagSafe charged it and I am down to 87% BH. That’s completely normal for its age and no different to my 6S, OGSE and 8 which were down to 86% BH or less in the same amount of time using a 5w Apple brick.

My iPhone 13 is 2.5 years old and still on 92% battery health. Best iPhone I've ever owned for battery life and lack of battery degradation. Mine has been mostly charged on Lightning, and just occasionally on MagSafe (usually when in a car).

87% actually seems pretty bad for a 13?

 

[Reason077]

Six frivolous exchanges and people complain that Apple is so expensive.

It does mean more cheap refurbished devices will become available. Maybe he's doing us a favor!

 

[Andeddu]

My iPhone 13 is 2.5 years old and still on 92% battery health. Best iPhone I've ever owned for battery life and lack of battery degradation. Mine has been mostly charged on Lightning, and just occasionally on MagSafe (usually when in a car).

87% actually seems pretty bad for a 13?

Probably not, I neglected to mention that my screen on time is pretty high and I charge my phone with a MagSafe battery pack every other day prior to charging it overnight on the MagSafe puck.

 

[ForkHandles]

1 cycle
2 cycles
4 cycles
8 cycles
16 cycles
32 cycles
64 cycles
128 cycles
256 cycles
512 cycles

Exponential means that after ten days you would have 1024 cycles using MagSafe.

 

[GLS]

15 Pro Max here.

First use was October 2023. In this phone's life, it may have been connected to a power source via cable half a dozen times. I purchased a Nomad magsafe stand for my bedside table; and I exclusively fully charge the phone at night while sleeping. Prior to iOS 18, I'd usually have around 70% battery life at the end of the day; now it's around 60%. I do have optimizied charging turned on; however, I do have no charge limit.

238 cycles.
93% battery life remaining.

The OP really is ignorant of how all of this works.

 

[Sami13496]

Question for OP: What does all of this matter if you can replace the phone’s battery relatively cheaply after a few years, or just get a new phone? Why stress about this or make any effort to preserve the battery when the benefit is practically zero? That battery will inevitably reach the end of its life sooner or later anyway. And the entire phone will also become outdated in a few years. Personally, I don’t see any sense in stressing over battery health or charge cycles.

 

[Mistletoe66]

Question for OP: What does all of this matter if you can replace the phone’s battery relatively cheaply after a few years, or just get a new phone? Why stress about this or make any effort to preserve the battery when the benefit is practically zero? That battery will inevitably reach the end of its life sooner or later anyway. And the entire phone will also become outdated in a few years. Personally, I don’t see any sense in stressing over battery health or charge cycles.

Thank you very much. I shall stick to MagSafe as a 50% usage of battery charging via usb c 8 watts, causes another increase of 1 cycle. This makes no sense already. Thanks!

 

[Eric-H]

Magsafe charging goes on Battery and then on Phone. And it use battery till a limit and recharge ever and ever time the battery.

Cable goes on two ways inside your phone, if Battery full it only use wired Power and no more the Battery.
Thats the answer for all …

You can read on Appple support page …

 

[TechnoMonk]

My iPhone 13 is 2.5 years old and still on 92% battery health. Best iPhone I've ever owned for battery life and lack of battery degradation. Mine has been mostly charged on Lightning, and just occasionally on MagSafe (usually when in a car).

87% actually seems pretty bad for a 13?

I am at 88% after more than 3 Years on 13 PM. That is very good considering battery for 7 plus I upgraded from needed to be replaced after 3 years. Batteries last much longer than they used to on iPhones.

 

[JuicyGoomba]

Wireless charging isn't an issue either.

I use a 5W charger from IKEA and charge every night, it doesn't even get warm as it slowly charges to 80% and then trickle charges to 100% closer to when my alarm is due to go off.

If you want to charge quickly, you should not be using wireless charging in the first place. It's not a realistic usage case for you.

 

[Mistletoe66]

I just turned cycle count of “5”and below are the images where I have the record of my new ip16pm since last Saturday.

As you can see…. The sum of the battery usage is only around 300%!!!!

My cycle count is F-I-V-E!!!!!

Should a full cycle be 100%???I really hope there’s experts that can advise me on this please , I will go for another return if needed .

Thanks and cheers everyone!!! Please be nice

 

[pali2704]

This Apple way of battery percentage is an estimate. You know that usually an iPhone stays at 100% way more than it stays at any level below 100. Also this happened 2 or 3 times to me: I've charged my iPhone to 95%, restart it, and it shows 99% or 97% ...

 

[Apple_Robert]

There is nothing wrong with your phone. Apple is going to ban any returns if you keep returning perfectly fine phones, because you don’t understand normal operations.

 

[Devyn89]

Putting all that battery information in settings might have been the worst thing Apple has done recently lol.

 

[aihpcfl]

All could change with the next OS update, right?

I'm sort of in the same camp as @Devyn89. No need to look at that stuff looking for a problem.