Ever since upgrading to iOS 18, my iPhone’s battery life has taken a critical hit. Issues solely obtained 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.
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 looking for a charger.
I made a decision to research
So, just a few weeks in the past, I started trying into the problem.
For any battery drain drawback, the primary place I all the time look is below 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 can be working 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 for instance which apps have been lively and utilizing battery energy in hourly intervals. You may faucet on the bars for a deeper dive into what’s been occurring in your iPhone throughout that interval.
However apart from elevated utilization by House & Lock Display (principally, any exercise on the lock display, reminiscent of notifications or widgets), there was nothing out of the peculiar. I did attempt disabling the iPhone’s always-on show — the setting to do that is below Settings > Show & Brightness > At all times On Show — however to no avail.
The issue persevered.
I discovered the perpetrator
After extra investigating, testing, tweaking settings, and numerous frustration, I discovered the perpetrator: Apple Intelligence. With Apple Intelligence enabled (the setting could be discovered below Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri), I discovered it unattainable to make it by way of a day with out recharging. Nonetheless, with it disabled, my battery life returned to its former ranges, permitting me to go away the ability financial institution at residence.
And here is the kicker: I am 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 did not count on it to empty my battery a lot — particularly when it wasn’t actively getting used.
This difficulty does not appear to be restricted to my {hardware}, both. I’ve come throughout loads of related reviews, and it isn’t simply affecting iPhones. Some customers are blaming Apple Intelligence for extreme battery drain on MacBooks as properly. 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 gadgets. 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 is clear that Apple Intelligence has some critical optimization points. Whereas it might need potential for some customers, the battery tradeoff is tough to justify proper now.
In case your iPhone’s battery life has been particularly dangerous since upgrading to iOS 18 and you’ve got enabled the Apple Intelligence characteristic, it is likely to be the perpetrator. I say “would possibly” as a result of that is a type of “your mileage might fluctuate” conditions. That stated, when you’re not discovering Apple Intelligence all that helpful, there is no hurt in turning it off to see if it helps.
Here is the kicker: Apple actually desires you to make use of Apple Intelligence. Putting in iOS 18.3 routinely enabled the characteristic, and I’ve heard from a number of customers that the 18.3.1 replace re-enabled it even after that they had turned it off.
Now, I am not anti-Apple Intelligence — it has its deserves for some customers — however for many who do not discover it useful, the battery tradeoff is critical. I actually hope Apple can handle this battery drain within the coming months as a result of, proper now, it is fairly painful.
That stated, battery points appear to have turn out to be the norm for iPhones. Perhaps it is time to settle for that the dream of all-day battery life is fading, and chargers and energy banks are simply a part of life now.
