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Test Shows How Much Battery Drain Your Wallpaper Causes on the iPhone 14 Pro's Always-On Display

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With the introduction of an always-on display in the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max, many users have wondered how much impact the feature has on battery life. A new video takes a careful look at just how much battery drain there is with the always-on display and whether turning off the wallpaper reduces that drain.


At launch, users were unable to customize different aspects of the always-on display, but as of the iOS 16.2 update released last month, Apple has given users options to enable or disable the wallpaper and notifications while the Lock Screen is dimmed.

By disabling the wallpaper, the always-on display is black other than for the clock, date, any widgets you have set up on your iOS lock screen, and recent notifications, if enabled. YouTuber PhoneBuff tested whether or not enabling or disabling the wallpaper impacts overall iPhone battery life.

iphone-14-pro-ios-16-battery-drain2.jpeg

In the test, it was found that by having the wallpaper enabled for the always-on display, an iPhone 14 Pro will drain around 0.8% per hour, compared to 0.6% an hour for the wallpaper disabled on the always-on display.

In the video, PhoneBuff also compared the iPhone 14 Pro's always-on display technology to the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra. One interesting point found in that comparison was that over time, the Galaxy S22 Ultra would move the clock on the always-on display around, presumably to prevent OLED burn-in from a static image being shown on display for prolonged periods.

On the iPhone, no such thing occurs, as time and all other information stay in place. The iPhone 14 Pro and Galaxy S22 Ultra drained at the same rate during the test, reaching 84% after 24 hours of the always-on display.

Article Link: Test Shows How Much Battery Drain Your Wallpaper Causes on the iPhone 14 Pro's Always-On Display
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2023/01/05/iphone-14-pro-always-on-display-battery/
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This really highlights how efficient Apple's original implantation (see edit), wallpaper included, really is.

That being said, ever since turning off the wallpaper for AOD, I haven't looked back. So much nicer on my eyes.

Edit: that should say implementation not implantation.. ffs
 
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I turned it off on the watch and phone and after a day of use it definitely is a noticeable percentage difference for both, for me. Obviously not a scientific test, but my wife found the same on her phone and watch - maybe 20% extra battery life by the end of the day.

I don't need the AOD, but for people who do, it is a pretty efficient implementation.
 
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I really like the wallpaper off option, it's enough for me to use it now.

It would be great if Apple could offer greater customisation of the feature in the future though, like let me choose a "Home Screen for the AOD mode", where I can customise the size of elements. If there are fewer pixels illuminated, I suppose the battery draw would be minimal. I'm also not fussed about seeing playback controls on the screen, makes it look cluttered when it's off.

It would be great if Apple could also provide a more obvious "you have a notification" indicator, similar to how it works on some Android handsets with the LED indicators. Please give me a small green / blue light between the display holes or something.
 
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centauratlas said:
I turned it off on the watch and phone and after a day of use it definitely is a noticeable percentage difference for both, for me. Obviously not a scientific test, but my wife found the same on her phone and watch - maybe 20% extra battery life by the end of the day.

I don't need the AOD, but for people who do, it is a pretty efficient implementation.
Click to expand...
Yeah I keep it off on the Watch for the increased battery life, it definitely makes an improvement to the battery life. I had it on for a couple of years, but noticed some burn-in due to me using the same watch face. Switching it off made a big improvement to the "ghost" effect over the course of a year though, so it can be somewhat reversed.
 
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Unggoy Murderer said:
Yeah I keep it off on the Watch for the increased battery life, it definitely makes an improvement to the battery life. I had it on for a couple of years, but noticed some burn-in due to me using the same watch face. Switching it off made a big improvement to the "ghost" effect over the course of a year though, so it can be somewhat reversed.
Click to expand...
I can’t even fathom turning it off on the watch. AOD was a game changer on watches and my series 5 gets the same battery life as my series 2 without... which is a full day charge. I charge every night while Sleeping.
 
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I turned it off after the first week. It was just too distracting as I'd constantly be glancing at my phone. Plus, it was really irritating how the notifications would always 'stack' even if set not to and also how the notifications would be in dark mode. I understand why they're in dark mode but it's still jarring to have them flip colour every time you pick up your phone. I have my watch for notifications anyway, so that'll do me and the bit of extra battery life is a plus.
 
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You know, if you really want to save battery, cut off the middle man and just shut the phone down and never use it. And don't forget to make a video of your findings, please. Preferably one with a photo of you making a silly face in the thumbnail.
 
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sparkinstx said:
After seeing someone here post a concern about screen burn on their 14 Pro, I helped may daughter turn off AOD on her 14 Pro Max. She hasn't missed AOD at all. I recently got an Apple Watch Series 8 and I turned off AOD on that as well.
Click to expand...

As someone who has used OLED on my TVs since 2016 and on my desktop since Q1 2022 I feel very confident about burn in not being any issue when it comes to AOD. The brightness levels are too low for that to really be any concern.

Burn in, or image retention is mostly an issue if you are pushing brightness levels. I have tons of static elements on my desktop monitors but as a result of me having good light control in my office I have no need for anything more than 100 nits brightness and there is no retention to be found.
 
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Rychiar said:
I can’t even fathom turning it off on the watch. AOD was a game changer on watches and my series 5 gets the same battery life as my series 2 without... which is a full day charge. I charge every night while Sleeping.
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Same. Got new watch for Christmas and the aesthetics of the always on watch is so much better it’s on forever unless on a day I am doing a huge run. It looks like a real watch now not just a screen attached to your wrist.
 
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Unggoy Murderer said:
I really like the wallpaper off option, it's enough for me to use it now.
Click to expand...

I always used AOD when I originally got my 14 Pro, but once the PB of iOS 16.2, I immediately installed it and turned off the wallpaper option. I really don’t need to see that — the primarily thing for me was having the clock, widgets and notifications still displayed.
 
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Battery on my iPhone 12 on iOS 16.2 is total garbage the las 20% on battery saver just makes it last 20 minutes at the most and when I close apps the apps still sound on the background its a total nightmare, plus I’m most certain the battery degraded faster because I sed a wireless charging station
 
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