Does it seem like the charge on your iPhone isn't lasting as long as it should? This can happen when a new device is used more frequently than expected or an older phone's battery begins to degrade. The good news is that Apple offers a built-in tool that can help you monitor your phone’s battery health.
You can see which apps and activities are the biggest energy drain, check your iPhone's overall battery health, and enable a Low Power Mode to reduce certain background activity. The tool can even help you determine if you need a new battery or can wring more life out of your existing one.
If you want more information, third-party battery apps, including Clean Battery, Zen Battery, Battery HD+, and Battery Life, will display your battery charge and other statistics. In some cases, they will also provide tips to help your battery last longer on a single charge.
How to View Battery Percentage
First, you might want to be sure you can view your battery charge at the Home screen. On any iPhone, the percentage should appear in the battery icon at the top right of the screen. If not, swipe down from the top right of the screen to display Control Center. The percentage of battery charge appears at the top.
To always see the percentage displayed on the Home screen battery icon, go to Settings > Battery and turn on the switch for Battery Percentage.
See Battery Suggestions
The battery screen may also offer insights and suggestions to help improve your battery life and capacity. For instance, if your screen brightness is set too high, iOS might suggest turning it down a bit to conserve the battery.
You can adjust screen brightness by going to Settings > Display & Brightness and moving the slider. More quickly, open Control Center, press lightly on the Brightness icon, and move your finger up or down.
Check Battery Life Stats
Want to dig further into your phone's battery usage? Your iPhone has its own version of Windows' battery report. On the Battery settings page are several charts that can give you a better understanding of the battery’s health. The last charged level indicates the last time your device was connected to a charger and the percentage of the charge when you disconnected it from the charger.
The graph below tracks battery level and displays the charge level for your device. Each line in this chart represents 15 minutes, with the darker green lines showing the times your device was connected to a charger. The Activity chart tracks when your device's screen was on, and for long it was active. This section also displays the average time your screen remains on and off. Tap a specific day to narrow down the information.
You can view these graphs for two different time frames. The last 24 hours is set as the default, but it's easy to view the last 10 days as well. Switch to this view and data will be broken down by individual days. Tap a specific day to see more details. Tracking this usage data can help reveal how often you use your phone.
Track Battery Usage By App
Swipe down further on the Battery settings screen and you'll discover battery usage by app, starting with the biggest battery hogs. By default, the tool shows you the percentage of battery charge used by each app. Tap Show Activity or a specific app, and the information changes to display the amount of time the app has been using the battery, both in the foreground and in the background.
Checking the battery usage by activity also displays the stats for any app with less than 1%, revealing the number of minutes or seconds the app has been using the battery.
Check Your Battery Health
Tap Battery Health & Charging near the top of the Battery settings page to view the overall health of your iPhone battery. Check Maximum Capacity to see the maximum capacity of your battery relative to when it was brand new. A new battery should be at a full 100%. As your device gets older, the battery will lose its capacity and the percentage will drop to numbers in the 90s, 80s, or lower.
Feel like your iPhone doesn't hold its charge as well as it should? Check to see if this number is low. If it is, it may be time for a new battery. If it's still high, you should consider other actions to reduce the drain on the battery.
Peak Performance Capability tells you if the battery is operating under normal peak performance. The results for this section vary depending on your model iPhone. Those of you with newer iPhones in good health should see a notice that your battery is currently supporting normal peak performance.
Those of you who own older iPhones with a poor battery capacity may see a message telling you that your battery’s health is significantly degraded. Tap More about service options to see your options for replacing the battery.
Enable Low Power Mode
You can enable low-power mode on an iPhone to extend the battery charge. At the Battery settings screen, turn on the switch for Lower Power Mode if it's not already enabled. Your screen may dim slightly. Otherwise, certain background activity such as downloads and the fetching of new email messages will pause until the phone is fully charged.
Third-Party Apps
If you’d like more detail and features beyond Apple's built-in battery tool, there is a host of third-party apps available in the App Store. These programs can analyze your iPhone's battery to track usage and provide advice on how to improve battery life.
Clean Battery Lite: The free Clean Battery Lite app displays an image of your battery showing the current charge in percentage along with the number of hours left in standby mode, meaning how long the charge would last if you’re not actively using the phone. To see more data, tap the arrow in the upper right. The screen changes to show you the number of standby hours if you used the phone for different tasks, such as 4G access, Wi-Fi access, listening to music, and watching videos.
Zen Battery: The developer of Clean Battery offers a similar app called Zen Battery, but this one sports a more colorful and interactive screen. Tap the battery animation to see the total charge and standby hours. Tap it again to see the standby hours for different tasks, including cellular and Wi-Fi use, listening to music, and watching videos. Tap the Settings icon and you can change the color of the battery among blue, yellow, purple, pink, and green.
Battery HD+: Battery HD+ starts by displaying a battery with the percentage of charge remaining. Below are the standby hours for tasks, such as internet browsing, watching or listening to media over Wi-Fi, using the flashlight, and talking via a VoIP app. Swipe to see standby hours for more tasks, time required to charge, total standby hours, battery temperature and voltage, and more. Tap the gear icon to access battery saving tips, set up a widget, and calibrate your battery.
Battery Life: The Battery Life app shows the battery charge of your iPhone and other connected devices. The first screen reveals the approximate battery runtimes based on different tasks. Next, a screen of raw data displays your current battery charge, the charging state, and your battery capacity. Under Connected Devices, you'll see charge data for your Apple Watch, AirPods, and an AirPods case.
You can also set up notifications for specific events, including phone charging and a low battery charge. The basic version of Battery Life is free but saddles you with ads. For $1.99, you can go ad-free and set up custom notifications and complications for an Apple Watch.
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