I have been using an iPhone 15 (256 GB), and ever since updating to iOS 26.5.2, the battery performance has noticeably deteriorated. The battery drains much faster than it did before the update, even though my battery health remains at 88%.
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[Edited by Moderator]
iPhone 15 Plus, iOS 26
There can be many reasons why a battery drains faster after an update. Apple even addresses this in this link --> If the battery in your iPhone or iPad drains too quickly - Apple Support. It is expected for the first few days after an iOS update, your battery will drain faster as it has to reindex the millions upon millions of bytes of data on your phone. This can last 4 or more days.
At 88% battery health, your battery is not too far from needing to be replaced. When the health of your battery dips to 80%, you'll see a notification that battery service is needed and you're not far from that date and it will then be time to pay Apple to replace the battery in your iPhone.
Social media apps, such as those from Meta (Facebook/Instagram/WhatsApp) are notorious for chewing through an iPhone battery. Meta has to release updates multiple times a week to fix bugs they create. Personally, I force close these apps after use because of this.
If you want to see what is using the battery the most on your iPhone, open Settings > Battery and wait for the apps use to populate. I wouldn't be surprised to see the social media apps are consuming a lot of your battery. Only Apple doesn't own these apps.
Finally, after every iOS update, the first thing I do is Force Restart my iPhone and I never have battery drain after an update. Do this and keep the directions handy for the future --> Force restart iPhone - Apple Support
There can be many reasons why a battery drains faster after an update. Apple even addresses this in this link --> If the battery in your iPhone or iPad drains too quickly - Apple Support. It is expected for the first few days after an iOS update, your battery will drain faster as it has to reindex the millions upon millions of bytes of data on your phone. This can last 4 or more days.
At 88% battery health, your battery is not too far from needing to be replaced. When the health of your battery dips to 80%, you'll see a notification that battery service is needed and you're not far from that date and it will then be time to pay Apple to replace the battery in your iPhone.
Social media apps, such as those from Meta (Facebook/Instagram/WhatsApp) are notorious for chewing through an iPhone battery. Meta has to release updates multiple times a week to fix bugs they create. Personally, I force close these apps after use because of this.
If you want to see what is using the battery the most on your iPhone, open Settings > Battery and wait for the apps use to populate. I wouldn't be surprised to see the social media apps are consuming a lot of your battery. Only Apple doesn't own these apps.
Finally, after every iOS update, the first thing I do is Force Restart my iPhone and I never have battery drain after an update. Do this and keep the directions handy for the future --> Force restart iPhone - Apple Support
When did you update?
With iOS 26.5.2 just released on June 29th, it is likely still performing the expected indexing in the background where you will see increased battery drain, heat, and some lag in the UI. This happens after every single update and this one is no different. Apple even has a Support Article where they make this very clear and why we see the same reports all the time immediately after an update. You should expect this to continue for about 4 days to finish the indexing and optimize your Photo Library for Object Detection.
About Apple software updates - Apple Support
lobsterghost1 has provided a very detailed response that you should also consider. Your Battery Health is still in the range where it does not need to be replaced, but certainly is not great and will need to be replaced in the near future. Typically you will get about 1000 charge cycles on that battery. I also do the Force Restart after an update to do additional housekeeping.
Give you device at least the 4 days after the update and if you still experience trouble after also performing the Force Restart, then post the 2 battery graphs and the top 5 apps at Settings > Battery > View All Usage. It is best to choose a full day of data for a complete picture instead of just a couple of hours for the current day.
Wow, something is up with your copy of Google Maps. Just 9 minutes on screen and 5 minutes in the background and it used 20% of your battery. That’s not normal.
Delete the app and any widgets related to Google Maps. Restart your device and then download a fresh copy of Google Maps.
Lgbtmomtotwo wrote: The last two days the battery has been so bad I've gotten the same "adaptive power" kicking on.
As always review the information that has been posted and include the requested screenshots of the 2 battery graphs and the top 5 apps consuming your battery at Settings > Battery > View All Usage. Also post the Battery Health percentage as advised.
