iOS 16

iPhone users continue to complain of battery life issues after installing iOS 16

Chance Miller | Sep 25 2022 - 7:23 am PT

iOS 16 has been available for just about two weeks, and users are continuing to complain that the update has destroyed their iPhone’s battery life. While a temporary hit to battery life is normal after a software update, something different seems to be going on this time around, with iPhone users still complaining two weeks later…

iOS 16 battery life

When you update your iPhone to a new version of iOS, there’s usually a temporary hit to your battery life immediately after installing that update. This is because iOS is doing things in the background like reindexing files, photos, apps, and more. This type of hit to your iPhone’s battery is especially notable with Apple’s yearly flagship software releases, like iOS 16, because they are such massive updates.

In general, this leads to a flood of battery life complaints immediately after a new software version is released. But once all of the background reindexing is complete, the complaints usually subside. This year, however, the complaints have not subsided and many users are convinced that iOS 16 has completely destroyed their iPhone’s battery life.

A quick search on any social media platform, including Reddit, TikTok, and Twitter, will unearth thousands of complaints from iPhone users. These users all say that their iPhone battery life has taken a significant hit since installing iOS 16 two weeks ago. And of course, there are a number of conspiracy theories about Apple purposefully reducing battery life on older iPhones to drive iPhone 14 sales.

Top comment by Devon Neubauer

Liked by 47 people

I have had the new 14 Pro for a week and a half and have had major battery drainage issues. I turned off the always on display and made a couple other suggested setting changes and have seen some improvement, but there are definitely still issues. I wish they would develop one settings page where ALL settings that can affect battery usage could be housed and managed. Most settings that make a difference to battery usage are buried in various places/pages and often under secondary menus. Very hard to keep track of any changes made when you want to revert back. This could definitely be organized better. I love the new phone and software but I hope they can fix some of these battery issues so I don’t have to be tethered to a charger all day long.

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In a poll of 9to5Mac readers last week, 63% of iPhone users said their battery life is worse after installing iOS 16. This seems to broadly line up with public sentiment regarding iOS 16’s battery life impact. On Reddit, one user writes:

My battery drain is hugely more than i usually had. I work in the office and dont use my 13 PM that much during the day, nothing has changed in my behaviour. On iOS 15 I mostly came home with between 85% – 90% left. With iOS 16 its between 65% – 75%. That’s in my opinion quite A LOT when almost not using my phone.

Another user:

Battery on 13 pro max drains like crazy. It went from 11-12hrs SOT to just 7hrs and it lags like hell when I do facetime or PiP, it just lags in general. I do know it takes a few days for the phone to be normal again but it’s already been almost a week. I’m contemplating on going back to 15.7 but I might need some opinions first.

Apple hasn’t yet commented on these battery life concerns from iOS 16 users. The company has released iOS 16.0.2 to the public with no mention of battery life improvements. iOS 16.1 is also currently in beta testing.

How’s your iPhone battery life since installing iOS 16? Is it significantly worse than when you were running iOS 15? Let us know down in the comments.

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