Apple may have created a problem with the latest version of iOS.
Since the launch of iOS 26 in September, numerous reports have surfaced online about the update drastically reducing battery life, even on the latest iPhone models. For example, a user on Apple’s support message board posted earlier this month, stating that their brand-new iPhone 15 experienced significant battery drain, attributing the issue solely to iOS 26.
“Today, I was busy all day and did not use my phone from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., yet it still dropped from 90% to 45% without doing anything. No apps were open, the “Refresh apps in background” option was not enabled, the screen was set to turn off automatically after 30 seconds, and automatic brightness was enabled,” the user wrote. “So it’s definitely not the phone’s fault because it’s brand new with a 100% original battery, nor is it the settings because it was in permanent mode. So the fault lies solely with iOS. There are no excuses.”
There are extensive Reddit discussions on this topic. In one thread, users with iPhones ranging from the iPhone 13 to the iPhone 16 reported experiencing several hours less battery life after the update. User Responsible_Film_778, who owns an iPhone 13 Pro Max, succinctly summarized the issue.
“I have replaced the battery last year with Apple and it was exceptional with iOS 18.6. I was ending the day with 87% battery left with light usage. Now I’m lucky if it’s above 50%,” the user wrote. “It seems to consume the battery when scrolling through the Liquid Glass enhanced tabs or panels. Really disappointed with this update. I have 98% battery health but it acts like it has lost 1/3 of its capacity. Hopefully a new update will come soon to rectify the problem.”
Naturally, you don’t have to look far on X to find people frustrated by this. User @Digitalix lamented that their iPhone 16 Pro now only lasts half a day since the iOS 26 update.
Naturally, Apple has responded to these concerns. The company has published a support page addressing potential battery life reductions following software updates. According to Apple, any decrease in battery performance may be temporary and could resolve itself as they release further updates to iOS 26.
“Immediately after completing an update, particularly a major release, you might notice a temporary impact on battery life and thermal performance. This is normal, as your device needs time to complete the setup process in the background, including indexing data and files for search, downloading new assets, and updating apps.
New features are exciting and help you get even more out of your Apple product, though some may require additional resources from the device. Depending on individual usage, some users may notice a small impact on performance and/or battery life. Apple continually works to optimize these features in software updates to ensure great battery life and a smooth user experience.”
Users on the Apple Support forums and Reddit have shared several potential solutions, recently covered the new “Adaptive Power” feature in iOS 26. Many found that updating all apps and restarting the phone improved performance, as some third-party apps may not yet be fully optimized for iOS 26. Additional steps you can try include disabling ProMotion on higher-end iPhones or enabling Low Power Mode.