iPhone 13 mini iPhone 13 mini battery at 89%

[erikkfi]

Mine is 20 months old and at 91%, almost exclusively slow-charged by wire, but I've used a wireless charging pack with it a few dozen times over the past few months.

I expect after 3 years I'll pay the $99 fee to get it serviced replaced.

 

[ignatius345]

Discussing batteries on another forum made me look at my battery health. I was surprised to see my 13 mini, which is only one year and 4 months old to have a score of less than 90%. Any way to know if this is normal? If not, is there any good way to increase its life (slow down its degradation)? I’ve been using the Optimize function to charge my battery. I put it on a charger every night. I know it doesn’t charge it to 100% until just before my normal wake up time. There’s no built in option to only charge it to 80%. Maybe I should stop charging it every night. Most days I bet I could get two full days from a charge. Or, maybe I should just charge it to 80% manually, which would be a pain.

That sounds consistent with my experience with that specific phone. It's a small battery so it gets cycled more than larger ones. It was actually a huge part of the reason I moved on to a 15 Pro.

Charging to 80% every day just means you're shortening your daily battery life... for what exactly? To extend the amount of time you can use that same battery and charge it to 80% each time? The battery is a replacable service part. Charge the phone to max capacity so it gives you the most utility every day, and then just get it changed out when it's done.

Or, I guess, you can just micromanage it and turn battery life into a lame hobby, like a lot of people on here seem to do.

 

[RoadWarrior56]

iPhone 13 Mini, after 2.5 years (since launch day) - original battery - capacity 93%

 

[krspkbl]

89% isn't bad. well for a mini it is i guess since the battery is already so small but that's what you gotta deal with when you refuse to buy a normal sized phone.

battery health is largely down to how you use it. the more you charge it (every night in this case) the more it wears down. even though it doesn't have an option to limit charging to 80% you can still set up a shortcut to alert you when it hits 80%.

if you want to limit degradation then keep it between 20-80%. don't use it when it's charging. keep the phone as cool as possible. probably too late now for that though.

i guess you could chance your luck and see if apple will replace the battery if you pay for it. they might not until it hits 80%. either run it into the ground and get Apple to replace the battery or find somewhere else to replace it.

my iPhone 12 Pro Max had 89% battery health by the time I sold it (after ~2 years 10 months). the battery wasn't terrible but i could notice it was not as good as it used to be. In a mini it's only going to burn out faster.

if i were you i'd get the battery replaced and then upgrading to a new iPhone. 6.1 and 6.7" phones can fit larger batteries. When you get the new phone then take more care of the battery.

 

[krspkbl]

Charging to 80% just means you're shortening your daily battery life... for what exactly? To extend the amount of time you can use that same battery and charge it to 80% each time? The battery is a replacable service part. Charge the phone to max capacity so it gives you the most utility every day, and then just get it changed out when it's done.

I would have my 12 Pro Max alert me when it hit 80% charge so i could take it out. I have set my 15 Pro Max to stop charging at 80%.

With my 12 Pro Max after about 2 years I stopped charging it to 80% because obviously the battery had worn down over the course of 2 years. I'd start charging it to 85,90,95 or 100% and let it drain more down to like 15-10%.

In the end it doesn't really matter. A battery has a finite life span. You can either burn it out quick or "baby" it and burn it out later.

The fact is that most modern electronics will be replaced long before the batteries get really bad. my 12 Pro Max i traded in with 89% battery health. It wasn't as good as it was at launch but it still held up well for being almost 3 years old. I could've probably got another year out of it and if I really wanted to hold onto it then I could've had Apple replace the battery but I felt like it was time for a new phone.

The only reason I'm limiting my 15 Pro Max to 80% right now is because the battery is so damn good I really don't need all of it and it can't hurt to limit it. I can get through the day with only using 40-50%. If I need extra battery then I'll charge it further or let it drain longer. At no point do I let the limits stop me using my phone. If i need 100% battery and use it to 1% then I will.

 

[AlastorKatriona]

1. You really don't need to be looking at battery health.
2. Since you looked at it anyway, yours is fine.
3. You chose a device with a pretty small battery to begin with, so your battery life isn't great at 100%. I doubt you notice it being much worse at 89%.

 

[Shirasaki]

Is there some magic to 80%? What if I let the health indicator get down to 70% or even 50%? As long as I get a day out of it with no problems, is there really any reason to get a new battery right at (just under) 80%?

