iPhone 15 battery degrades too fast

Hey, I can tell you’ve been really careful with your phone and you’ve done everything right—honestly, more than most people. So it’s totally valid to feel frustrated seeing the battery health drop like this, especially when you’ve taken extra steps to protect it. Let’s look at this logically and calmly—there is a decent way forward here.

First off, some facts to keep you grounded:

1. 97% capacity after 35 cycles is still within normal expectations.

• • Battery health indicators aren’t 100% precise, and small drops early on are common—sometimes even due to calibration or the battery “settling in.” Apple states a normal battery is considered healthy if it retains 80% of capacity after 500 cycles.

1. Battery wear isn’t always linear.

• • It’s normal to see a couple percent drop early, then it might plateau for months. Sometimes, the drop appears after a software update recalibrates the metrics—it doesn’t always mean the battery physically degraded.

1. iOS 17/18 changes don’t typically affect battery health directly.

• • What they might do is improve how battery health is reported. That’s why after updates, you might see changes that feel sudden, but they’re more about better accuracy.

Solutions & Perspective Shifts:

Battery recalibration (if needed):

• Let your phone discharge to around 10%, then charge uninterrupted to 100% a couple of times. This can sometimes help the system more accurately read the actual capacity.

Stop obsessing over percentages (I know it’s hard):

• Checking battery health too often creates stress. The truth is: 97% means your battery is still functioning at near-peak. At this rate, you’ll easily get several years of good battery life

Apple Support evaluation

• Just for peace of mind, you could visit an Apple Store or authorized provider. Ask them to run a diagnostic—this will give you an objective look at your battery’s condition and rule out any defect.

Consider context vs. comparison:

• Everyone’s phone behaves a bit differently—even if usage seems similar. Battery components can vary slightly from unit to unit, and your attention to detail may be making you more sensitive to small changes than others even notice.
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raspberry128 wrote:

If you trace the dynamics, in six months the capacity will drop to 80%, with 230 cycles, approximately.

You're assuming that the decrease is linear. It's not.

If your battery drops below 80% before the end or your warranty, have Apple replace it. If it drops below that after the end of your warranty, pay to have it replaced.

Enable optimized battery charging and stop worrying about it. 99% of battery degradation is outside of your control.

raspberry128 wrote:

I have a limit of up to 80% to reduce the number of recharge cycles. This question cannot but bother when it comes to the material issue:(

That's not optimized battery charging. Set the charge limit to 100% and turn on optimized battery charging. The phone algorithms are smarter than we are about charging.

Louis__since2022 wrote:

Battery recalibration (if needed):•

Let your phone discharge to around 10%, then charge uninterrupted to 100% a couple of times. This can sometimes help the system more accurately read the actual capacity.

Mostly excellent advice, except for this. Apple hasn't recommended recalibration in years. And, for what it's worth, it was never about recalibrating the battery; it was recalibrating the battery sensor.

Louis__since2022 wrote:

Fair enough! Thanks for the headsup!

On the other hand, for people who don't really have a problem but are just worried (not saying that's the case here), it does give them an action to take and can sometimes decrease their anxiety.

Fair enough! Thanks for the headsup!

Just wanne help the community like you want !

raspberry128 wrote:

I have a limit of up to 80% to reduce the number of recharge cycles.

That doesn’t reduce the number of recharge cycles, because you will have to charge more often.