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iPhone 12 Pro Max Apple needs to give us the 80% max charge option on the iphone!
- Thread starter Jackbequickly
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Didn't realise people paid that much attention to their batteries like this. I upgrade every year though so don't really care about my battery health.
Fully agree, and I also fully understand others good points they’re making on this subject. If I was out and not around a charger all day I would do it differently. But I’m retired and home most of the time.
My OCD being what it is but for whatever reason it bothers me seeing my phone battery percentage drop. I realize that’s nuts but it’s just the way I feel. So to combat that I top it off a number of times during the day which feels better to me. But I wouldn’t constantly top it off to 100% so I go to 80. A fellow I know does the same thing but has his phone constantly at 100%. I know too much about batteries to do that.
Bottom line, I understand not everyone is compulsive or crazy with their phones and will not remotely relate to any of this. My wife could care less about any of this except that her’s works. But I am and from what I can see I’m not alone.
I've been wireless charging my Xs every night for 4 years and the battery is still perfectly usable running at max performance.
I don't understand why people even care about this.
I don't understand why people even care about this.
They don't. The general population couldn't care less. I'm sure 99% of people leave their phone on a charger all night, every night, including myself. I've never had battery issues aside from natural degradation (over years).
Nothing is optimal to battery life. They're a cheap $10 part that ages whether sat on the shelf or being used. You can baby them and slightly increase their longevity but like has been said more than once in this thread, you are making your battery act like a 5 year old shot-to-pieces component if you follow these silly charging constraints.
If you can put up with it acting heavily worn out of the box then why not enjoy your battery functioning normally for a couple of years beforehand by just charging & discharging it without a care in the world? By using your phone freely and normally the battery will never get as bad as the self-imposed state you place it in out of the box.
I used a Shortcut and smart-outlet to limit my iPhone 12 Pro to 76% charge for over a year when I got it. Then one day I compared my battery health to a friend who bought the identical phone at the same time and always charged to 100% overnight. His was higher. I gave up and just charge to 100% now and my bought-at-launch 12 Pro is 88% health.
It's worth noting that 76% charge when new lasted me all day with maybe 20% to spare. Now a 100% charge will be at 40% by lunch. I wasn't swayed by anything in the iPhone 14 lineup so I'll probably just get a new battery soon.
It's worth noting that 76% charge when new lasted me all day with maybe 20% to spare. Now a 100% charge will be at 40% by lunch. I wasn't swayed by anything in the iPhone 14 lineup so I'll probably just get a new battery soon.
This is only partly fact — sadly a misinformation that continues on.
Charging a battery to 100% (or allowing the charge to go below 20%) is not problematic or realistically harmful to the battery.
Apple said:
Batteries - Why Lithium-ion?
Learn why Apple rechargeable lithium-based technology provides the best performance for your iPhone, iPad, iPod and MacBook.
www.apple.com
The problem is having a constant >80% (or <20%) charge level for a long time (i.e., weeks or more).
Apple said:
Batteries - Maximizing Performance
Maximize the life and lifespan of the rechargeable lithium-ion batteries in your MacBook, iPod, iPhone, and iPad.
www.apple.com
Hence why Apple introduced Optimized Charging, essentially for users who primarily use their battery-equipped devices while plugged in.
Related:
About battery health management in Mac notebooks - Apple Support
Mac notebook computers with Apple silicon use battery health management, a feature designed to improve the lifespan of your computer's battery.
How to Store Lithium Batteries | Lithium Battery Storage Buildings
Check out our expert tips on how to store lithium batteries and best practices on battery storage in this rapidly changing industry.
www.uschemicalstorage.com
P.S. When the device auto powers-off because of low battery (i.e., what would be thought of as 0-percent), there is actually still a notable charge level — my guess is ~5 to 10%. The behavior is for general battery health, to allow tracking on critically low battery levels, as well as to provide the low battery and connect to charger icons onscreen if you try to power on a device with a critically low battery level.
