There are a lot of wonderful things about owning an iPhone. They offer some pretty great features, a sleek design, and the magic of Apple technology. Unfortunately, as with anything, there are some downsides about having an iPhone as well — and one of the biggest can be the battery life, especially for older models. However, if you have one of these older models suffering from battery drainage, this news is going to be a game-changer for you: Apple's iOS 11.3 update could improve your iPhone's battery life if you have an older model.
Apple offers updates quite often, but they don't always address all issues that users are experiencing — namely, being able to use your phone for a longer time before it dies on you. However, the new iOS 11.3 update offers a solution: it gives users the option to enable or disable the battery management feature, which was the reason that older models of the iPhone began to experience lesser battery life after iOS 10.2.1 was released for the iPhone 6.
If you recognize the name of the feature, there's a reason: In December, Apple admitted that the feature was responsible for throttling the performance of older iPhones. They said they did this to prevent aging lithium ion batteries from failing, but this didn't exactly quell users' frustration about having their phones die on them.
How do you know if your phone is affected by this throttling? Check the version it's operating. The throttling was introduced in iOS 10.2.1 on iPhone 6, 6S, and SE. For the iPhone 7, it was introduced in iOS 11.2. If you have these phones and models, your battery life is probably being affected.
This is part of what the new update addresses. Once you download it, you'll be able to enable or disable the battery management feature, which allows your iPhone to operate at its peak performance until that battery is done. Basically, you'll be able to use the battery fully until it just flat-out dies instead of keeping the feature on to preserve its lifespan (but reduce its day-to-day performance). These battery issues haven't really been affecting Apple's most recent iPhones, like the iPhone 8, 8 Plus, and the X, so if you have one of those, you probably won't need to worry. However, if you have an older model, then yes... this update could help.
The update will also allow iPhone users to check their battery's health to see if it needs to be replaced.
According to Quartz, this is how you can turn update your battery's settings: Download iOS 11.3, and then head over to settings. There, you'll see an option for "Battery" — click that. In that menu, you'll see a new option for "Battery Health (Beta)." Click that, and then check out the stats it shows you regarding your phone's battery health, as well as what its battery management setting is. If your phone's battery health is around 99 percent to 95 percent, you won't see any other options and you'll know for sure that your battery is fine. However, if you see any number under 95 percent, there will be an option allowing you to disable "Peak Performance Capability." Disable the feature, then restart your phone. As a result, you should see your battery life improve significantly.
One thing to make note of? Apple says that when you disable the Peak Performance Capability function on your iPhone, it could lead to "unexpected shutdowns." There is also a warning along with it that says turning it off could make apps load slower, make the speakers quieter, and even disable the camera flash. So, that's important to keep in mind. You can always test it out, and if you don't like it, turn the feature back on!
Finally, you should be able to enjoy longer battery life, even if you have an iPhone 6.
