Some iOS 16 Users Complain About Slow Spotlight Search and Battery Drain

[chrono1081]

Interesting how this article tries to normalize piss poor design and performance...'After a major iOS update, it's normal for your iPhone to deplete battery life faster as it conducts indexing and background tasks...'
It should be better than the previous model and improve after the so-called indexing tasks.

The article isn't wrong here though, it's literally what has to happen to get better performance and battery life. Any OS update in the history of modern computing does the same thing. There's no way around it and there's no magical way to improve indexing. It's just work the computer has to do.

The issue is AFTER these things are done, the battery is still draining fast for some users, myself included.

 

[Steve121178]

It's murdering the battery on my 'second' phone, iPhone 11 Pro. Battery life was always one of its strong points with previous releases.

When I look at the usage it just doesn't add up. There must be various unoptimized iOS processes that are drinking the juice.

Last night the phone became almost too hot to handle. That's never happened before.

 

[antiprotest]

Just download more RAM.

 

[fwmireault]

I definitely have a slow Spotlight since a few weeks, I hope it will be fixed soon

 

[jayducharme]

My 13 mini is definitely draining the battery faster than with iOS 15. I used to get through my day with about 50-60% left. Now it’s about 30%. The camera app seems to drain the battery a lot faster, especially with video. With iOS 15 I was able to shoot 4k video continuously for an hour, and would lose at most about 15% of my battery. Now I’m losing about 60%.

 

[tobiastimpe]

I haven't noticed anything specific, however, Photo Library and Spotlight indexing of course take some time, so leaving your iPhone connected to power overnight for a couple of days is definitely recommended.

 

[spazzcat]

Geez, iOS16 has been nothing short of a mess it seems.

With that being said, I haven’t had any issues at all and very much enjoy it.

Or it just seems that way because MC is making every complaint into a news story...

 

[haruhiko]

Spotlight search is VERY slow both on my 13 Pro and 14 Pro.
I can only type the first two letters to let it start finding out something and slowly type the 3rd letter and so on to refine the results. If you use swipe keyboard to type out the whole word at once, good luck waiting.
There is nothing to do with indexing.

 

[Corsig]

14 Pro Max and hugggge battery drain

 

[Reason077]

New iOS release runs slower than the last? Shocking!! 🤣

 

[Sammy in SoCal]

14 Pro Max and hugggge battery drain

How many adult sites do you have running in the background?

 

[ApostolisApo]

Well, it's been like this since beta 1.

I don't know, WFH works very well for me, but maybe for a company like Apple it's not the best way to work?

Or maybe they didn't even try make WFH work with the hope that they will come fully back to office some time?

 

[BuffyzDead]

No issues whatsoever. iPhone 14 Pro under 16.1 Beta

Mind you, ....it is BETA, so IF there were battery issues, I would understand and take responsibility for choosing to
run BETA software on my iPhone 14 Pro

But like I stated, ...No Battery Issues Whatsoever

 

[ratpH1nk]

It's been nine days since Apple released iOS 16 to the public, bringing major changes to the Lock Screen, Messages, Maps, and more. In the days following the release, some users have encountered several issues on their iPhones, ranging from slow system performance to battery drain.

In the past few days, iPhone 14 Pro users have shared specific bugs related to Apple's latest high-end iPhones, including camera shaking, iMessage and FaceTime activation issues, and more. There are other issues, though, impacting the broader group of iOS 16 users, and we've aggregated two issues based on user reports below.

Abnormal Battery Drain

After a major iOS update, it's normal for your iPhone to deplete battery life faster as it conducts indexing and background tasks; however, some users across Twitter, the MacRumors Forums (1, 2), and Reddit (1,2) are reporting excessive battery drain days after the update.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1572277628115062789

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1572254200549048325

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1572222900219805696

Other users are reporting an improvement in battery life compared to iOS 15, so the overall experience is rather mixed. Apple has recently acknowledged that enabling haptic feedback for the keyboard in iOS 16 may deplete battery life, so users experiencing battery drain could try turning that off if they have it enabled. If you're still experiencing battery issues, see our explainer.

