Does iOS 18 consume more battery? No, on the contrary, and these tests prove it

As practically with every update, the release of iOS 18 brings with it the usual questions about whether the improvements in the operating system would negatively affect the battery life of iPhones. Fortunately, as has been the case for years, the situation is just the opposite.

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The tests conducted by the popular Chinese blogger Geekerwan have shown that iOS 18 not only does not worsen battery life but actually improves the autonomy of our iPhones.

Surprising battery life results

Geekerwan has compared the battery life of the new iPhone 16 with that of the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, along with several Android devices. The results show, as expected, a very notable improvement in the autonomy of the new models, with the iPhone 16 Pro Max reaching a record. What we did not necessarily expect, however, is the amount of improvement in the previous models.

When the iPhone 15 Pro Max was tested under iOS 17, it recorded a duration of 7 hours and 56 minutes in the test. Now, after updating to iOS 18, this same model achieved an impressive duration of 9 hours and 2 minutes, an increase of more than an hour. Similarly, the iPhone 15 Pro also experienced improvements, going from 6 hours and 22 minutes under iOS 17 to 6 hours and 55 minutes with iOS 18.

In favor of the test, it must be said that Geekerwan’s test includes a usage cycle that is quite representative of daily life: sending messages and making voice and video calls on WeChat, browsing the internet, using Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok), and playing Genshin Impact, one of the most resource-demanding games. All these activities are carried out continuously until the device shuts down, which gives us a fairly clear picture of the battery performance of these iPhones.

The key: advanced energy management

Why these improvements with iOS 18? According to Geekerwan, the key lies in how iOS 18 manages the use of the performance and efficiency cores of the A17 Pro chip. In version 17 of the operating system, the chip increased the frequency of the cores more quickly when performing intensive tasks. Now, iOS 18 is more conservative in this regard, waiting longer before increasing the chip’s frequencies.

This change means that, in short tasks or those that do not require much processing, the iPhone consumes significantly less power, which in the long run translates to greater autonomy. Let’s remember that, during the iPhone 16 launch event, Apple mentioned this advanced power management of iOS 18, which seems to be one of the reasons behind the notable improvement in battery life.

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Thus, in response to the question of whether iOS 18 will make our battery last less, the answer is clear. The new operating system update, like many others in the past, allows us to enjoy our iPhone for a longer time.