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My OCPD has me do full charges (100% -> off, off to 100%) as much as possible — not nearly as much with the watch.
iPhone X (a few weeks away from five years old)
• 910 charge cycles as of July 21, 81% maximum capacity as reported by iOS today
• Current charge is 15%, last charged to 100% Wednesday evening
— granted, my average Screen On time (54 minutes) is probably far less than many users
Watch SE (two years old this month)
• 87% maximum capacity as of today
— I’ve tracked multi-mile, one to three hour outdoor workouts nearly every day the entire summer (i.e., since May)
Basically, as stated by several users, it’s not necessary or crucially beneficial to ‘baby’ your device battery.
Agree with you.
Some posters seemed to be threatened by us having this choice. I always think that choice is better. If Apple offers this feature for the Ultra Watch, it must have benefit.
Anyway, it is almost entertainkng how upset some seem to get.
Adding options/choices isn’t always good or without problems. The more complex, the higher possibility of mistakes/defects. Furthermore, the complaining goes both ways. Apple introduces automatic optimized charging, “It doesn’t work for me!" "I can’t set it manually!” or Apple providing CTO (i.e., upgrades) but still, “They’re overpriced!” being some rationale to claiming “Apple doesn’t let you upgrade!” In other words, how is it guaranteed adding choice will satisfy your needs/desires? As is said, “You can’t please everyone."
Anyway, of course, Apple may indeed expand that feature.
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Everyone has different usage patterns and priorities. I have all the “smart” charging stuff off because I’m highly skeptical that abusing my battery will have a noticeable effect over the span of only a single year (only on my phone tho, I keep optimized charging on for watch/AirPods since I don’t upgrade those every year).
I made a shortcut that alerts me when it's at 80% - I often unplug it then. Can be annoying some time, but my 2 year old SE battery health is still at 84%, while often using wireless charging. Not sure if that's good or bad, but i'd like to be able to better automate charging in shortcuts.
But if you only use 20-30%, what does it matter if your battery max battery life decreases over time? It's not going to decrease that much.
Also, if you only charge to 80%, then its like having a battery that's already degraded to 80%.
I've used an iPhone X for four years without worrying about the battery being charged to 100% all the time, and it just now hit 80% maximum capacity.
I've wanted this for a long time. Optimised battery charging doesn't work for my routine (or lack thereof), so I have that turned off. No way is an algorithm going to know more about my day than I do. My Sony Walkman (yes, they still exist) has this feature and won't charge past 90%. Doesn't confuse me, and in fact I'd argue that the 'magic' of optimised battery charging is more confusing, compared to a simple switch like the OP is proposing.
For now I make do with the Shortcut alert. Works fine as long as I'm near the phone to hear it.
For now I make do with the Shortcut alert. Works fine as long as I'm near the phone to hear it.
So we should take away all choices and assume the Apple default Is best for all of us.
NOT!
I have an electric car and I think the car makes the reasoning more clear:
I limit my charge level to the range of 30-80%. I am willing to let it fall below 30% if needed and I will charge to 100% if there is a good reason. I still get 100% of the battery when I really want it. And by limiting myself, I will have access to that near 100% for many more years. I’ve attached an example for my car where I intentionally charged to 100% just before Hurricane Ian arrived. The same logic would apply to a phone: use your full 100% when needed and optimize charging so that you have that capacity for much longer
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It's in the battery settings on every Android I've seen, and it defaults to off
I'm keeping it constantly connected to a fast charger and doing as many battery draining things as possible while keeping the external temp as high as possible. Or would constantly letting it die and only charging it as much as it needs to do things be better?
Haha kinda wild but just this morning I looked and my Ultra stopped charging at 81% for the very first time and I also have had this Ultra since launch day and charge every night. I hit the charge to full button and by the time I showered and was ready to pop it off the charger it was up to 94%. So I guess the feature works, just takes time? 😊
Right, I'm all for features, I'm just wondering why you would want to use this when it doesn't seem like it would benefit you. If you only use 20-30% of your battery on any given day, why do you need to keep it from degrading a few percent a year?
Not trying to change your mind, I'm just curious why.