Slow Spotlight Search

A more prominent issue facing iOS 16 users is slow performance in Spotlight search. Users are reporting that Spotlight sometimes takes up to 10 seconds to load results on iOS 16 and sometimes doesn't load at all. Users on multiple Reddit (1,2) and MacRumors forum threads (1,2) are sharing their experiences:
For this specific bug, multiple users have said that resetting all settings significantly improved the performance of Spotlight search, but an official solution and/or bug fix has not been issued by Apple.

New iOS 16 Update Coming Next Week

Apple has confirmed that it's aware of some of the issues being experienced by users, including camera shaking on the latest iPhone 14 Pro, and has promised an iOS 16 update next week. The update, most likely to be iOS 16.0.2, will include a fix for camera issues, an annoying copy and paste prompt, and iMessage and FaceTime activation. The update could also address other issues being felt by users, such as including battery drain and slow Spotlight search.

Article Link: Some iOS 16 Users Complain About Slow Spotlight Search and Battery Drain

Definitely seeing more drain on iPhone 13 Pro on iOS 16 vs 15

 

[polyphenol]

My 12 Pro had its worst ever battery drain after updating from 15.6 to 15.7. I can usually get at least towards two days out of it but it only managed about six or seven hours before hitting 20% left. (I rarely get that low.)

If there something in 15.7, which I assume would also be in 16 (all versions), that caused the issue? In which case, would it affect anyone updating from 15.6 to any version of 16 - but possibly not if you are already on 15.7?

 

[hagjohn]

Battery drain on all Apple products has become normal.

 

[thadoggfather]

My 12 Pro had its worst ever battery drain after updating from 15.6 to 15.7. I can usually get at least towards two days out of it but it only managed about six or seven hours before hitting 20% left. (I rarely get that low.)

If there something in 15.7, which I assume would also be in 16 (all versions), that caused the issue? In which case, would it affect anyone updating from 15.6 to any version of 16 - but possibly not if you are already on 15.7?

15.7 on any devices but those that stop at iOS 15 (like 6s and SE1) was a release candidate only and not a GM. I believe it was OTA only for 12 Pro.

Best to probably try 16.0 onwards, since I think that one was shunned, if its already bad for you but that sucks.

 

[rjruiz2]

Some of my app notifications are no longer working. I checked focus modes and all the individual app notifications settings, everything seems fine

 

[lanomds1]

Apple should start dropping OS updates every two years, so they would have time enough to work on the bugs and have more solid and reliable updates.

 

[ImaginaryNerve]

My iPhone 13 Pro Max had some significant battery issues after upgrading to iOS 16, to the point where it was on the charger multiple times a day but it seemed to have cleared up yesterday and today so far.

 

[polyphenol]

15.7 on any devices but those that stop at iOS 15 (like 6s and SE1) was a release candidate only and not a GM. I believe it was OTA only for 12 Pro.

Best to probably try 16.0 onwards, since I think that one was shunned, if its already bad for you but that sucks.

Ah! I just applied it as it was available when I checked.

It was only on the day I updated that it had an issue. I put it on charge overnight and all has been well since.

 

[polyphenol]

Apple should start dropping OS updates every two years, so they would have time enough to work on the bugs and have more solid and reliable updates.

Half as often but with twice the number of changes?

Maybe twice a year each with half as many changes.

 

[adrianlondon]

Apple should start dropping OS updates every two years, so they would have time enough to work on the bugs and have more solid and reliable updates.

Difficult, as they release new phones with new capabilities (such as this year's AOD and new cameras) that have to be coded for.

 

[Corsig]

How many adult sites do you have running in the background?

Only 12. You think that’s the problem?

 

[DMG35]

Battery drain on all Apple products has become normal.

Clearly you've never used an M1 MacBook Air or Pro.