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dewalt

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 16, 2009
73
81
So typically the first thing I experience on an upgrade is the better battery life - but in reality, it's a worn battery vs new. To me, that's the biggest thing I need - better battery life. I have a 12P now from 2 years ago. Rather than upgrading, anyone end up just getting the battery replaced for $69? Is an expectation that battery life would revert back to what it was like brand new unrealistic?
 
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phillies3429

macrumors member
Sep 27, 2014
83
47
I actually planned on upgrading to 14PM, but just set up a battery replacement for my iPhone 11PM tonight. Phone doesn’t really need to be upgraded as it works just fine, so figured a new battery would do the trick and keep me content.
 
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Ram65

Suspended
Sep 20, 2014
430
284
I actually planned on upgrading to 14PM, but just set up a battery replacement for my iPhone 11PM tonight. Phone doesn’t really need to be upgraded as it works just fine, so figured a new battery would do the trick and keep me content.
I would just upgrade to the 14pm . Faster screen and better Modem alone is enough of an upgrade
 

phillies3429

macrumors member
Sep 27, 2014
83
47
I would just upgrade to the 14pm . Faster screen and better Modem alone is enough of an upgrade
Seemed like consensus on here is that it may really not be worth it. $70 is easier to swallow than $1400 for a nicer screen. Camera didn’t seem to wow anyone as much as I thought it would have and battery seems to be very similar or worse than 13. Buy myself at least one more year to see what they come up with nex….hopefully a nice battery bump next year
 

dewalt

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 16, 2009
73
81
The biggest ROI to me is battery. Now, I was happy with battery life when I initially purchased my 12P. I figured I could extend a year on it with a $70 replacement. My fear with purchasing the 14 is that the 15 will go usb c and I’ll have to shell out more. Would much rather have that.
 

dewalt

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 16, 2009
73
81
I actually planned on upgrading to 14PM, but just set up a battery replacement for my iPhone 11PM tonight. Phone doesn’t really need to be upgraded as it works just fine, so figured a new battery would do the trick and keep me content.
Keep me posted if it does. Heavily leaning toward it
 

mav2012

macrumors newbie
Dec 9, 2020
18
10
Noticed something interesting - after getting Apple to replace the battery on my iPhone 12 Pro (iOS 16.3), under Battery settings it showed the last time I had charged my iPhone prior to the battery replacement. Surely that can't be right for a brand new battery?

Battery health is 100% and I've confirmed that using Coconut Battery too but I thought I'd ask if anyone else that's replaced their battery notice something similar? Perhaps it's just a bug or working as designed/documented?
 

saber32au

macrumors 6502
Apr 5, 2019
267
196
So typically the first thing I experience on an upgrade is the better battery life - but in reality, it's a worn battery vs new. To me, that's the biggest thing I need - better battery life. I have a 12P now from 2 years ago. Rather than upgrading, anyone end up just getting the battery replaced for $69? Is an expectation that battery life would revert back to what it was like brand new unrealistic?
No, I don't think it's unrealistic.

I've recently had my battery replaced on my XR. The battery duration (as far as I can tell) is basically back to what it was when the phone was first released.

I say "basically" as you have to account for the different iOS versions the phone first came out with vs what it currently runs. There may be some additional CPU overhead to run the latest and greatest version of iOS, hence consuming more battery. But to be honest, I've found the difference in battery life between different iOS versions is fairly minimal.

If you're looking for a phone with better battery life over your 12 pro, you could look at buying a "pro max" model. These models over the last few years (ie 11 pro max through to the 14 pro max) consistently outlasted the non pro-max models. Alternatively, a 14 plus would fit the bill as well...
 

Hicksmat1976

macrumors 6502
Jul 12, 2016
380
362
Manchester, England
refreshing thread this. people will always convince themselves they need a new phone for a variety of reasons, but to me, replacing the battery makes more sense than buying a new phone. I guess when the phone gets to a certain age you have to wonder if there are other components which are failing, in which case maybe a new phone makes more sense, but truly if the battery is the only thing wrong with it then a battery replacement makes more sense than buying a whole new model of iPhone.
 
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SoYoung

macrumors 65816
Jul 3, 2015
1,457
845
I know Apple suggest replacing our batteries when its 80% health or lower, but in reality, in witch battery health % do you see enough loss of battery life that a battery replacement is considered? My 13 PM is at 93% battery health and its still have decent battery life, but I clearly see its not the same as when I got the phone brand new.
 

FeliApple

macrumors 68040
Apr 8, 2015
3,546
1,993
I know Apple suggest replacing our batteries when its 80% health or lower, but in reality, in witch battery health % do you see enough loss of battery life that a battery replacement is considered? My 13 PM is at 93% battery health and its still have decent battery life, but I clearly see its not the same as when I got the phone brand new.
This depends on two factors, in my opinion, knowledge, and experience: the iOS version and your requirements and tolerance.

I am running a 6s on iOS 10 with 63% health. Battery life is almost like-new. There has been a very slight decrease, but it is inconsequential. Too minimal for it to matter. I have screenshots from iOS 9 with a new battery, and I lost very little runtime with 63% health. Like I said, too minimal.

Extremely degraded batteries like mine, according to reports, are unusable on iOS 15 (and way before iOS 15, too), with many people with original, heavily used batteries like mine reporting both slowness due to throttling and abhorrent battery life, with the phone dropping several percentage points per minute, scrambling to get little more than one hour of usage... and unexpected shutdowns.

People have reported a significant difference if the phone is updated even with something like 85% health.

Battery health impact is none when the device isn’t updated, and massive when the device is. People with batteries like mine have repeatedly called the 6s “unusable” on iOS 15. A battery replacement brought that battery life to 3-3.5 hours. While not amazing, it is on the realm of usable.

I am not sure about this and I have no proof, but I reckon according to what I’ve read, that if the device is updated, maybe 100-85% is where it retains top-notch battery life? At the low-end of its supposed “lifespan” it starts to degrade. I assume it is because iOS 9 and 10’s efficiency on the A9 processor can counteract low battery health and those versions don’t ask the processor for the performance peaks that obliterate battery life. iOS 15 requires that performance peak due to increased power requirements, and asking that degraded battery to put up with a far higher power surge than it was designed for seems too much.

So, as a direct answer to your question: if not updated, it doesn’t matter. If updated, 100 to maybe 85% is good, anything below that and battery life plummets.


Interestingly, iPads aren’t affected: their batteries are too large for them to suffer like this, and they can cope with the increased power requirements. Yes, to be clear, battery life on updated iPads is abhorrent as well, but they don’t have the performance issues iPhones have, and even if battery life is far worse than on original iOS versions (in terms of percentage it might be even worse than updated iPhones with new batteries), it is good enough for the iPad to be usable. Moderately heavy users will probably have to charge daily, with 1st-gen iPad Pro users reporting anywhere between 4 to 7 hours depending on usage. Original versions of iOS hover around the 12 to 14-hour range. iOS 12 hovers around the 9 to 11-hour mark. So... chopped by 60% in many cases... but usable. Unlike heavily degraded, updated iPhones.
 

dewalt

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 16, 2009
73
81
To update, my wife and I replaced the batteries in our phones. Both were at 86%. Apple tech tried to convince me it wasnt necessary, but we did it anyways, at $69 each. Phone now lasts the entire day again. I should have replaced it sooner. For sure I bought myself an extra year on the phone.

If you're on the fence, the price increases to $99 on March 1 I believe. They were able to replace immediately (about a 2 hr wait).
 
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