This is a big mistake in treating the battery cause its degradation is not linear. If the health drops to 80% And below, you will notice a much worse battery life way quicker than you’d imagine. Also, if the battery is deep drained too much, which is easier to happen with poor health, it can damage your device in the form of sudden shut down.

 

[xari]

Discussing batteries on another forum made me look at my battery health. I was surprised to see my 13 mini, which is only one year and 4 months old to have a score of less than 90%. Any way to know if this is normal? If not, is there any good way to increase its life (slow down its degradation)? I’ve been using the Optimize function to charge my battery. I put it on a charger every night. I know it doesn’t charge it to 100% until just before my normal wake up time. There’s no built in option to only charge it to 80%. Maybe I should stop charging it every night. Most days I bet I could get two full days from a charge. Or, maybe I should just charge it to 80% manually, which would be a pain.

I've had my iPhone 13(bought it brand new) on March 2022, my battery health percentage is at 100%, I even checked it with coconutbattery and it reads 98% there, I use the phone as my main device. My charging routine is: I charge it till it reaches 80% and I put it back to charge when it drops around 40%. Maybe I got lucky with this device since my iPhone SE2020 dropped to 89%(battery health) after a year of use. In my personal opinion I think this is due to several factors: how much you use the device(battery cycle count), the capacity of the battery, the manufacturer of the battery.

 

[generdude]

My 13 mini is 99%. I bought it when it came out. This is what I've done:
1) Low battery mode most of the time
2) Create Shortcut for 80%:

 

[seek3r]

My 13 mini is almost 2.5 years old now, seems to have stabilized over the past few months at 85%

 

[bevsb2]

Yep, indeed. But it can also sit at other % for a long time, my 11 Pro Max sat at 88% for many months.

As long as your battery still gets you through a day, I would not be too concerned about that health number.

My 11 Pro dropped to 97% in the first 2 months, but then remained at 97% for the rest of the year.

 

[brilliantthings]

As has been said a bunch, Apple thinks 20% loss within 2 years is within spec. You're 11% in 16 months. Perfectly normal and within spec, especially for the mini.

The internet is full of battery hacks but at the end of the day, the software can manage the battery better than you can. Just use your phone and charge your phone, knowing that batteries degrade. If it gets under 80% in two years, Apple will replace it. If not, you can pay a nominal fee.

I don't agree with this. I've had a 13 mini since release and I've done all the battery saving tricks. My battery health is 96%. Some say it isn't worth the fuss. But it's worth it for me.

 

[ger19]

Thanks for all the advice. I’m just going to run it as I’ve been and get a new battery when necessary. As for getting a larger iPhone so I can have a larger battery, no thanks. I love the mini and I’ll run it as long as practical and hope they re-introduce another one before long. I recognize that’s wishful thinking but I’m an optimist.

One thing I did get from this discussion is that I’ve probably harmed the battery while on trips. Not much, but some. I put it on my trucks wireless charging pad and use WAZE. I have noticed that it gets pretty warm doing that and that the charging barely keeps up with the drain from the WAZE app. I’ve done 4 or 5 pretty long trips like that in the year+ that I’ve had it. I’ll try wiring it on my next trip to see if that keeps the battery temp lower. I do make sure to shut off the screen (use Apple Play) because that made the phone much hotter.

 

[brilliantthings]

If it gets under 80% in two years, Apple will replace it. If not, you can pay a nominal fee.

This is true in Australia because of our consumer laws.

 

[robertosh]

Still 83% in my 12 mini, bought on launch. (3 years and 1 month).

 

[ApplesAreSweet&Sour]

Discussing batteries on another forum made me look at my battery health. I was surprised to see my 13 mini, which is only one year and 4 months old to have a score of less than 90%. Any way to know if this is normal? If not, is there any good way to increase its life (slow down its degradation)? I’ve been using the Optimize function to charge my battery. I put it on a charger every night. I know it doesn’t charge it to 100% until just before my normal wake up time. There’s no built in option to only charge it to 80%. Maybe I should stop charging it every night. Most days I bet I could get two full days from a charge. Or, maybe I should just charge it to 80% manually, which would be a pain.

Seems normal.

In my view, all of the various charging strategies and optimization, even the 80% "charge limit" iPhones 15 feature, will only make a marginal difference when compared to the decrease in capacity going through a charge cycle creates.

The only genuine, big difference solutions to slowing battery wear are:

1. Decrease the rate at which you reach full charge cycles. That means using your iPhone as little as possible, always having Low Power Mode enabled. Maybe opting to use your Watch as much as possible.

