Does the iPhone 14 have battery health issues, or are you just a power user?

[Shawn Knight]

Facepalm: Apple's iPhone 14 has been on the market for less than a year but some users are already complaining about rapid battery degradation. So we ask, what has your experience been like with battery capacity on modern iPhones?

Last month, Sam Kohl from AppleTrack posted on Twitter about the battery in his iPhone 14 Pro. According to the screenshot shared, the phone's maximum battery capacity is already down to 90 percent after less than a year of ownership.

Others chimed in with their experiences, which vary from zero degradation to alarmingly steep declines in battery capacity. Joanna Stern from The Wall Street Journal recently said her iPhone 14 Pro, which she has had since September, is already down to 88 percent. Stern said she took her phone to an Apple Store and was told it was aging at a normal rate for a power user.

My iPhone 14 Pro is down to 88% battery capacity after less than a year.

Is it because I use my phone too much and have already hit 450 charge cycles?! (That's what Apple Store says.) Is it from heat from fast charging? Is there something up with the battery?

My newsletter…

– Joanna Stern (@JoannaStern) August 11, 2023

Stern downloaded a third-party app that showed her phone's charge cycle count at 451. That's a lot for a phone that is less than a year old but perhaps in line with a true power user.

Stern also wondered out loud if her use of fast charging could have damaged the battery, or if excess heat (she left it in direct sunlight in Mexico earlier this year) impacted it. What about the always-on display? Maybe that is having an impact on maximum capacity? Perhaps there is something else at play? Apple does have a history of questionable battery practices on its iPhones.

According to Apple's battery service and recycling page, iPhone batteries are designed to retain up to 80 percent of their original capacity at 500 complete charge cycles. Cupertino notes that new iPhones come with a one year warranty that includes coverage for a defective battery.

Battery replacement services are also available but will vary in cost depending on whether or not you have an AppleCare+ plan. A quick check on Apple's website shows a battery replacement for an iPhone 14 Pro would set you back $99 without AppleCare+.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/99779-does-iphone-14-have-battery-health-issues-or.html

 

[m4a4]

He's just charging it wrong.

 

[p51d007]

I do not like fast charging. I think I've used it once when I was down and needed the battery in a hurry.
Fast charging "heats up" the battery and that has to have an effect on the chemicals of the battery,
thus reducing its lifespan.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Funny, my moto G power still has over 90% of its OG life after 4 years of use. Must be that apple tax.

If they are hitting 451 charges after only 11 months, thats more then once a day, getting close to 2 full charges per day. I dont see how that's possible unless you are on your phone 24/7.

Keep in mind, iphone 12s had atrocious battery health. They wore out in under a year too. looks like apple is cheaping out on their $1400 devices.

All the more reason to tell people to stop buying them. Just get a $300 phone, use it for 4 years, then upgrade.

 

[sheady]

My 14plus is 10months old and still has 100% capacity according to the built in battery health measurement. I rarely fully charge mine. Charging to 70% or 80% is more than enough for 24hrs given my usage.

 

[PEnnn]

It's the stupid user, even if they work for whatever famous company. Ugh!!

I use my phone almost constantly an it's still @ 100 percent one year later.

 

[Vanderlinde]

Ive bin going through issues with the Iphone X myself, and I'm stunned by the problems these devices have and how it ever passed through public release.

Always fast charging is'nt always good; but too slow charging makes the battery lazy. That's my opinion. Usually I grab a 500mah charger and does the trick in a couple of hours.

 

[yRaz]

So It's my understanding that the general rule for the life of Lithium batteries is that you can expect 80% life after about 1,000 cycles. Here he is at 450 cycles and 88% but he uses a fast charger. I would say under those circumstances he is suffering from normal battery wear. Not so much the charge cycles, but the fast charging and the heavy discharging. Under those circumstances I would argue that he is doing everything he shouldn't do to a battery and only has what I consider a 2-5% reduction in capacity in a battery at that point in it's life.

I'd say he's doing pretty well, to be honest. My S21+ say it's at 94% after about 2 years of use, but I don't charge it everyday and am not a heavy user. I hI realistically never use more than 20-30% of my phone battery in a single day and intentionally don't charge it overnight. I don't know how to check the number, but after probably 26-26 months since I bought it I have less than 500-550 charge cycles on it.

