iPhone 18 Pro battery drains quickly with low screen-on time
Is my iPhone 18 Pro battery drain normal?
I have a persistent problem with my iPhone battery draining much faster than the reported screen-on time would suggest. As shown in the screenshot, I used about 50% of the battery while getting only slightly more than one hour of screen-on time. On a full charge, I usually get no more than two to three hours.
This has bothered me for several iPhone generations. Starting with the iPhone 11, I used to get almost two days of battery life. I later upgraded to the 13 Pro, then the 16 Pro, and now the 18 Pro. Battery life is supposedly improving with every generation, but that has not been my experience. I regularly see people posting screenshots showing seven or eight hours of screen-on time from a single charge, while I get nowhere near that.
I have already tried almost every commonly suggested solution, including:
- Completely disabling Background App Refresh
- Enabling Adaptive Power
- Disabling unnecessary location services, including several system services
- Using Wi-Fi for most of the day
- Enabling Low Power Mode when I know I will be away from a charger all day
The only thing I have not tried is setting up the iPhone as a new device instead of restoring from a backup. I would rather avoid that because getting all my apps, accounts, and settings back to their current state would probably take hours.
Some additional information about my setup:
- An Apple Watch GPS is connected to the iPhone
- I also use an iPad, MacBook, and several HomePods at home
- My iPhone has a managed work profile installed, although the battery issue existed before I installed it
- I use a few location-based automations, such as enabling the Apple Watch’s always-on display when I leave home
- I also have automations that run when an alarm goes off
- My previous iPhones, especially the 13 Pro and 16 Pro, often became unusually warm even during light use. The 18 Pro seems slightly better in this regard
- I sometimes suspect poor cellular reception might be responsible, but I am connected to Wi-Fi most of the time
The phone does not constantly die during the day, but the battery drain is still frustrating, especially when I compare it with other people’s results. If I were getting the battery life these phones are supposedly capable of, I would need to charge less frequently, which should also help preserve battery health over time.
Does this level of battery drain look normal, or is there likely something wrong with my setup? Have some of you experienced the same (maybe after getting a Apple Watch or starting to use automations?)
I am grateful for every suggestion regarding this topic as I'm getting tired of this. I love my iPhone in every other regard but driving to work for a hour while only listening to music and losing 15-20 percent is a real downer.
Thanks!
[Edited by Moderator]
iPhone 18 Pro
