If you are upgrading to the iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro, or iPhone 12 Pro Max from the iPhone 6s, iPhone 7, or iPhone 8, you are likely going to find the lack of a battery indicator on the status bar a bit irritating. While the new iPhones come with improved battery life, that is not going to be enough for most people to not keep a tab on the battery life of their device.
In case you are looking to show the remaining battery percentage on the status bar of your iPhone 12 or iPhone 12 Pro, prepare to be disappointed. Due to the notch, there’s just not enough space on the right edge of the screen to put the battery percentage. So Apple has figured out the next best solution. The battery percentage is hidden in the Control Center.
How to Check Battery Percentage on iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max
The easiest way to check the battery percentage on the iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Mini or iPhone 12 Pro is through the Control Center.
Step 1: Open Control Center
Swipe down on the upper-right corner of the screen in portrait or landscape mode to access Control Center.
Step 2: Check Battery Percentage
You should now see the hidden battery percentage along with other hidden Status bar icons for Bluetooth and Location Services.
That’s it. You can Swipe up from the bottom of the screen or tap the screen to close the Control Center.
Use Back Tap to Open Control Centre
If you don’t want to stretch to the upper right corner every time, then you can use the back tap function to reveal Control Centre. Starting with the iOS 14 update, Apple has added an accessibility feature called Back Tap that lets you control major iOS functions using the double/triple back tap on the iPhone.
Back Tap is easily one of the coolest features in iOS 14. Back Tap allows you to open apps or perform multiple system actions such as turning up/down the volume, taking a screenshot, waking up Siri, scrolling up/down, and more. Here, we will set it to open the Control Centre so you can easily glance at the remaining battery life.
Unfortunately, Apple has buried the Back Tap menu deep inside the Settings menu. You can’t access it from the Today View or Control Centre. You have to go to Settings to access, use, and edit the Back Tap feature. Follow the steps below to set up the Back Tap function on your iPhone.
Step 1: Open the Settings app on the iPhone.
Step 2: Scroll down and open the Accessibility menu.
Step 3: From the following menu, navigate to Physical And Motor > Touch.
Step 4: Scroll down to the bottom and you will find the Back Tap option.
Step 5: Here you will find two options to choose from – Double Tap and Triple Tap.
Step 6: Select Double Tap and choose Control Centre from the following menu.
From now on, whenever you want to check the battery percentage of the iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Mini, iPhone 12 Pro, or iPhone 12 Pro Max then simply double tap on the back of the iPhone and it will reveal the Control Centre. Similarly, you can set the triple tap to another function in the Back Tap menu.
The good news is, Apple hasn’t restricted the double and triple tap gestures to the home screen or lock screen. You can use them inside any app. The majority use the iPhone with a case and thankfully, you can use the Back Tap feature when the iPhone is inside the case. I’m using the double/triple tap gestures with Silicon cover on my iPhone XR. So far, I haven’t encountered any glitch. If you are using a leather case or those thick cases from Spigen then you might encounter unsuccessful attempts.
Alternative Method: Put the Phone on Charge
When you can connect your iPhone to a charger, or place it on a wireless charger, it will briefly show the battery percentage on the Lock screen as you can see below.
Ask Siri the Battery Percentage
You can also ask Siri to tell you the charge remaining on your iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Mini, iPhone 12 Pro, or iPhone 12 Pro Max.
Press and hold on the side button or if you have the Listen for “Hey Siri” enabled in the Settings, then just say “Hey Siri, please tell me the current charge on my iPhone.” It will promptly tell you the battery percentage.
Watch the video below for step-by-step instructions:
Add Battery Widget to iPhone 12’s Home Screen to Check Battery Percentage
Prior to iOS 14, there was limited widget support on the iPhone. For instance, users couldn’t change the widget size and the ability to add widgets on the home screen was missing. iOS 14 fixes them and allows the users to choose from three different widgets size.
You can add the built-in Battery widget to the Today View menu or the Home Screen that showcases the remaining battery percentage on the iPhone as well as the battery life of connected devices. Follow the steps below to add the battery widget to the home screen.
Step 1: Unlock your iPhone and go to the home screen.
Step 2: Long-press on an empty screen or on an app icon.
Step 3: You will see an editable home screen with the ability to remove icons.
Step 5: It will open the widget panel from the bottom with a search bar at the top and widgets with supported app names in the bottom scrolling menu.
Step 6: Tap on the Battery widget to add on the iPhone home screen.
Step 7: The system will showcase the widget preview and it will ask you to choose from the different widget sizes available. You can select either Small, Medium, or a Large widget.
Step 8: Tap on the ‘Add Widget‘ button at the bottom to add it to your home screen.
Alternatively, you can swipe left to bring up the Today View on your iPhone. Long press on an empty space and it will bring up the option to edit the Today view. You can tap on the ‘+’ icon at the upper left corner and add the Battery widget to the Today View.
Now, long press on the added widget and drag and drop the selected battery widget to the home screen. The icons will automatically move around and make space for the widget.
Until and unless you jailbreak your iPhone 12, there’s no way for you to display the remaining battery percentage right on the status bar.
If you use an Apple Watch, then check out our article to learn how to check the iPhone battery level on your Apple Watch so you don’t have to remove your iPhone from the pocket to find out how much battery is left.
