Apple releases a surprise iPhone battery boost update – and it saves users money
The iPhone 15's battery life is actually longer than initially thought, Apple has revealed.
The Silicon Valley giant initially said its latest device would retain up to 80 percent of its original capacity for 500 full charge cycles.
But Apple has now told news site 9to5Mac that the iPhone 15 can retain 80 percent of its original capacity after 1,000 full charge cycles.
It's a significant improvement in maximum battery capacity compared to what Apple first marketed to consumers.
“Maximum battery capacity measures the device's battery capacity compared to when it was new,” Apple says on a help page on its website.
“A battery will have a lower capacity as it chemically ages, which can result in fewer hours of use between charges.
“Depending on the length of time between when the iPhone was made and when it was activated, the battery capacity may be slightly less than 100 percent.”
No matter what you do, your iPhone's battery has a limited shelf life and will slow down as it ages.
But this boost saves customers money when replacing their batteries because it gives them double the time with healthy battery life.
And it applies to all iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max models.
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The company discovered the improvement after rigorous testing, which required charging and discharging the battery 1,000 times in a way that mimicked common usage scenarios.
Previous iPhone models still maintain 80 percent capacity over 500 full charge cycles.
Apple will conduct research on older iPhone models to see if their batteries perform better than expected.
It comes ahead of the upcoming iOS 17.4 update, which will give iPhone owners more information about whether their battery and battery health are normal.
The battery screen in Settings offers users two new menus: Battery Status and Charging Optimization.
This allows users to check at a glance whether their battery status is “normal”.
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