You may be using the same apps, but not likely the same versions of those apps. Any Meta apps installed? Those have been problematic and most have had an update within the last several days. That is the purpose of the Battery Setting so you can see what apps are consuming your battery.
If you have Adaptive Power turned on along with Notifications, it is expected you would see those notifications after it learns your charging habits. If you are seeing those notifications, it is working exactly as designed. You can turn adaptive power off if you wish or even the Notifications. Seeing those Notifications does not indicate you are experiencing a problem. It is based on each persons average usage where you will always have a higher usage point and a lower usage point, and adaptive power takes advantage of the higher usage points, which would be unique for each user. My recommendation is to turn it off, but if you don't mind the notifications and the screen dimming then feel free to leave it on.
Use Adaptive Power to extend the battery life of your iPhone - Apple Support
ante34 wrote:
Post the screenshot of the 2 battery graphs along with the top 5 apps consuming your battery at Settings > Battery > View All Usage. It is best to choose a full days worth of data on the daily graph for a complete picture.
That will show you what is consuming your battery, and once you identify the app(s), testing is simply by removing the apps and comparing your results. There are a variety of issues that may cause problems with a specific app causing battery drain, and it has been seen regularly with Meta apps, but the solution for an app causing battery will drain will have to come from the developer of that app.
Barbababar wrote:
I can charge my phone however I want to
You sure can, you could also let it run down completely every time and find yourself replacing the battery much sooner. You will also find that if you use Optimized Charging and don't take it off the charger on a regular schedule, it will constantly charge to 100%. You can also leave it off the charger overnight and that will increase your Charge Cycles because 1 charge cycle is equal to the discharge of the full battery capacity, not actually to how many times it has been charged.
I think you're underestimating background processes. By that logic, night-shift workers would never see them
If you saw in my post, I said when you are not using your phone. For most users that would be overnight and if that is not you it would be done while the device is not being actively used. You are the one that said you are losing 20% overnight, and that certainly would not be surprising for 8 hours with the phone not plugged in and an 87% Battery Health while those background processes are being performed. You are still powering the cellular antenna and if it is in a 1 bar location it will use significantly more power to keep that connection to a distant tower. You also have not shown what apps are consuming your battery.
I positively understand this mechanism. What I'm saying is now it's happening every day or every two days whether it used to happen once a month.
Optimized Charging only works when it has learned over about a week when you normally take your phone off the charger. If there is no regular schedule it will charge to 100% every time and if you change that schedule it will then have to learn it all over again. Charging to 100% has nothing to do with Battery Drain, whether you are using Optimized Charging or a Charge Limit.
I trust my own judgement on those kind of things. Also: tell that to the iPhone Air user who reported similar problems while on 100% battery health.
I have yet to see any of the screenshots for your device. The user that did has a problem with Google Maps consuming 18% of their battery with only 9 minutes of usage and continued to use the battery for 5 minutes while not using the app. Deleting the app will resolve the problem and is the first thing that should be done to test. Downloading again from the App Store will install the latest version in case there was an update to fix a bug causing the battery drain in that app. For Google Maps, there was an update 3 days ago that may not have been installed yet, or it could be that version that contains a battery draining bug. The purpose of the Battery Settings is for you to identify the apps, so you can use that information to see the cause of your battery drain.
The user with the iPhone Air has hopefully followed the recommendation as they have not followed up with any screenshots of the battery graphs and apps consuming their battery. They were also only 2 days in after the update, where you should expect 4 days for the background indexing to complete after an update and documented by Apple. That is why you see the same reports about battery drain immediately following an update and you can even see those here for every point update going back to iOS 16. That wouldn't even apply to you since you said you installed it the day it was released, so why do you think that is what you are experiencing? Do you really think every iPhone Air user is finding that their battery is losing 68% by noon? If that was the case you would see much more than 1 post here and also likely reported on every news outlet, but of course that has not happened. You are more likely to find a solution sticking to your unique circumstances instead of conflating those of others.
