iPhone 14 owners are complaining that their devices, which are all still under a year old, are showing really bad battery capacity. The iPhone 14 range launched in September last year and usually, heavy users drop to around 95% a year later. However, this year is a little different with some owners complaining that their iPhone 14 device is now close to 90%.
The battery capacity drama is now bringing back trauma from the old days of “batterygate” whereas Apple intentionally lowered the performance of its iPhone range when the battery capacity reached 80%. However, this time around users claim that this battery health issue has arrived unusually faster than before.
I have an iPhone 14 Pro Max and currently my battery health is sitting at an astonishing 92%. Usually, come 12/13 months, I am still sitting on at least 97%. I have even gone an entire year without dropping below 98% (thanks iPhone Xs Max). I simply charge my iPhone with MagSafe to help reduce heat build-up. Did the same thing on my iPhone 14 Pro Max but it doesn’t seem to have helped this year.
Apple says that the iPhone battery should retain 80% of its original capacity at 500 complete charges. However, that doesn’t seem to be the case as multiple users online are now complaining about poor battery health just 11 months down the line.
Wall Street Journal tech columnist Joanna Stern says her iPhone 14 Pro is on 88%. This is incredibly low for a year later. Personally, 92% on my own phone isn’t great at all. Considering past models, this is actually quite concerning.
Other users have shared their surprisingly low iPhone 14 battery health (via 9to5mac)
- Aaron Zollo: 90% max capacity
- Apple Hub: 89% max capacity
- Lon Siedman: 88% max capacity
- Jon Rettinger: 90% max capacity
- MilesAboveTech: 86% max capacity
- Robert Rosenfeld: 93% max capacity
- Andrew Clare: 90% max capacity
- TechDaily: 89% max capacity
- Matou Ecureuil: 88% max capacity
- Brandon Butch: 91% max capacity
Of course, Apple does not do free battery replacements under warranty unless the phone has reached under 80% within 12 months. You’ll also need to be on certain programs to get this done without paying an arm and a leg for the replacement.
In South Africa, an iPhone 14 battery replacement costs R1499 which isn’t too expensive considering it will take you back up to 100%. Still, you would think for a phone that costs above R30,000, the battery health would have lasted a bit longer.
Some users seem to believe that Apple’s new Always On Display is to blame for the battery degradation. The tech sees the iPhone display never turn off under certain conditions. As a result, it uses more battery and users need to recharge their devices more often.
Even in bright conditions, the Always On Display manages to brighten up so you can see what’s happening. Again, this builds up the heat on the device (especially in warmer conditions) and uses more battery.
This could likely be the case. I have even suffered from burn-in on my iPhone 14 Pro Max due to this Always On Display. I noticed the other night that my Apple Watch icon has burnt into the OLED display and I can see the ring on the panel in certain conditions.
Keep in mind that this icon only shows on the lock screen. Something that is on the display when the Always On Display feature is enabled.
Burn-in due to a feature Apple implemented which I have innocently been using because I thought it was meant to be used isn’t great at all. That combined with the low battery health makes this one of the worst iPhone years I have had ever.
Seems like Apple didn’t account for the burn-in and battery issues this new tech would bring to the table. The company is expected to announce the next iPhone 15 lineup next month.
