General Apple Megathread

[photon]

I was in the mall today so checked out the iPhone Air today and it is pretty cool. It's not like Star Trek future level stuff but it does feel different than any other phone I've held which may appeal to some.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by Shazam

Bought new phone and airpods.

Works well. Nice to have battery life again and a functioning touchscreen.

Set a lower charge rate to maximize long term battery life?

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by DoubleF

Set a lower charge rate to maximize long term battery life?

iPhone 12, battery was replaced 2.5 years ago. They're wear items.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by Shazam

iPhone 12, battery was replaced 2.5 years ago. They're wear items.

I mean for your new iphone. I set mine at 90% or whatever and since I don't need that final 10%, I'll just get my phone to charge to 100% when it seems like 90% isn't enough in a few years.

[cam_calderon]

Originally Posted by DoubleF

I mean for your new iphone. I set mine at 90% or whatever and since I don't need that final 10%, I'll just get my phone to charge to 100% when it seems like 90% isn't enough in a few years.

Charging to less than 100% is close to a myth. It allows the battery health to retain 3 or 4 per cent more per year or something like that. Don't bother unless you foresee severe financial hardship (unlikely for the CP millionaires), to the point you can't afford to upgrade your phone within three or four years.

[Vinny01]

I have had the air for a week now and a lot of the issues about the battery is overblown. I feel like this is a typical new phone battery and I have plenty of life left at the end of the day and might only charge it during the day if I am driving and want to use CarPlay.

The lack of a wide camera is a non-factor and the one speaker is not an issue if I want to listen to flames talk or 32 thoughts but I haven’t tried to listen for music.

The one speaker gripe I do have is the low volume on my alarm in the morning.

Still love the look and feel of this phone and it is fun to hand it over to people who haven’t held one yet.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by cam_calderon

Charging to less than 100% is close to a myth. It allows the battery health to retain 3 or 4 per cent more per year or something like that. Don't bother unless you foresee severe financial hardship (unlikely for the CP millionaires), to the point you can't afford to upgrade your phone within three or four years.

3-4% more per year is still a bit. I'm at 88% max capacity left and my phone is 18 months old. My wife is probably at around 8-12 hours of battery life now depending on usage. I think she's below 80% max. Her phone is frequently at single digits by the time she returns from work and occasionally is completely dead mid commute. She also had her battery replaced once.

Then there's the additional issue for the battery consumption of a few hours a day going from iOS 18 to 26. My wife hasn't even upgraded to iOS 26 yet and she's borderline for getting through the day for the battery life. I think she just reached 3 years for her phone.

It's also less about "I cannot afford this." and "I prefer not to blow money this way." I'm certain we could buy more than a dozen iPhones without severe financial hardship, but it just seems like something inconvenient. People would also rather spend like $100+ on random chargers and cables vs $150-200 on the battery replacement if a full blown phone is out of the cards. Setting max charge lower, you don't have to do anything too different. I turn max charge back to 100% when I travel. It's unintrusive.

I might just buy her one of the newer ones for Christmas though. I'm sick and tired of her running off with my phone because mine does a better job than hers for taking pics/videos/isn't completely dead etc.

[Diemenz]

Originally Posted by DoubleF

3-4% more per year is still a bit. I'm at 88% max capacity left and my phone is 18 months old. My wife is probably at around 8-12 hours of battery life now depending on usage. I think she's below 80% max. Her phone is frequently at single digits by the time she returns from work and occasionally is completely dead mid commute. She also had her battery replaced once.

Then there's the additional issue for the battery consumption of a few hours a day going from iOS 18 to 26. My wife hasn't even upgraded to iOS 26 yet and she's borderline for getting through the day for the battery life. I think she just reached 3 years for her phone.

It's also less about "I cannot afford this." and "I prefer not to blow money this way." I'm certain we could buy more than a dozen iPhones without severe financial hardship, but it just seems like something inconvenient. People would also rather spend like $100+ on random chargers and cables vs $150-200 on the battery replacement if a full blown phone is out of the cards. Setting max charge lower, you don't have to do anything too different. I turn max charge back to 100% when I travel. It's unintrusive.

I might just buy her one of the newer ones for Christmas though. I'm sick and tired of her running off with my phone because mine does a better job than hers for taking pics/videos/isn't completely dead etc.

I haven’t touched the setting and charge to 100% on a wireless charger as well as charge it sometimes during the day depending on how busy I am. iPhone 16 pro max and battery is at 98% after a year.

I have seen tests that after a year the difference is non existent because you end up craving the phone more with a lower max charge setting so it negates any benefits.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by Diemenz

I haven’t touched the setting and charge to 100% on a wireless charger as well as charge it sometimes during the day depending on how busy I am. iPhone 16 pro max and battery is at 98% after a year.

I have seen tests that after a year the difference is non existent because you end up craving the phone more with a lower max charge setting so it negates any benefits.

Dang, mine is at 88% max capacity with 358 cycles, mine is a 15 Pro Max. Losing 12% max in a little over a year is whack. Especially with the charge limit and optimized charge setting on when setting to 100%. That's like .7% per month loss.

My wife I think is around 800-900 cycles and a max capacity in the low 80s for her 14 pro... but it certainly isn't behaving at expected charge levels and capacity. I'm pretty sure it wouldn't have been as bad if she had a better charger. I replaced her charger with a higher quality cable and it's been a little better.

