Alexis Kestler
As a long-time iPhone user and self-proclaimed tech geek, I was thrilled when iOS 15 launched last year with exciting new features like Live Text, Maps improvements, and SharePlay integration. But I, like many others, soon noticed my phone‘s battery life tanking hard after upgrading.
My poor iPhone 13 Pro Max could barely last half a day without needing a recharge. The battery drain was so bad I worried I‘d need to replace the phone. However, before resorting to that, I became determined to find ways to fix the issue myself.
After spending weeks testing every battery-saving tip, trick, and tweak I could find, I’m thankfully back to enjoying long battery life on iOS 15. Below I’ll share everything I learned during my journey to rescue my iPhone‘s battery.
Why iOS 15 Causes Battery Drain
Before we dig into fixes, let‘s quickly cover what exactly causes faster battery drain after upgrading to new iOS versions like iOS 15:
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New software inefficiencies – Any major operating system upgrade brings bugs and background processes that aren‘t yet optimized for efficiency. These sap more power until fixed.
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Intensive new features – Cool new iOS capabilities like on-device Siri and Live Text processing require additional computing resources that impact battery life.
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Older batteries – Batteries chemically degrade over time. Upgrading an older iPhone to the latest iOS can push aging batteries over the edge.
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Changed usage – Upgrading may simply lead you to use your phone more or in different ways than before, naturally draining the battery faster.
According to my colleagues at Cult of Mac, iOS 15.4 has made some optimizations to improve battery life. But major drain issues still persist for many users. Luckily there are steps you can take right now to fix these problems without waiting for Apple.
Start With Analyzing Your Battery Usage
Before attempting any fixes, it‘s crucial to understand exactly why your battery is draining so fast. You could blindly try different solutions, but without diagnosing the problem, you won‘t know what‘s working or addressing the actual issue.
Here are two key things I recommend to analyze your battery usage and pinpoint what‘s killing your battery:
Carefully observe the battery discharge – Note when your battery drains fastest. Does it plummet when using certain apps? Or fade steadily all day? When does it get hot? Identifying discharge patterns will reveal issues.
Use a monitoring app – Apps like Battery Life give detailed analytics on precisely which apps and system functions are consuming the most power. This data is hugely helpful identifying major battery drains you can fix.
Taking these steps instead of blind trial and error can help you target the specific apps, settings, and usage behaviors causing your iOS 15 battery problems. You’ll know exactly where to focus your optimization efforts for the biggest impact.
Optimize Settings For Maximum Efficiency
Once you know your battery drain culprits, you can start tweaking settings to address them. Even minor adjustments can lead to much longer battery life. Some of the settings I found most helpful to optimize include:
Reduce animations – The eye candy animations in iOS 15 look nice but use extra processing power. Go to Settings > Accessibility and enable Reduce Motion to disable certain animations and transitions to save battery life.
Limit background refresh – Apps refreshing data in the background when you aren‘t actively using them drain a lot of juice. Under Settings > General > Background App Refresh, disable refresh for apps that don‘t urgently need it.
Disable unwanted location access – Location tracking in the background eats up battery. Review location access under Settings > Privacy > Location Services and switch any non-essential apps to While Using.
Reduce notifications – Visual and audio notifications sap battery when they light up your screen and speakers. Under Settings > Notifications, disable or reduce notifications from unnecessary apps.
Use Low Power Mode – This throttles performance, pauses background activity, and disables things like 5G to conserve power. Enable it temporarily in Control Center or always under Settings > Battery. Just know performance is reduced.
Taking the time to customize these settings based on your battery analysis will help streamline iOS 15 power consumption, likely fixing a major source of your battery issues.
Optimize Your App Usage Habits
Your iOS battery life is heavily dependent on how you use apps. Avoid these common battery-draining app habits:
- Having apps you rarely use still installed
- Not disabling unnecessary push notifications
- Playing graphics-intensive games for long periods
- Letting apps run freely in the background when not needed
- Never offloading little-used apps
Here are some better practices to optimize your app usage for longer battery life:
- Delete old apps you no longer use
- Disable notifications from non-essential apps
- Force close apps when done using them to prevent background activity
- Turn off auto-play video and audio in apps when not watching/listening
- Review and limit location access to only when using an app
- Offload unused apps while keeping their documents and data
Actively managing your apps and avoiding battery-hogging behaviors will go a long way towards reducing iOS 15 battery drain. Delete that old game you haven’t played in months!
