A woman conducted an intriguing year-long experiment to understand the impact of charging habits on her iPhone battery’s health.
Despite the advanced technology that surrounds us, one persistent issue remains: the frustration of a phone battery dying.
Over the years, smartphone advancements have led to quicker charging times and longer-lasting batteries, even as we use them for a multitude of tasks.
However, Apple has often faced criticism for the battery life of its iPhones, although improvements have been made. Many users still find it lacking and have adopted various strategies to maximize battery life.
A common practice among users is to avoid charging the battery to 100 percent or leaving it plugged in once it reaches full charge.
On newer models like the Apple iPhone 14 and beyond, a charge limit can be set ranging from 80 to 100 percent.
To investigate the effectiveness of this strategy, an iPhone 16 Pro Max owner shared her findings from an experiment she conducted, restricting the charge limit to 80 percent.
She first tested this with an iPhone 15 a year earlier and then repeated it with her iPhone 16 Pro Max. Her routine involved charging only up to 80 percent and preventing the battery from dropping below 20 percent, using a combination of wireless and USB-C charging.
She observed: “It was fine when home, but if I was out and wanted to use the camera or needed GPS, it often wasn’t enough battery.”
She shared that after 299 charge cycles, her battery health showed a capacity of 94 percent.
She concluded that this was about average, irrespective of charging practices.
She remarked: “I now have two years of data with my iPhone limited to an 80 percent charge, and I don’t think it’s been worth it.
“My coworker, who also has a 16 Pro Max, did not have an 80 percent charge limit set, and his battery capacity is 96 percent with 308 charge cycles.”
The woman finished by mentioning that she has now acquired an iPhone 17 Pro Max and intends to conduct another year-long charging limit experiment.