If Only the iPhone Battery Indicator Was This Clear
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Last updated 2 days ago
Users write on social networks that iOS 18 leads to the discharge of their iPhone batteries Quick battery drain. Historically, this has been temporary, usually associated with new hardware and a major OS update.
The annual battery drain season is in full swing now, as even long-time iPhone users complain that their battery life is dropping quickly after updating to iOS 18. However, long-time iPhone users should know that this happened with iOS 17, too.
And with iOS 16, as it did with iOS 15, and before that, iOS 14. In five minutes of scrolling through the AppleInsider archive, it was easy to see our iOS 14 coverage.
Consumer groups have been challenging Apple on this one, but battery drain after OS updates has certainly happened before.
If your iPhone battery is draining faster than usual, chances are you updated iOS in the last week or two or bought a new iPhone. You may not be actively using the battery, but your iPhone is using it as it rebuilds databases like Spotlight.
Here's what happens here, almost all the time. The iPhone says it's updated to the latest version of iOS, but that just means it's installed.
Back in 2022, Apple actually responded to social media complaints about its then-new iOS 15.4 draining battery life. It might be a bit generous to call it a response, since it had just said the same thing about the update taking a while to complete.
It was at least a response from a usually quiet company. And it was a social media response from Apple, which effectively makes this a Dear Diary moment.
Apple doesn’t read social media, it doesn’t read the news. It just keeps having fun.
So there are hundreds of people complaining on Reddit and even Apple’s own support forums right now, and it doesn’t matter. If Apple sees it, they assume it’s the same old, same old, and move on.
We’ve been tracking this for a while now. We’ve had a few emails about it, but the volume has slowed down. Sure, social media posts are forever, but they’ve slowed down, too.
Based on our service contacts, the number of complaints to stores is lower than usual. That doesn't mean you don't encounter it, of course, but in 2024 it doesn't seem to be a bigger problem than ever.
If your battery drain is different, if the battery drain doesn't happen within a week or two of an update or a new phone, don't bother with the forums. Instead, go straight to Apple and document what's happening with their support team.
That way, if it turns out your iPhone has a hardware fault, you can prove you reported it.
This could ultimately make a difference to you if there's ever a payout in a class action lawsuit over battery faults. More practically, Apple doesn't make any moves without actual data.
Without it, they won't do anything.
If that doesn't happen within a week or so, there may be something else wrong and Apple needs a pat on the back. Just like it did in 2023, when Apple eventually released a watchOS update to fix unusual battery drain issues on the Apple Watch.
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