2. Buy the iPhone with the biggest battery. Very obvious and not a really a fix. But the 800-ish mAhs iPhone 13 has over iPhone 13 mini would probably have given you about another 12 months of use on top of the 16 months you're sitting at now before you'd go below 90% capacity.

3. Get AppleCare and then just get the battery replaced when it gets below 80%.

*It's not an exact science and some batteries are just "lemons" compared to others even if they aren't necessarily faulty.

 

[canuckRus]

Still 83% in my 12 mini, bought on launch. (3 years and 1 month).

Similar model and time now @ 84%.

 

[ignatius345]

One thing I did get from this discussion is that I’ve probably harmed the battery while on trips. Not much, but some. I put it on my trucks wireless charging pad and use WAZE. I have noticed that it gets pretty warm doing that and that the charging barely keeps up with the drain from the WAZE app.

A little less convenient, but you'll get faster charging and less heat if you plug in a lightning cable.

 

[TechnoMonk]

I use my phone to full extent without low battery mode, don’t baby sit the battery either. I do use optimal charging setting in iOS. Have been charging my 13 PM mostly wireless. It’s at 90% after 21 months of use. I do budget for a battery replacement around 24-30 Months. I will probably upgrade to iPhone 19 or so.

 

[TechnoMonk]

Thanks for all the advice. I’m just going to run it as I’ve been and get a new battery when necessary. As for getting a larger iPhone so I can have a larger battery, no thanks. I love the mini and I’ll run it as long as practical and hope they re-introduce another one before long. I recognize that’s wishful thinking but I’m an optimist.

One thing I did get from this discussion is that I’ve probably harmed the battery while on trips. Not much, but some. I put it on my trucks wireless charging pad and use WAZE. I have noticed that it gets pretty warm doing that and that the charging barely keeps up with the drain from the WAZE app. I’ve done 4 or 5 pretty long trips like that in the year+ that I’ve had it. I’ll try wiring it on my next trip to see if that keeps the battery temp lower. I do make sure to shut off the screen (use Apple Play) because that made the phone much hotter.

The car wireless chargers aren’t great. I connect through lightening in car because of CarPlay, and almost exclusively charge wireless at home. My experience has been it’s not the wireless charging but the type/make of wireless chargers can kill your battery.

 

[FeliApple]

I think worrying is pointless.

That said, any health information is meaningless unless you add cycles and time, and especially cycles. “83% in three years” tells me exactly nothing.

 

[BostonQuad]

I've had my 13 mini for 27 months, and its battery capacity is 70%. Less than 2 months ago, it was 76%, so it's falling quickly! I use optimized charging, and I use corded charging nearly all the time.

Nevertheless, because I usually don't have to go more than 4 hours or so between charges, it's not that big of a deal yet. About the only concern is that if the charge falls to 15%, it can shut off unexpectedly.

(If you're wondering why I don't replace the battery: if that were the only issue, I would. But it also has a crack in the screen, and FaceID doesn't work in the sun. I've learned the latter is nearly unheard of, so I'd like to replace the whole phone. If 13 minis reappear in Apple's refurbished store, I'll buy one.)

 

[StrollerEd]

Still 83% in my 12 mini, bought on launch. (3 years and 1 month).

I'm being offered a s/h 12 mini at a good price - it will get v light use. The general vibe is that the 12 mini is v disappointing in terms of battery charge during the day - what is your experience?

 

[NFernoSlyr]

iPhone 13 mini purchased on Launch Day
wired charging every night until I bought MagSafe charger Nov 2022.. connected to smart-plug keeping it at 80%.

Battery Health 100%... Do I believe it?... Not really

My iPhone 12 Pro Launch Day (94% battery health) is my everyday phone, I use the mini 13 when going somewhere without my car. Charged the same way as the mini.

 

[ger19]

I'm being offered a s/h 12 mini at a good price - it will get v light use. The general vibe is that the 12 mini is v disappointing in terms of battery charge during the day - what is your experience?

A new battery is $89 at the Apple Store. If your “good price” is still a good price if you add $89, then I’d go for it. Otherwise, check the battery health in settings and see where your at.

I had a 12 mini but once I heard they were not going to have a mini any longer, I jumped on a 13 - hoping I’d be able to keep the smaller phone that much longer. If you’re after the smaller format, I’d look for a 13 mini at a good price.