My iPhone battery is 83%, do I need to replace?

I've been an Apple fan since '90, doing Star Trek sound FX on a Mac SE30. But... my iPhone battery went to 83% after one year. now almost a couple years later it's still at 83% although it requires charging 2-3 times day. Apple won't let you replace battery with an Apple battery until 80%, so appears to me that Apple sticks it above that so you CAN'T get a new battery and will buy a new phone. Bought over 20 macs and like a dozen phones and iPads over the years but getting not happy about this...

It's getting close, you will want to replace it withing the next few months.

Batteries degrade over time with usage due to chemical aging, that's just how they work.

You can expect about a 1% drop per month with average use on an iPhone.

Apple recommends replacing it when it reaches 80%. To check your battery health, go to Settings > Battery > Battery Health.

iPhone Battery Replacement.

iPhone Battery Repair & Replacement - Apple Support

About Lithium Ion Batteries

iPhone Battery and Performance - Apple Support (IN)

I don’t think it’s fair to assume that this is standard and what happens with everyone. The soonest I have ever had an iPhone battery degrade to the low 80% range was 23.5 months (one was 82% at that point and was one that my autistic son used daily to do a lot of gaming and playing music as that is his comfort zone. The other was 81%. ). Now of course it really is going to be various different experiences others may have based on their usage and everything but to imply that there is a conspiracy to force users to buy a new phone versus replacing the battery solely off of your experience is a bit of a reach. Every other iPhone in our household has remained well above the 80% threshold with my mom’s 3.3 year old iPhone at 84% when we finally upgraded her last month.

Point being, as disappointing as your experience with your iPhone and its battery has been it doesn’t mean that’s common. The fact that yours has stayed at the same percentage for a couple of years after reaching 83% seems to imply something else was going on making the reading not seem accurate but that’s just a guess.

"98% is normal aging within 4.5 months?"

Yes, perfectly normal.

Hello~ As to your question about replacing your battery… yes a new battery will be at 100%. Only have it replaced by Apple or one of their Authorized Service Providers.

~Katana-San~

gle wrote:

I've been an Apple fan since '90, doing Star Trek sound FX on a Mac SE30. But... my iPhone battery went to 83% after one year. now almost a couple years later it's still at 83% although it requires charging 2-3 times day. Apple won't let you replace battery with an Apple battery until 80%, so appears to me that Apple sticks it above that so you CAN'T get a new battery and will buy a new phone. Bought over 20 macs and like a dozen phones and iPads over the years but getting not happy about this...

You can ask Apple to run diagnostics on the battery. The tests they run are more accurate than the information you see on the phone. My battery was at 81% when I had it replaced. Of course, I was also seeing sudden shutdowns.

gle wrote:

LOL you're right, I was ranting and venting when in a poor mood, not acceptable to do in public :) and I should have them test it. and of course i did that after saying I'd had 30 years of great apple experience. now that i think about that, that's buffoonery (sp?) and if a moderator is reading this, you can delete my original post, or if I can figure out how to I will.

Don't worry too much about it! Everyone gets frustrated at some point.

prazgeorge wrote:

My iPhone Xs battery health is 81%. Do i replace it now?

You can contact Apple and have them run a diagnostic. Their tests are more accurate than the indicator on the phone. It's possible that their tests will show that it's 80% and/or they may be willing to do it at 81%. I had mine replaced at 81% because I was also starting to see random shutdowns and they took that into consideration.

MAKRAHIM wrote:

I’m on iPhone 13 Pro Max battery life is 81%

how much longer my phone is good for

and replace the battery for now

and wait for an iPhone that has bigger upgrade

some tips please

rahim from canada

Your battery probably needs to be replaced. In the U.S., it would cost your $89 dollars. It's probably similar in Canada:

iPhone Battery Repair & Replacement - Apple Support

Unless you're planning on getting a new iPhone with in the next couple of months, I'd say it's worth replacing the battery.

Hello~ What model iPhone out of curiosity?

~Katana-San~

LOL you're right, I was ranting and venting when in a poor mood, not acceptable to do in public :) and I should have them test it. and of course i did that after saying I'd had 30 years of great apple experience. now that i think about that, that's buffoonery (sp?) and if a moderator is reading this, you can delete my original post, or if I can figure out how to I will.

I bought an iPhone 14 Pro Max on August 16 2023 so I have been using this phone for 5 months. In this period, my battery capacity dropped 1% after 4.5 months and another 1% dropped within 1 week my capacity is 98 after almost 5 months. So is that normal or something? And yes in this 1 week I used another random cable which is not from the original iPhone cable. And it heats up a lot to my charger. Was it relative to using the random cable?

When my battery is lower than 80% if I replace the battery with good quality, will it be 100% again?

98% is normal aging within 4.5 months?

In a month or two when it is down to 80%.

Apple generally will not replace the battery unless it is down to 80%, but if you have an authorized Apple service shop nearby, you could ask them about replacing now.

You can find a list of authorized service shops in your area using this link: Find Locations

I am currently using a iPhone 12 which battery life is at 75% now someone I know is selling a iPhone 13 Pro Max for $400 with a 83% battery life. Is that worth doing knowing I will soon have to change the battery because for all of that I could just keep the phone I have. Change this battery and or wait to get a brand new more recent iPhone.

Shanny620 wrote:

I am currently using a iPhone 12 which battery life is at 75% now someone I know is selling a iPhone 13 Pro Max for $400 with a 83% battery life. Is that worth doing knowing I will soon have to change the battery because for all of that I could just keep the phone I have. Change this battery and or wait to get a brand new more recent iPhone.

Only you can answer if that makes sense to you. I would point out that whether you keep your old phone or buy one with a battery with 83% capacity, you need to budget for a new battery. If the iPhone 12 still works and you don't have a lot of money, replace the battery. If the $489 the newer phone is going to cost you is within your budget, sell the iPhone 12 for whatever you can get for it and put that toward the newer phone.