iOS 13: How to Optimise iPhone Battery Charging

BY Rajesh Pandey

Published 5 Aug 2019

Optimise iPhone Battery Charging

There’s a reason as to why Apple continues to include a 5W charger with iPhones despite newer models supporting 18W fast charging. Charging a smartphone’s battery rapidly or keeping it charged to 100% all the time will reduce its lifespan noticeably. With iOS 13, Apple has introduced a new Optimised Battery Charging feature that aims to further increase the life span of your iPhone’s battery.

What is Optimised Battery Charging?

Apple is among the few companies in the world that allows users to see the battery health of their iPhone. The company added this feature in iOS 11 following user backlash it received after it was revealed that it was intentionally throttling older iPhones. With Optimised Battery Charging, Apple is giving iPhone users another way to further increase the life span of their phone’s battery.

If you are someone who charges their iPhone overnight, you should consider using the Optimised Battery Charging feature. Once enabled, your iPhone will learn your charging habits. It will then charge itself to 80% and then wait to charge the remaining 20% until it estimates you are about to use the phone. Your iPhone is still going to be fully charged when you pick it up in the morning, it is just that the last 20% will be charged right before the time you pick your phone up.

Almost all smartphones start trickle charging once their battery is charged to at least 80%. This is important as charging a smartphone’s battery after it has charged to around 80% is extremely bad for its longevity. With Optimised Battery Charging, Apple is essentially taking things a bit further to help increase your iPhone’s battery lifespan.

Should You Use Optimised Battery Charging?

If you are someone who charges their iPhone overnight, you should definitely consider enabling the Optimized Battery Charging feature. However, if you travel a lot or have an erratic schedule where it is not clear when you charge your iPhone, you should keep the feature disabled. You can also skip enabling the feature if you upgrade to a new iPhone every year.

Enable Optimised Battery Charging On Your iPhone

Optimised Battery Charging has been added by Apple in iOS 13. You can enable it by following the steps below:

Step 1: Go to Settings -> Battery -> Battery Health.

Step 2: Enable the Optimised Battery Charging toggle.

iOS 13 Optimized Battery Charging

In the same screen, you will see the maximum capacity of your iPhone’s battery along with the Peak Performance Capability option. Anything greater than 90% and your iPhone’s battery is in great shape. The Peak Performance Capability option signifies that your iPhone’s performance is not being throttled in any way due to a weak battery.

If your iPhone’s battery has degraded significantly, you will see a relevant warning. In such scenarios, the throttling feature in iOS is automatically enabled, though you will see an option to disable it in this screen. You should replace the battery of your iPhone in such cases to restore the device back to its peak performance.

Have you enabled it? Let us know what has been your experience with this new iOS 13 feature.