I wish the iPhone battery indicator was this clear.
Users are posting on social media that iOS 18 is causing their iPhone batteries to drain faster. Previously, this was temporary and common with new hardware or major OS updates.
The annual battery drain season is in full swing. Even long-time iPhone users are complaining that their battery charge is rapidly dropping after updating to iOS 18. However, long-term iPhone users should know that this happened with iOS 17. Too.
If your iPhone battery is draining faster than usual, you may have upgraded iOS or purchased a new iPhone in the past week or two. While it may not be actively using the battery, your iPhone is rebuilding databases like Spotlight.
That’s what happens here almost all the time. When your iPhone says it’s updated to the latest iOS, that just means it has iOS installed.
Back in 2022, Apple actually responded to complaints on social media about the power drain in the then-new iOS 15.4. It might be a little generous to call it a reply since I just said the same thing about updates taking a while to complete.
At least that was the response from the usually quiet company. And with Apple’s response on social media, this has effectively become a Dear Diary moment.
Apple doesn’t read social media or news. It just goes its own fun way.
As a result, hundreds of people are now filing complaints on Reddit and even Apple’s own support forums, but the situation remains the same. If Apple saw it, they’d assume it’s the same old, same old, and moving on.
We’ve been tracking this for a long time. I received a few emails about this, but the volume has decreased. Of course, social media reports will remain forever, but they are also on the decline.
According to communications within the service, the number of complaints to the store is lower than usual. Of course, that doesn’t mean we aren’t dealing with this problem, but it doesn’t look like it will be a bigger problem in 2024 than it has been in the past.
If your battery drain is different, i.e. your battery drain is not within 1-2 weeks of an update or new phone, then there is no need to bother using the forums. Instead, go directly to Apple and document your interactions with the support staff.
That way, if your iPhone turns out to have a hardware problem, you can prove that you reported it.
In the end, the big difference will be whether you are compensated in a class action lawsuit over a faulty battery. More realistically, Apple won’t take action without real data.
Without it, they can’t do anything.
If the issue doesn’t occur within a week, there may be something else going on and Apple needs a pat on the shoulder. Just like in 2023, Apple finally issued a watchOS update to fix unusual battery drain issues on the Apple Watch.