Embrace Dark Mode for OLED iPhones
Dark mode isn‘t just easier on the eyes. It can give your iPhone‘s battery a nice boost, especially if you have an iPhone XS or newer model with an OLED display.
Here‘s why: OLED screens only illuminate the individual pixels needed to display content. With a black background in dark mode, many more pixels can remain off, using notably less power.
So try to use dark mode as much as possible. Enable it system-wide under Settings > Display & Brightness or in Control Center for extra battery life without losing functionality.
Based on tests by Tom‘s Guide, dark mode can extend battery life by over 30% compared to normal mode on iPhones with OLED screens. That’s huge!
Avoid Temperature Extremes
You probably don’t think about the weather impacting your iPhone’s battery life. But exposing your phone to very cold or hot temps can reduce battery capacity and efficiency.
Lithium-ion batteries rely on specific chemical reactions. In extreme cold, these reactions slow, limiting power output. High heat also slows the reactions while increasing self-discharge when not in use.
When possible, keep your iPhone between 32°F and 95°F (0°C and 35°C) for optimal battery performance. Avoid leaving it baking in the sun or freezing in your car. Maintaining a reasonable temperature will improve battery efficiency.
Consider a Battery Replacement
If your iPhone is over 2 years old, its battery has naturally degraded, reducing lifespan per charge. Replacing an aging battery can make a huge difference in usage time.
Check your battery health under Settings > Battery > Battery Health. If your Maximum Capacity is under 80%, replacing the battery could significantly improve battery life.
Apple charges $49 and up for official battery service depending on your model. However, you can often get it done much cheaper from reputable independent repair shops. It’s an affordable fix that breathes new life into older iPhones.
Use a Portable Charger As Backup
No matter how optimized your settings and usage, real-world battery life will vary. A portable USB battery pack helps ensure you can quickly recharge when away from an outlet.
There are tons of compact, slim power banks that fit easily into a pocket or bag. Look for one with a 5,000 mAh to 20,000 mAh capacity. Higher is better for more charges, but increases size.
I always keep a charger on hand for peace of mind. Top brands include Anker, Belkin, Mophie, and RavPower. With a portable charger, I know I can zap my iPhone battery when needed, even on long days out.
Helpful Battery Monitoring & Optimization Apps
Beyond adjustments and hardware, also utilize handy iOS apps to monitor battery usage and help optimize device performance. Here are some of my favorites:
Battery Life – This free app delivers incredibly detailed analytics showing exactly which apps and system functions are consuming the most battery power over time. The insights are incredibly helpful identifying issues.
Battery HD+ – I love this app‘s real-time battery monitoring, usage estimates for tasks like streaming video or music, and notifications for different charge levels. Really handy!
MyBattery – The detailed usage graphs and logging in this app make it easy to diagnose battery drain issues. Being able to export the data is great too.
NapBot – This app tracks usage habits to provide highly tailored recommendations for optimizing battery performance. It can auto-activate power-saving modes situationally.
Battery utilities like these help me better understand my usage, pinpoint optimizations, and ultimately maximize my iPhone’s battery life. I highly recommend every iOS user try a couple out.
Final Thoughts
Fixing iOS 15 battery drain may seem daunting, but following the steps I’ve outlined here will help you reclaim the long battery life you expect from your iPhone.
The key things I recommend are:
- Monitoring battery usage to identify problem apps and behaviors
- Customizing settings for efficiency – Reduce animations, notifications, background activity, etc.
- Optimizing your app usage habits – delete old apps, limit gaming, force close apps, etc.
- Using dark mode on OLED iPhones for huge battery savings
- Considering a battery replacement after 2-3 years of use
- Keeping a portable charger on hand for backup juice on the go
- Trying battery analytics apps to further diagnose issues
Not every tip here will apply to your specific battery drain causes. But after analyzing your battery usage, determining the biggest issues, and applying targeted fixes, you should see much longer battery life on iOS 15.
With optimized settings, smart usage habits, and supplemental power sources, you can finally conquer iOS 15 battery woes and enjoy using your iPhone worry-free again. Let me know if any of these solutions also helped rescue your iPhone’s battery life!