I don't think there should be a huge difference after a year though. My assumption and experience with these batteries is that degradation occurs rapidly after around 3-4 years. Like laptop batteries that feel like they are still around 60-70% capacity, suddenly drop down to like 10-20% max. Good for surge protection at best. Phone batteries on the other hand are still respectable around the 5-6 year mark, even if they're far lower.

Hmm...

[DownInFlames]

Originally Posted by DoubleF

Dang, mine is at 88% max capacity with 358 cycles, mine is a 15 Pro Max. Losing 12% max in a little over a year is whack. Especially with the charge limit and optimized charge setting on when setting to 100%. That's like .7% per month loss.

My wife I think is around 800-900 cycles and a max capacity in the low 80s for her 14 pro... but it certainly isn't behaving at expected charge levels and capacity. I'm pretty sure it wouldn't have been as bad if she had a better charger. I replaced her charger with a higher quality cable and it's been a little better.

I don't think there should be a huge difference after a year though. My assumption and experience with these batteries is that degradation occurs rapidly after around 3-4 years. Like laptop batteries that feel like they are still around 60-70% capacity, suddenly drop down to like 10-20% max. Good for surge protection at best. Phone batteries on the other hand are still respectable around the 5-6 year mark, even if they're far lower.

Hmm...

I have a 15 Pro Max as well and mine is at 99% capacity. I almost always use a 15w charger. Fast charging is handy but it means shorter battery life.

[Shazam]

I want more life, ####er!

Ok here's a 15w charger.

Too obscure?

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by DoubleF

Dang, mine is at 88% max capacity with 358 cycles, mine is a 15 Pro Max. Losing 12% max in a little over a year is whack. Especially with the charge limit and optimized charge setting on when setting to 100%. That's like .7% per month loss.

Originally Posted by DownInFlames

I have a 15 Pro Max as well and mine is at 99% capacity. I almost always use a 15w charger. Fast charging is handy but it means shorter battery life.

I have a 15 Pro Non-Sasquatch Edition () and with an in-service of December 2023, and it is sitting at 88% maximum battery capacity after just shy of two years. I am really starting to notice how quickly the battery gets drained from it with how I use the device, and I've started to consider upgrading because of it.

[Mazrim]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

I have a 15 Pro Non-Sasquatch Edition () and with an in-service of December 2023, and it is sitting at 88% maximum battery capacity after just shy of two years. I am really starting to notice how quickly the battery gets drained from it with how I use the device, and I've started to consider upgrading because of it.

How much does Apple charge for battery replacements? Surely that would be way cheaper than replacing the phone.

[DownInFlames]

Originally Posted by Mazrim

How much does Apple charge for battery replacements? Surely that would be way cheaper than replacing the phone.

$135 or free if you have AppleCare+ and the battery goes below 80%.

[TorqueDog]

Yeah, $135 sounds like a much better deal than a new phone, and it isn't like I'm dying to get a 17 Pro or anything, the 15 Pro is more than capable of doing everything I want it to, I just want it to do it longer.

Has anyone done the official Apple battery replacement? Do they wipe your phone or can it be done with the data in-situ? I would prefer not to have to restore the damn thing.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

Yeah, $135 sounds like a much better deal than a new phone, and it isn't like I'm dying to get a 17 Pro or anything, the 15 Pro is more than capable of doing everything I want it to, I just want it to do it longer.

Has anyone done the official Apple battery replacement? Do they wipe your phone or can it be done with the data in-situ? I would prefer not to have to restore the damn thing.

Make a back up. #### ups happen and then they may replace and say you agreed to back up before dropping off. My parents did that for whatever reason and lost some irreplaceable pics.

[Shazam]

I've had it done, they don't reset anything but make sure you do a backup anyhow.

[cam_calderon]

Originally Posted by DoubleF

3-4% more per year is still a bit. I'm at 88% max capacity left and my phone is 18 months old. My wife is probably at around 8-12 hours of battery life now depending on usage. I think she's below 80% max. Her phone is frequently at single digits by the time she returns from work and occasionally is completely dead mid commute. She also had her battery replaced once.

Then there's the additional issue for the battery consumption of a few hours a day going from iOS 18 to 26. My wife hasn't even upgraded to iOS 26 yet and she's borderline for getting through the day for the battery life. I think she just reached 3 years for her phone.

It's also less about "I cannot afford this." and "I prefer not to blow money this way." I'm certain we could buy more than a dozen iPhones without severe financial hardship, but it just seems like something inconvenient. People would also rather spend like $100+ on random chargers and cables vs $150-200 on the battery replacement if a full blown phone is out of the cards. Setting max charge lower, you don't have to do anything too different. I turn max charge back to 100% when I travel. It's unintrusive.

I might just buy her one of the newer ones for Christmas though. I'm sick and tired of her running off with my phone because mine does a better job than hers for taking pics/videos/isn't completely dead etc.

Just seems to me an inconvenience for little benefit. Also I don't know many people who hold on to phones for three years these days. Maybe I just keep the company of mindless consumerists, but that seems longer than average.

[Fuzz]

The iPhone 14 was released 3 years ago. According to this, about 40% of users are still on that or older hardware.


https://telemetrydeck.com/survey/apple/iPhone/models/


I know that's not based on purchase date age, but it still shows there are plenty of people using older hardware.

[PepsiFree]

5-7 years is upgrade range for me. There’s very little reason to upgrade a 5 year old phone, even, outside of things actually going wrong with it.