With each new version of iOS and the iPhone, including the iPhone 16, Apple integrates a multitude of new features, some of which put a lot of strain on your battery. Most users don’t use all the features, so it’s a good idea to review and adjust or turn off some settings to maximize the device’s battery life. Here are some tips for optimizing iOS 18 on the iPhone 16, but also on previous models like the iPhone 15, iPhone 14 and others.
A new episode of our “iPhone Easy” section.
Table of contents:
- Manage greedy applications
- Preserve battery longevity
- Use power saving mode
- Disable iPhone Mirroring
- Remove widgets
- Use full dark mode
- Reduce white point
- Disable keyboard haptic feedback
- Limit AirDrop Nearby Sharing
- Control location services
- Manage Bluetooth permissions
- Limit background refresh
- Set email collection
- Use WiFi
- Cut analysis
First of all, let’s remember how an iPhone battery works according to Apple :
Charge your Apple lithium-ion battery whenever you want. There is no need to let it discharge completely before recharging. Apple lithium-ion batteries operate in charge cycles. You complete a charge cycle when you have used (discharged) an amount equal to 100% of your battery’s capacity, but this does not have to come from a single charge. For example, you can use 75% of the battery’s capacity over the course of a day, then fully charge it overnight. If you use 25% the next day, you will have discharged a total of 100%, and the two days will add up to form one charge cycle. It may take several days to complete a cycle. The capacity of any type of battery decreases after a certain number of charges. With lithium-ion batteries, the capacity decreases slightly with each complete charge cycle. Apple lithium-ion batteries are designed to maintain 80% of their original capacity over a high number of charge cycles, which varies by product.
1. Manage battery-intensive apps
Your iPhone displays the apps that are consuming the most battery. By going to Settings > Battery, you can view a detailed breakdown of battery usage over the last 24 hours or 10 days. If an app that you rarely use consumes a lot of power, consider deleting it or limiting its background activity, see below.
2. Preserve battery longevity
For iPhone 15 and iPhone 16 models, you can enable an Optimized Charging feature that limits charging to 80% to preserve battery health. This feature isn’t ideal for long days spent outdoors, but it can be useful when using your device at home. You can also set limits at 85%, 90%, or 95%. You will find this function under Settings > Battery > Charging.
3. Use power saving mode
Low Power Mode is a quick solution to save battery, reducing background activity, screen refresh rates, and more. You can easily enable it via Control Center or Settings > Battery. You can also automate it to activate at a specific battery percentage using Shortcuts.
4. Disable iPhone Mirroring on Mac
The iPhone Mirroring function, the iPhone mirroring in French, allows you to control your device from a Mac and receive notifications. If you don’t use this feature, it’s worth turning it off to avoid unnecessary battery drain. Go to Settings > General > AirPlay & Continuity and remove the connected Mac. You will have to come back here to activate it again if necessary.
5. Delete unused widgets
Widgets, while convenient, consume battery power. If you don’t use a widget frequently, long-press it on your home or lock screen and delete it to save power. Remember to leave the iSoft widget, obviously.
6. Use full dark mode
OLED displays consume less power when displaying black. Enabling dark mode can significantly reduce battery usage, especially in bright conditions as the screen “strains” to remain readable.
Since iOS 13, dark mode leverages the OLED display technology of iPhone 16, iPhone 15, iPhone 14, iPhone 13, iPhone 12, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone XS and iPhone X by turning off black pixels. As the screen is the main source of battery consumption, dark mode has a direct impact on your battery life. The average gain by remaining like this is estimated at 15%.
To activate it permanently, go to:
- Settings
- Brightness and display
- Check “Dark Appearance” and turn off “Automatic”
In iOS 18, you can even enable dark icons to complement dark mode and save a little more power, while putting a dark wallpaper.
7. Reduce white point
White point adjustment is a lesser-known trick that dims bright elements and thus conserves battery life. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size, and enable the “Reduce White Point” option for a more battery-friendly display. You can choose to place the cursor quite low, depending on your preferences. This also allows you to have an even less dazzling screen at night, when you lower the brightness to the maximum.
8. Disable keyboard haptic feedback
Haptic feedback from the keyboard can drain the battery. If you have enabled it, turn it off in Settings > Sounds & Haptics > Keyboard Feedback. The same goes for keyboard sounds.
9. Limit AirDrop Nearby Sharing
If the proximity-based AirDrop option appears frequently, it may be draining your battery. Disable it in Settings > General > AirDrop by turning off the “Bring devices closer together” option.
10. Control location services
Check which apps have access to your location in Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services. Limit unnecessary location access to preserve battery life and privacy.
11. Manage Bluetooth permissions
Apps may request access to Bluetooth for unnecessary reasons, such as location tracking. To manage these permissions, go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Bluetooth and turn off access for apps that don’t need it.
12. Limit Background App Refresh
Apps use background refreshing to stay up to date, which drains battery. To fix this, go to Settings > General > Background Refresh and turn it off entirely on apps you don’t think need it, or limit it to Wi-Fi only. Obviously, apps like Waze must have this option enabled.
13. Set email collection
You can save battery power by reducing how often your messaging app checks for new messages. In Settings > Apps > Mail > Mail Accounts > New Data, set recovery intervals or switch to manual updates. The “automatic” mode is very voracious.
14. Use Wi-Fi
At home or at work, make sure you’re connected to Wi-Fi rather than 4G/5G cellular, especially in areas with poor reception. Indeed, if the iPhone constantly searches for the network, you will see your battery melt very quickly.
Airplane mode also saves battery power when you don’t need a network or to be reachable.
15. Cut Analysis
Last point, turn off the analysis of your iPhone. Indeed, Apple collects a lot of (anonymous) information about the performance and use of your device for system improvements.
The procedure is very simple, just deactivate everything in:
- Settings
- Privacy and security
- Analysis and improvements
By fine-tuning these settings, you can significantly extend the battery life of your iPhone while still enjoying its main features of iOS 18. And if that’s not enough, consider getting an external MagSafe battery.
Who had already made similar arrangements on their new iPhone?