Is Apple's iPhone Battery Health Indicator A Sham? YouTubers Claim It's Pointless

Is the iPhone battery health percentage indicator a sham? A video from earlier this year on YouTube is now gaining traction after observing Apple's ways of assessing iPhone battery health.

The iPhone maker began displaying the battery health status on every iPhone starting 2018 after bombshell reports alleged that Apple deliberately slows down its older phones. Apple claimed that this was done to prevent erratic shutdowns on its iPhone series.

The iPhone battery health feature helps users understand how long their iPhone battery is expected to last and when they need to get it replaced. If the YouTube video on the channel named "Payette Forward" is to be believed, the iPhone battery health feature is useless and inaccurate.

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Why Apple battery health indicator could be wrong

Keep in mind, though! Each phone's battery performance varies based on user demand and usage patterns. Not all batteries provide the same capacity to different users due to the chemical processes involved. Essentially, your friend's same gen iPhone could offer slightly better battery performance than your device.

That's the catch! To calculate one's iPhone battery health, Apple doesn't seem to take into account these variations but instead calculates the health percentage based on Apple's own battery ratings. These ratings do not necessarily reflect how phones are used by customers.

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Also read: Apps On Apple iPhone Track You As Much As Android Apps, Oxford Study Reveals

The video maker on YouTube took two iPhone models- the iPhone XS and iPhone 12 Pro to highlight these differences.

Watch the YouTube clip below

The iPhone XS in question displayed 83 per cent maximum battery capacity, while iPhone 12 Pro displayed 100 per cent charging capacity. This indicates that the XS' battery is not as healthy as that of the 12 Pro.

The iPhone 12 Pro underwent 97 charging cycles as opposed to 466 cycles of the iPhone XS, suggesting that Apple uses its own benchmarks to decide battery health instead of taking into account user behaviour.

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The YouTuber then claims that the base percentage for battery health is based on Apple's rated capacity instead of the individual battery's actual performance. In reality, your iPhone's battery capability could be in a worse condition than displayed by Apple.

The video was put back on the digital radar after ZDNet picked it up.

Do you trust Apple's calculations of battery health? Let us know in the comments below. For the latest and quirkiest in the world of science and technology, keep reading Indiatimes.com.

Citation

Kingsley-Hughes, A. (2021, October 7). Apple is lying to you about your iPhone¡¯s battery. ZDNet.