Ever since upgrading to iOS 18, my iPhone's battery life has taken a severe hit. Issues solely received worse with subsequent releases, and nothing has been improved by the newest 18.3.1 safety patch. By lunchtime, my battery is never above 40%, and I've needed to make energy banks my new greatest pals.
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Day or night time, the battery drain has been relentless — far worse than something I keep in mind with earlier updates. Even Low Energy Mode barely makes a distinction, leaving me consistently trying to find a charger.
I made a decision to research
So, a number of weeks in the past, I started wanting into the problem.
For any battery drain downside, the primary place I all the time look is beneath the Battery display in Settings. This part is a treasure trove of knowledge, not solely associated to the battery but in addition to the apps which are operating and consuming energy. Two charts are displayed right here: Battery Degree, which reveals how the cost degree modifications at 15-minute intervals, and Exercise, which makes use of a bar chart as an instance which apps have been lively and utilizing battery energy in hourly intervals. You possibly can faucet on the bars for a deeper dive into what's been taking place in your iPhone throughout that interval.
However apart from elevated utilization by House & Lock Display (mainly, any exercise on the lock display, equivalent to notifications or widgets), there was nothing out of the extraordinary. I did strive disabling the iPhone's always-on show — the setting to do that is beneath Settings > Show & Brightness > At all times On Show — however to no avail.
The issue persevered.
I discovered the offender
After extra investigating, testing, tweaking settings, and a variety of frustration, I discovered the offender: Apple Intelligence. With Apple Intelligence enabled (the setting may be discovered beneath Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri), I discovered it not possible to make it by means of a day with out recharging. Nonetheless, with it disabled, my battery life returned to its former ranges, permitting me to depart the facility financial institution at dwelling.
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And right here's the kicker: I'm not even utilizing Apple Intelligence. I had enabled it briefly for testing, however I shortly moved on to different issues. Actually, I discover it fairly underwhelming, however I didn't anticipate it to empty my battery a lot — particularly when it wasn't actively getting used.
This difficulty doesn't appear to be restricted to my {hardware}, both. I've come throughout loads of comparable studies, and it's not simply affecting iPhones. Some customers are blaming Apple Intelligence for extreme battery drain on MacBooks as nicely. I've observed the identical on my MacBook Professional — turning Apple Intelligence off instantly fixes the issue.
Critical optimization points
The impact is constant throughout my units. On my iPhone, MacBook Professional, and even, to a lesser extent, my iPad, the sample is similar: flip Apple Intelligence on, and battery life drops like a rock; flip it off, and issues return to regular.
At this level, it's clear that Apple Intelligence has some severe optimization points. Whereas it may need potential for some customers, the battery tradeoff is tough to justify proper now.
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In case your iPhone's battery life has been particularly dangerous since upgrading to iOS 18 and also you've enabled the Apple Intelligence characteristic, it is perhaps the offender. I say "may" as a result of that is a kind of "your mileage might range" conditions. That stated, in the event you're not discovering Apple Intelligence all that helpful, there's no hurt in turning it off to see if it helps.
Right here's the kicker: Apple actually desires you to make use of Apple Intelligence. Putting in iOS 18.3 mechanically enabled the characteristic, and I've heard from a number of customers that the 18.3.1 replace re-enabled it even after they’d turned it off.
Now, I'm not anti-Apple Intelligence — it has its deserves for some customers — however for individuals who don't discover it useful, the battery tradeoff is important. I actually hope Apple can tackle this battery drain within the coming months as a result of, proper now, it's fairly painful.
That stated, battery points appear to have develop into the norm for iPhones. Perhaps it's time to just accept that the dream of all-day battery life is fading, and chargers and energy banks are simply a part of life now.