iPhone 15 Pro Max Battery Drain and Heating

I recently traded in my iPhone 12 Pro Max for an iPhone 15 Pro Max, specifically for the upgraded camera and battery life. I've found that the battery drain on the new phone isn't much better than the old phone. An example is this morning. I charged my phone overnight (like I always do) to 100%. I got up, only used my phone to check my mail, Twitter, and FB (a quick glance at each),closed the apps, set it down, and came back a half hour later and it was on 85%. Over the past week, I've tweaked all my settings, including turning low battery to "on," all background app refresh is "off," I even turned my Apple watch off and turned off bluetooth. I keep my display brightness turned down pretty low, and always fully close an app after I'm done with it. When I'm on a phone call for longer than a couple of minutes, the battery drains even more and the phone gets hot. I have Instagram installed but rarely use it, and it's certainly not open all the time. I've installed all the software updates. I've read that others are having these same issues, but what's the solution? This is very frustrating, to pay $1200 for a new phone that doesn't really function any better than the old one.

iPhone 15 Pro Max

Posted on Oct 9, 2023 7:50 AM

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87 replies

Oct 16, 2023 2:25 PM in response to Dogcow-Moof

Hi everybody


Yesterday i read somewhere that the US iPhone 15 Pro's is not overheating as much as the European ones.

The EU iPhones have a sim card slot and thats why they get even hotter where the US does not have a sim card slot. I wonder what Apple can do with this issue other that calling them all back and fix it for real.

I'm waiting for my iPhone 15 Pro Max. They say it will be send to me around Oct 30 so i'm really really tempted to cancel the order :(

This is so bad of Apple releasing new iPhone when stuff like this is not really working right. Shame on them.

Oct 16, 2023 11:12 PM in response to kbellmer

I also upgraded from the iPhone 12 Pro Max to the 15 Pro Max. The old phone was 3 years old with a battery health of 85% and that phone lasted twice as long!


The new phone gets incredibly hot when it charges. And 2 hours after taking it off its charger it’s already dropped to 65%. Really unhappy that such an expensive device doesn’t even last until 6pm when it’s on 10% already. I’m on iOS 17.0.3 which is the most up to date version I can install in my region. What’s going on Apple?

Oct 19, 2023 7:22 AM in response to kbellmer

I upgraded from a 13 Pro Max to a 15 Pro Max.


I haven’t experienced significant heat issues, but the battery life has been extremely disappointing.


My daily battery life with my two *week* old 15 Pro Max is actually worse than my two *year* old 13 Pro Max that had a battery health of less than 85%.


Maybe that’s due to the always-on screen, but one of the big selling points for me was having an always-on screen, so I don’t want to turn it off. I would think that Apple would compensate for the always-on nature of the screen with either a bigger battery, more efficient processor, or better coding. 🤷🏻‍♂️


I’ve been buying new iPhones every 2 or 3 years ever since the iPhone 3GS. The iPhone 15 Pro Max has been the most disappointing “upgrade” of all the iPhones I’ve ever bought. Other than worse battery life, I have noticed very little difference between it and the 13. The always-on screen is nice, but apparently at the cost of battery life. I’ve noticed no real difference in day-to-day performance (though I don’t do a lot of processor intensive work). The island has been mostly a gimmick that doesn’t add much to my experience. I will say that the camera on the 15 does appear to take better pictures, but the camera in the 13 was already pretty good.

Oct 19, 2023 7:41 AM in response to kbellmer

I went from an iPhone 11 pro max to the iPhone 15 pro max. I've got the same usage pattern, and where my 11 would last all day with ease, the 15 battery doesn't last a full day. I had issues with overheating (where the battery wouldn't charge because the phone was too hot), and I've turned off the always on screen feature. Turning off the always on screen seems to have helped with overheating.


I'm going to open a second support ticket. This new phone is terrible from a battery and heat standpoint.


Last night was interesting - I put it on the charger and it did nothing. It just died and I woke up to a dead phone. Very disappointing, Apple!


Oct 28, 2023 1:34 PM in response to tejas190

Been using the iPhone 15 Pro Max since launch date. I’m at the latest release of iOS. I have adjusted my settings, turning off always-on screen, turned of background app refresh, dimmed my screen, etc. and my battery doesn’t last 3/4 of a day, while my previous iPhone 13 Pro Max, without making any adjustments would last a full day and then some.


I’ve had at least 10 previous models of iPhone, have iPads, Macs, AirPods, Apple TV, etc. I am aware of the Apple products and by far the 15 Pro Max is the least reliable product I’ve purchased from Apple over the last 20 years. I am counting days before there is an iPhone 16 release or hoping some iOS release fixes the battery issue.


I go to trade shows and will also go to Disney where I’m very dependent on my iphone and not sure if I can make it a day during these events. After spending over $1K for a phone I’ve purchased an external battery pack and turned off features so I can enjoy my expensive iPhone while disabling a lot of its features.


Disappointed for first time on an Apple device purchase.

iPhone 15 Pro Max Battery Drain and Heating

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