Feel free to schedule an appointment with Apple for diagnostics to be performed. It is not clear if you are looking for support here or not, so that may be the best option for you.
KMiller8821 wrote:
I'm having the same problem. I have an iPhone 16 pro, capacity is at 99%. It used to last me nearly all day on 80% max charge. Now I'm lucky to get just over 1/2 day. I bumped my max cap from 80 to 85 just so my phone would last. This update is clearly creating issues and so far, nothing from apple. I've been updated since it dropped so I'm well past any of the "takes time to be stable". Not happy with this update. Apple should provide a way to roll back when user's have issues, this is a poor user experience.
You seem to be under the impression the majority of users are having issues like you are. Most aren't. And we can guess from your post that you've not read any of the suggestions in this 3 page thread nor tried what has been suggested. Apple won't see what you think they should do here. This is a user to user only forum. Apple isn't here. But you should take the time to read and learn what options may be causing you issues. Complaining here isn't going to change anything on your phone itself.
Most senior members of this forum, don't use Charge Limit at all. We use Optimized Battery Charging and we plug our phones in to charge when we go to bed at night, leaving them on charge ALL night, EVERY night. We wake to a fully charged phones ready for a day of use.
If you use a lot of social media apps, like those from Meta (Facebook/WhatsApp/Instagram), they are known battery hogs and Meta has to update them many times a week to fix their shoddy applications. To ensure they don't drain my battery, I Force Close them after every use.
In Settings > Battery - you can easily see what is using the most charge and make adjustments accordingly.
Simple things can make a huge difference. Wishing for something you'll never get won't.
Hi, thank you for the information. I asked “What apps are consuming the most of iPhone’s daily battery capacity?” You can find that information by following this path,
iPhone > Settings > Battery > and taking a screenshot or sharing what apps are consuming your daily battery capacity. Here’s my screenshot.
A user suggested that I shut down my device with the buttons not the menu. Then remove and reinstall the Google Maps app. I did both and my battery is almost back to normal. Now instead of charging 2x per day it’s about 10% by the end of the day. Before the update I was easily 30% by the end of the day. I wonder if it’s apps and the update that are “arguing”. Good luck to anyone experiencing the power issue, it’s so frustrating.
Supersaukko wrote:
Same here with 26.5.2 on iPhone 17 Pro (European regular SIM card small battery model).
And the same recommendations and steps to take for more information would apply to you too. Don't forget this is a Support Site.
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:
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.
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:
filippo109 wrote:
Agree 100%. I'm using an old Iphone 13, and the battery lasts half after the update to Ios 26.5.2
I would want to go back, don't care at all about the improvements if I can't use my phone for 12 hours.
Now it barely last 5 or 6. Nothing different just updated the Ios. And my immediate reaction was to buy a new iphone ... Now I'm not going to settle until I get my iphone to work as good as before the update
Hi, thank you for the information. What apps are consuming the most of iPhone’s daily battery capacity? You can find that information by following this path,
iPhone > Settings > Battery > and taking a screenshot or sharing what apps are consuming your daily battery capacity. Here’s my screenshot.
Lgbtmomtotwo wrote:
A user suggested that I shut down my device with the buttons not the menu. Then remove and reinstall the Google Maps app. I did both and my battery is almost back to normal. Now instead of charging 2x per day it’s about 10% by the end of the day. Before the update I was easily 30% by the end of the day. I wonder if it’s apps and the update that are “arguing”. Good luck to anyone experiencing the power issue, it’s so frustrating.
Battery drain is almost always a result of apps which haven't been optimized (or updated) for the newest iOS. Only Apple can't control that. Apple does, however, send the Application Protocol Interface (API) to all app developers before an update is released. It's up to them to test their apps and update them as needed.
Ps: I love your user name! If it means what I think it does, I hope your home is filled with much love!
What did the Apple technicians say when you took your iPhone in to the Genius Bar to have the battery checked and tested?
Worst battery backup after 26.5.2 update.
