Terrible iPhone battery life? There's a simple reason why and how you can fix it

14 December 2023 , 16:08

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iPhone 12 (Image: APPLE)

Earlier this week, Apple released a feature-packed new version of its iPhone operating which includes a new Journal app along with a number of upgrades to the camera, widgets and AirDrop function. It's a major update from the US technology firm but it appears to have left some smartphone owners facing less than impressive battery life. In fact, many are saying their iPhone's power has been significantly reduced since installing iOS 17.2.

"iOS 17.2 is killing my battery I swear" said one iPhone user named Callum on X (formerly Twitter ) and another called Bianchi added "IOS 17.2 continues to drain the battery of the iPhone 13 Pro Max."

So what's causing the problem and how do you fix it?

Along with all of Apple's internal testing, iOS 17.2 has been available as a beta version for a number of weeks which means thousands of iPhones have already been using it. If there were any battery-hogging bugs, these would almost certainly have been discovered by now which means it's likely there's a much more simple explanation.

When any major iOS upgrade is released, iPhones have to do a lot of work in the background to reorganise things and re-index your data. This behind-the-scenes activity can end up hurting battery life for a few days after it's been installed. It's also likely that you'll playing with the new features which means you may find you're using your iPhone more than usual.

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The simple fix is to keep calm and carry on. After around 48 hours your device, including battery life, should return to normal.

If there are any bugs in iOS 17.2 Apple is sure to address them quickly so it's also worth checking your settings for any releases in the coming days and weeks.

So what is new iOS 17.2?

This biggest addition in iOS 17.2 is the release of the Journal app. This diary-style software has been designed to make it easy for iPhone owners to write about what's happening in their lives.

There's also an update to the iPhone 15 Pro's camera which now lets it shoot Spatial Videos. These 4D-style flicks will be fully compatible with the VR Vision Pro headset which is launching next year.

Another update targeting those Pro devices is the addition of a Translate option for the new Action Button which features on the side of this latest device. This can be set so one simple tap launches the app.

There are loads more new features in iOS 17.2 including improvements to Widgets, Memojis and Weather. You can find full details about iOS 17.2 here.

Dave Snelling