Bottom line: Starting with iOS 14.5, Apple will include a battery recalibration system for the iPhone 11, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Max that's meant to give users a better estimate of their phones' battery health and peak performance capability. Apple says that some users have been getting inaccurate estimates due to a bug with its battery health reporting system and that this recalibration - which could take up to a few weeks - will happen over time with normal charge cycles to update the phone's maximum battery capacity and peak performance status.

Apple's now-settled "Batterygate" controversy left a sour taste for many iPhone users, but they finally got the much-needed Battery Health feature in iOS 11.3, which Apple has been gradually tweaking behind the scenes. This battery health data is now indispensable to most iPhone users and is a major consideration for buyers of used ones.

It appears the information displayed by Apple's battery health reporting system had been showing inaccurate estimates for some iPhone 11-series users, whose devices will soon be able to recalibrate their batteries with the upcoming iOS 14.5 update. While such a feature would have likely been welcome across the board for compatible models (iPhone 6s up to the iPhone 12 lineup), it seems the iPhone 11, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Max will be the only models receiving it, or at least will be the first ones to do so.

Apple's support document for the upcoming feature reveals how it will work, with a new message displaying under Settings > Battery > Battery Health that will also remove any previous message for a degraded battery. It appears that iOS will decide on its own when to start this process, something that could take a few weeks to complete. Apple also notes that during recalibration, its battery health reporting system will be unable to recommend if the user needs to service/replace their phone's battery.

The message will disappear upon successful recalibration, along with updated information for max battery capacity and peak performance capability. Should the process fail to complete, which could happen in some cases, users can head to an Apple authorized repair shop for a free battery replacement. Unsuccessful recalibration, however, isn't indicative of a safety issue, notes Apple, though it says users continuing with such batteries may experience noticeable battery and performance issues.