Over the past few weeks, I’ve noticed a significant change in my iPhone 14 Pro’s battery life. Despite purchasing it less than a year ago, the battery doesn’t last nearly as long as it initially did. This is the topic of my latest video.
Curious, I delved into the battery health section of my settings and found that my battery health had dropped to 89%. It seemed to be decreasing by about 1-2% every two weeks. In fact since shooting this video on Friday my battery health has dropped another percentage point.
I wasn’t the only one experiencing this. A fellow tech YouTuber, Tech Daily, shared a similar experience with his iPhone 14 Pro on Twitter. This got me thinking about the factors that could be causing this decline.
Apple defines a functional battery as one that retains 80% of its original capacity after 500 complete charge cycles. A charge cycle is counted every time the battery is completely drained and recharged. For instance, if you use up half the battery and then recharge it, that counts as half a charge cycle.
Finding the charge cycle number isn’t straightforward. However, after navigating through the settings, I discovered that my cycle count was 329. This meant that, according to Apple, my battery was still functioning within its expected performance range and would not be subject to a warranty replacement.
I began to wonder if my charging habits were affecting the battery’s longevity. Like many others, I primarily use wireless charging. I’ve noticed that my phone heats up considerably when placed on a wireless charger. Additionally, when I need a quick charge, I use high-powered USB-C PD chargers, which also generate a lot of heat. Could this heat be impacting the battery’s lifespan? TechDaily suspects that might be his problem too:
Interestingly, the European Union is considering a mandate for phones to have user-replaceable batteries. This could be a game-changer, allowing users to easily swap out batteries and extend the life of their phones.
I’m curious to hear from others about their experiences with their phone batteries. Is there a correlation between wireless and fast charging and reduced battery longevity? Let me know in the video comments or on Twitter. It’s all anecdotal for now, but gathering more data might provide some insights.