I'd say he should be pretty happy for still having 88% left and should be more mad at Apple for not making their battery easily replaceable. I was quoted by a shop $120 for a battery replacement on my s21+, if I get another 2 years out of it for $120 I'd be more than happy(Google and Samsung willing).

Frankly, I've bee so thrilled with it that I'm actually disappointed that the phone dies when they decide to stop supporting it because I often considered it "the last phone I'd need". Put a conservative Linux Kernal on it to just use it for phone stuff, take pictures and argue with you guys while I'm sitting on the toilet.

 

[kiwigraeme]

What's a charge cycle - plugging it in for a 5 minute boost??- assume must be at least a 50% boost = who knows - It's Apple who I hate so won't google
Plus how accurate is the 88% reading - have my doubts - ie even if 88% of starting capacity - it's not 88% of life span
What are the life curves - 50% - would that mean phone battery is stuffed wouldn't it - as would think that 50% is definitely not 50% and will go down much faster ( ie not holding charge doing nothing etc ) - my ungoogled ignorant opinion

 

[Melonny H]

My 5-year-old iPhone Xr is at 83% maximum capacity. My roommate got her Xs at the same time, her phone is long gone as the battery was shot 1.5 years ago. Xs and Xr can't be that different, right? So it must be the user.

 

[SimonMetcalf]

How many hours a day is she on her phone to use that many cycles in under a year? Perhaps she uses it outdoors a lot and the high brightness is churning through the battery and heating up the phone? Perhaps she has way too much crap going on in the background. Perhaps she uses wireless to charge, which probably doesn’t help either; or all of the above. I think once you hit 500 cycles apple should let you buy a replacement battery or get a free one with AppleCare.

 

[DonquixoteIII]

Batteries are... Batteries. They all come with issues, and depending on the type of battery (lead-acid, NiCad, NIMh, Li-Ion...etc.) certain traits Nicads can and WILL develop 'memory' where the 'bottom' of the recharge cycle tends to 'fill up' the more it is recharged. By deep cycling, it will last longer. NiMh tended to have the same bottoming issues, AND also tended to have shorter lifespans. The various Li-Ion and other lithium types have a very serious issue where over-charging, or constand charging will cause the battery to create gasses that can baloon the case out, with considerable force, causing the case of the item itself (phone, pad or laptop) to pop open. Or, sometimes tese batteries can jist actually 'blow up', sometimes with fire from the gas burning.

The best mitigation for Li- types of batteries is just to drain them completely before charging, and then to only charge them to 100% and promptly remove the charging.device. This becomes problematic when the charging device is also the data linking device, and you like to have constant access to the device's data... USB being the most common culprit.

I have an iPad that is on its original battery, and is over 6 years old. As I am a mute, and I use a program on the iPad to communicate, it is always in use. So I have to constantly be aware of the battery state. Except for some 'upgrades' that made the charging cycle act more like a warning sign to 'replace now', my performance is only now starting to degrade somewhat.

All of that wall of words being said, my personal take on batteries is that they are evil. Not to be trusted. Technological disruptors, and destroyers of wealth. I REALLY, REALLY don't like batteries. Mousies have tails.So do keyboards and earphones.

 

[nismo91]

I bought two same phones for me and wife. both came with 40W charger, and I bought 10W and 18W chargers to use because the 40W ones make the phone warm. for the first 2 years, I almost always use the 10W while she use the 18W. it was easy because of the pandemic which means I'm always working from home.

there's almost no difference in battery wear after two years. both phones have its capacity reduced to about 80%. of course by then I said screw it and use the 40W charger to save time. in my opinion, there's so much you can do against battery cell degradation. you can keep it cool, you can charge it slow, etc but at the end of the day, time takes it all away. you can buy a brand new sealed iphone 11 from 2019 and it will have a worse battery life than another 2019 iphone 11 which just got its battery properly replaced.

at the end of the day, a battery is just a battery. it is a consumable item. if your battery degrades, then it's time for a replacement. problem is some manufacturers make the process difficult so they can charge you $90 for a battery that otherwise only cost $40. why should we worry about the lifetime of a consumable item? all you need to do is find a better deal, that's why I can't wait until the EU mandate for new phones to have user-removable battery again.

