The best iPhone feature you’re not using: 80% Charging Limit

The latest iPhones have lots of new features, but they need to last all day on a charge. Apple knows this and has added ways to save battery life in iOS, including a new option for iPhone 15 users.

Right now, this feature is only on iPhone 15, but Apple might add it to older phones in a future update. On the newest iPhones, there’s a setting called “80% Limit” in the Battery Health & Charging options. If you haven’t switched it on yet, you should.

Apple first brought in Optimized Battery Charging in iOS 13. It uses machine learning to understand how you charge your phone every day. The goal is to make your battery last longer by limiting how long it stays at 100% charge. When you turn this feature on, your iPhone might stop charging at 80% if it thinks you don’t need a full battery. This helps your battery stay healthy for a longer time.

The iPhone 15 lets you always stop charging at 80%. Your phone will see 80% as if it’s fully charged and won’t go past that. It will start charging again only if it drops to 75% and will stop at around 80%.

Why is this useful? It helps your iPhone battery last longer, especially if you charge it a lot. Charging only to 80% means fewer full charge cycles and a battery that lasts longer. Also, it keeps your battery cooler because it’s not at a high charge level.

For example, when I swapped my iPhone 14 Pro after a year, the battery health was down to 90%. This shows how quickly a battery can wear out. So, if you’ve got an iPhone 15, try this feature for a few weeks and see how it goes.