Liquid glass has the aesthetics of Word Art and drains my iPhone’s battery

Liquid glass has the aesthetics of Word Art—it’s unnecessarily complicated and defies the minimalist design that I appreciated from Apple. The main problem however is that it drains the battery of my iPhone. Since I read in comments from others, Liquid Glass is here to stay (noooo), how do we cope or rebel?

iPhone 12 mini, iOS 26

Posted on Jan 27, 2026 5:17 PM

Reply
10 replies

Jan 28, 2026 4:49 AM in response to BrendadeGroot

Hi Brenda, what happens when the battery drops below 80% is the chemical structure of the battery starts to breakdown at a less predictable rate than a normal, healthy battery. Upgrading puts a strain on the internal components, including the battery and this leads to a change in the predictable behavior you were accustomed to. Apple also added a new feature, Adaptive Power which is modifying the power management unit differently than in previous iOS versions. Liquid Glass has a minimal effect on overall battery capacity and life. Your battery is EOL (End of Life) and needs replacement to ensure a consistent user experience.

Jan 27, 2026 10:34 PM in response to BrendadeGroot

Try some of these options too.

To prolong the life of your iPhone battery, you can follow these tips and best practices:


To prolong the life of your iPhone battery, you can follow these tips and best practices:

  1. Optimize Battery Charging: Enable the "Optimized Battery Charging" feature on your iPhone. It helps reduce the wear on the battery by slowing down the battery aging process. You can find this option in Settings > Battery > Battery Health. About Optimized Battery Charging on your iPhone - Apple Support (IN)
  2. Avoid Extreme Temperatures: Extreme temperatures, both hot and cold, can negatively impact your battery life. Avoid exposing your iPhone to excessive heat or cold, such as leaving it in direct sunlight or in a freezing car.If your iPhone or iPad gets too hot or too cold – Apple Support (UK)
  3. Use Original Chargers and Cables: Always use Apple's original chargers and cables or certified third-party accessories. Low-quality chargers or cables can damage the battery and reduce its lifespan. Identify counterfeit or uncertified Lightning connector accessories - Apple Support (IN)
  4. Avoid Draining the Battery to Zero: Charge it whenever the charge becomes lower than 20%. The rest is up to you when to charge. how long to charge, how often to charge, which adapter to use starting from 5W to 140W USB-C Power Adapter etc.
  5. Optimize Display Settings: Adjust your display settings to optimize battery life. Lower the screen brightness, enable auto-brightness, and use shorter screen timeout durations. Adjust the display and text size on iPhone - Apple Support (IN)
  6. Minimize Background App Refresh: Limit the number of apps allowed to refresh in the background. Go to Settings > General > Background App Refresh and disable it for apps that don't require real-time updates. Switch apps on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support (IN)
  7. Disable Push Email: Push email notifications can drain your battery quickly. Instead, set your email accounts to fetch data manually or at longer intervals. You can change this setting in Settings > Mail > Accounts > Fetch New Data.
  8. Disable Unnecessary Notifications: Reduce the number of unnecessary notifications you receive. Go to Settings > Notifications and customize which apps can send you notifications.
  9. Limit Location Services: Some apps use GPS and location services in the background, which can drain your battery. Go to Settings > Privacy > Location Services and disable location access for apps that don't require it.
  10. Update iOS: Keep your iPhone's operating system up to date. Apple regularly releases updates that can include optimizations and improvements for battery life.
    1. Update Over-the-Air (OTA) —> Update your iPhone or iPad - Apple Support (IN)
    2. Update using iTunes/Finder —> Update your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support (IN)
  11. Enable Low Power Mode: When your battery is running low, enable Low Power Mode in Settings > Battery. It reduces power consumption by disabling non-essential features.
  12. Avoid Battery Drain during Storage: If you need to store your iPhone for an extended period, make sure to charge it to around 50% first. This helps prevent the battery from draining completely, which can be harmful.
  13. Disable Dynamic Backgrounds and Motion Effects: Dynamic backgrounds and motion effects use additional processing power and can impact battery life. Use a static wallpaper and disable parallax motion effects in Settings > Accessibility > Motion > Reduce Motion.
  14. Limit Widgets: Widgets on the Today View can consume battery life. Remove or limit the number of widgets displayed by swiping right on the home screen, scrolling to the bottom, and tapping Edit.
  15. Adjust Auto-Lock Time: Shorten the auto-lock time on your iPhone. Go to Settings > Display & Brightness > Auto-Lock, and select a shorter time interval to turn off the screen more quickly when not in use.
  16. Use Wi-Fi Instead of Cellular Data: When possible, connect to Wi-Fi networks instead of relying on cellular data. Using Wi-Fi consumes less power than using cellular data.
  17. Enable Airplane Mode in Low or No Coverage Areas: When you're in an area with low or no cellular coverage, enabling Airplane Mode can prevent your iPhone from constantly searching for a signal and draining the battery.


