Over the past year, a lot of advice has been published about charging your smartphone. For example, some claim that charging to 100% is super bad and that 80% is the golden number. Although this is a bit more nuanced, Apple has still changed tack. The iPhone 15 series has an optional limit built in.
Thanks to the limit, the iPhone battery will never charge beyond 80%. If desired, the user can choose to charge the battery to 80%, after which charging will be stopped via the software. In addition, you can also check how many charging cycles the battery has undergone on these devices.
Set iPhone 15 battery limit to 80%
The iPhone 15 (Plus) and iPhone 15 Pro (Max) have a new feature that ensures that you cannot charge the battery beyond 80%. If you choose to set the limit, the iPhone will stop charging when 80% is reached. This means that the battery is never charged to 100%, which is slightly better for the battery.
- Open Settings
- Navigate to ‘Battery’
- (Select ‘Battery conditions and charging’)
- Tap ‘Charging Optimization’
- Choose ‘80% limit’
Do you want to extend the life of the iPhone battery, but charge it to 100%? Then choose optimized charging.
Charge iPhone battery to 100% or 80%?
You may charge your iPhone to 100% every night and have optimized charging enabled to extend iPhone battery life. Yet there are more and more users who do not charge the battery further than 80%, why do they do that?
Charging an iPhone to 80% instead of 100% is about optimizing battery life and reducing wear and tear. While it’s generally fine to charge your iPhone to 100%, there are a few reasons why some people prefer charging to 80%.
Lithium-ion batteries have optimal lifespan when used and charged in the middle of their charge range (approximately 20-80%). By not fully charging or just allowing the battery to discharge, you reduce the stress and degradation that occurs when charging the battery to 100%.
For example, the last twenty percent require extra power and this can lead to a slight increase in the temperature within the battery. By limiting the charge to 80%, heat development is minimized, which is beneficial for the life of the battery.
In addition, it is extra bad to leave an iPhone that is charged to 100% on the charger. This can lead to an overcharged condition. Which can damage the battery and shorten its lifespan. That is why it is better to charge for short periods several times a day, rather than one whole night.
What is the profit?
Is it worth keeping your iPhone’s battery between 20 and 80%? The answer is yes, but it is more nuanced. The capacity of a battery decreases over the years; with normal use, the battery will last about 3-4 years before it falls below 80% capacity. Then you can still use the iPhone, but it will run out of power more quickly.
By limiting heat development, charging time and peaks during charging, the battery will experience less ‘stress’ and therefore have a slightly better battery capacity after 3-4 years and less wear. But what is the profit? Can you use the iPhone battery for years, months, weeks or days? The benefit may be a few weeks before you replace the battery. So it’s a trade-off.
If you really want to extend the life of a lithium-ion battery, you should ideally keep the percentage between 65 and 75%. There is also a profit to be made between 45 and 75%, but everything between and above is worth it limited effect. It all sounds great in theory, but there are so many factors that determine the lifespan of the battery: use, ambient temperature, how you charge it, etc.
Check iPhone battery charging cycles
Are you curious how often you have fully charged your iPhone’s battery? Then you can check this from the iPhone 15 series, unfortunately older models do not show this.
- Open Settings
- Navigate to ‘Battery’
- Tap ‘battery condition’
Do you have iOS 17.3.1 or older installed on your iPhone 15 (Pro)? You can then find this information via Settings â–¸ General â–¸ Info â–¸ Battery.
Apple says the iPhone’s battery is designed to last 1,000 full charge cycles, reaching 80% capacity.
A charging cycle is calculated as follows; Suppose you use the iPhone up to 40% of the battery charge, then fully charge it. The next day you use the device, but up to 60% and fully charge it again. The battery has then completed one charging cycle and not two (because you charged twice). It may therefore take a few days for the battery to complete a full charging cycle.