 

[Nobina]

iPhone battery is defective.
Source: Random-*** tweet from some melt.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

I bought two same phones for me and wife. both came with 40W charger, and I bought 10W and 18W chargers to use because the 40W ones make the phone warm. for the first 2 years, I almost always use the 10W while she use the 18W. it was easy because of the pandemic which means I'm always working from home.

there's almost no difference in battery wear after two years. both phones have its capacity reduced to about 80%. of course by then I said screw it and use the 40W charger to save time. in my opinion, there's so much you can do against battery cell degradation. you can keep it cool, you can charge it slow, etc but at the end of the day, time takes it all away. you can buy a brand new sealed iphone 11 from 2019 and it will have a worse battery life than another 2019 iphone 11 which just got its battery properly replaced.

at the end of the day, a battery is just a battery. it is a consumable item. if your battery degrades, then it's time for a replacement. problem is some manufacturers make the process difficult so they can charge you $90 for a battery that otherwise only cost $40. why should we worry about the lifetime of a consumable item? all you need to do is find a better deal, that's why I can't wait until the EU mandate for new phones to have user-removable battery again.

I cant wait because I want zero lemon style 10,000 mah battery bricks back. I loved my inch thick note 4 back in the day. With modern fast charging? Oh hell yeah!

What's a charge cycle - plugging it in for a 5 minute boost??- assume must be at least a 50% boost = who knows - It's Apple who I hate so won't google
Plus how accurate is the 88% reading - have my doubts - ie even if 88% of starting capacity - it's not 88% of life span
What are the life curves - 50% - would that mean phone battery is stuffed wouldn't it - as would think that 50% is definitely not 50% and will go down much faster ( ie not holding charge doing nothing etc ) - my ungoogled ignorant opinion

A charge cycle should be when all cells have gone from low to fully charged.

How apple logs this is unknown. It should be linear, IE two 50-100% charges = one 0-100% charge, but due to the nature of lithiums this doesnt work, being too warm or too many 80-100% charges will accelerate wear. She likely use wireless charging too, which doesnt help matters.

The iphone 12s had this same issue.

 

[Vanderlinde]

I bought two same phones for me and wife. both came with 40W charger, and I bought 10W and 18W chargers to use because the 40W ones make the phone warm. for the first 2 years, I almost always use the 10W while she use the 18W. it was easy because of the pandemic which means I'm always working from home.

there's almost no difference in battery wear after two years. both phones have its capacity reduced to about 80%. of course by then I said screw it and use the 40W charger to save time. in my opinion, there's so much you can do against battery cell degradation. you can keep it cool, you can charge it slow, etc but at the end of the day, time takes it all away. you can buy a brand new sealed iphone 11 from 2019 and it will have a worse battery life than another 2019 iphone 11 which just got its battery properly replaced.

at the end of the day, a battery is just a battery. it is a consumable item. if your battery degrades, then it's time for a replacement. problem is some manufacturers make the process difficult so they can charge you $90 for a battery that otherwise only cost $40. why should we worry about the lifetime of a consumable item? all you need to do is find a better deal, that's why I can't wait until the EU mandate for new phones to have user-removable battery again.

Alot of folks might think that charging with 40w would rapid the aging proces of any battery. The truth is they have long done tested those things before even releasing the product. Battery's do have safety marging designed in mind - so it's not weird to see a over-engineered battery with a bit more capacity then what it's rated for.

Heat is a killer in battery's yes - and charging with 40W does'nt mean the whole thing is charged linear. A battery consist out of various cells and charnging them independent or a bit faster is not going to hurt it.

I see good things with slow charging, but also negative things. One of them in my opinion and I see that with both battery bank and mobile phone battery's - the slow charging makes the battery lazy over time. My battery bank is depleting faster then before. Once in a while a 2A charge and the thing is fine again. Same applies to my phone. However the phones do have their own "BMS" type of thing build inside of it.

No such thing as overcharging a phone battery.