By following these tips, you can help prolong the battery life of your iPhone and maintain its overall performance over time.


Jan 27, 2026 10:34 PM in response to BrendadeGroot

Liquid glass is not draining the battery; instead, read below.


The measure of battery health deterioration/drainage is subjective and can vary depending on individual usage patterns. There is no universal standard to determine whether the battery health deterioration/drainage is normal or abnormal because it heavily relies on how the battery is used and maintained.



Protect & Prolong the Life of your iPhone's Battery:

  1. About the battery usage on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch ...
  2. Batteries - Maximising Performance - Apple (IN)
  3. iPhone Battery and Performance
  4. About Charge Limit and Optimised Battery Charging on iPhone - Apple Support (IN)




Try to monitor Battery usage by iPhone Activity as shown below


What is shown under battery usage? Checking that would give you an indication of the usage behavior.

  1. Background Activity
  2. Notifications
  3. Connected to Charger
  4. Or any Other




Jan 28, 2026 1:37 AM in response to BrendadeGroot

BrendadeGroot wrote: "...the battery health was already 75% when it was still functional; the gist of the matter is that since this update, my battery life has been cut in approximately half..."

BrendadeGroot ~ We see this reported often here on ASC following a major iOS upgrade, and the likely explanation is that the long process of applying the upgrade to an iPhone with an already weak, aging battery can be the proverbial "straw that broke the camel's back."


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Jan 27, 2026 6:29 PM in response to Jeff Donald

Hi Jeff, thanks for your reply. I have an iPhone 12 mini, iOS 26.2 now, I am the original owner though it is a refurbished phone, and my battery health is 75%.


To give some more information (and also as a rebuttal to a previous comment): I am currently doing research and use my phone for data collection. It is always 100% charged when I start at 7am, and would get to 20-30% when it's time to stop at 12:00. After the Liquid Glass update, I did not make it until 12:00 while I used my phone in the same way, and actually less, because by 9am I noticed how much the battery already had drained (under 60%). Same story for the afternoon data session.


It's an old phone and I know it needs a new battery or replacement at some point, but the fact that the upgrade is draining the life out of it (there is no other explanation I can think of) is a bummer, to say the least. Especially because I can't simply buy a new iPhone or battery at this point, only when I will return from my fieldwork.

Jan 27, 2026 5:29 PM in response to edclange

edclange wrote:

Yes, it is hideous.


The appearance of objects are subjective. Personally, I like the esthetics and appreciate the design elements. But I respect other Apple users and don’t try to inflict my personal opinions as gospel. I’ve learned that in communities, where emotions can run hot, to scroll on by when I don’t have something meaningful to add to the conversation.



Jan 27, 2026 10:29 PM in response to muguy

Edit: This one is a reply to muguy:


Yes, and I was about to, but the battery health was already 75% when it was still functional; the gist of the matter is that since this update, my battery life has been cut in approximately half. Which is quite ridiculous given that the update, in my eyes, is not an improvement.


I'm aware that there are no solutions for that problem. I'm just surprised how Apple thought this was a good idea and if there's anything to do against it.

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Liquid glass has the aesthetics of Word Art and drains my iPhone’s battery

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