80% Charge Limit on the iPhone 15: Can It Extend Your Battery Life?

PITAKA
6 min readNov 3, 2023

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Apple has been innovating its smartphone technology for more than a decade now. Apart from its design and performance, the iPhone’s battery life has always been a hot topic among gadget enthusiasts.

In iOS 13 and later systems, the iPhone has an Optimized Battery Charging feature that helps improve its battery health. The iPhone 15 now has added a new feature called “80% Limit” that further extends its battery lifespan.

What Is Optimized Battery Charging?

Optimized Battery Charging is a feature that’s available on iOS13 and later. It utilizes machine learning algorithms to recognize your device’s charging habits over time. It tracks when you charge your iPhone and how long it stays plugged in to optimize your battery charging patterns. By learning your daily routine, the feature can slow down battery aging by reducing the time your iPhone spends fully charged.

In the past, leaving your phone charging overnight will hurt your batteries. Instead of immediately charging to 100%, the optimized battery charging will juice up your phone to 80% of its full capacity initially. As morning approaches, the feature will then wait until closer to the time you wake up before topping off your phone 100%.

The purpose of this feature is to prevent unnecessary wear and tear on your battery cells. Frequent exposure to high temperatures and being fully charged can cause permanent damage to your battery, ultimately leading to a shorter battery life. By monitoring your charging habits and adjusting the charging rate, your iPhone’s battery health can be improved.

What Is iPhone 15’s 80% Limit?

In addition to Optimized Battery Charging, the iPhone 15 has introduced a new charging feature called “ 80% Limit” that prevents your device from charging past 80%. This “controversial” addition did suffer complaints at the release of the new phone as most people think that having a full charge is always better.

But that’s not true.

According to the “ 40–80 Rule”, lithium-ion batteries, like the ones inside iPhones, work best when they are between 40% and 80% of their capacity. When they are too full or too low, they experience more wear and lose their ability to hold a charge over time.

By limiting your iPhone charge to 80%, you can protect your battery from overheating and overcharging, and reduce the number of charged cycles that the battery goes through.

So, what is the battery’s charge cycle? Each complete charge cycle is regarded as a one-cycle count. As the battery undergoes more charge cycles, the battery’s chemical reaction experiences wear and tear causing a gradual reduction in its overall capacity and performance. According to Apple, a battery under normal use retains up to 80% of its original capacity after 500 complete cycle charges. To put it short, the more cycles your battery completes, the shorter life it becomes. In this case, the 80% Limit is just the right feature to minimize the impact on your battery.

Give Up 20% of Capacity? No Way!

Though using the 80% limit has a significant benefit, it means you have to sacrifice 20% of battery capacity in daily use, probably resulting in a lack of power supply if you are a heavy phone user. So, it seems to be a dilemma between a longer battery life and normal daily battery use.

Fortunately, using charging solutions that can supply timely power for your device is an effective way to have this issue handled.

PITAKA’s MagEZ Slider 2 is a 3-in-1 wireless charger that works with iPhone 15/14/13/12, Qi-enabled earbuds, and Apple Watch. Just place your iPhone 15 onto it to initiate wireless charging. Furthermore, the docking station is equipped with a detachable 4000mAh battery pack that gives you peace of mind charging your device anywhere, anytime, providing more power and longer life far from what 20% capacity could offer.

If you prefer higher efficiency from wall chargers, PITAKA’s USB C GaN charger will be highly recommended because of its 30W output that fast charges your iPhone 15. It is compatible with all devices with a USB C port. Besides, its compact size makes it incredibly portable, so you can always have it handy when you need a quick boost. No more worry about your battery hitting low even if you’re traveling.

How to Limit Your iPhone 15 Charge to 80%?

With the availability of charging solutions, you can embrace a healthier battery performance by preventing your iPhone 15 from charging past 80% without worrying about the risk of running out the battery easily.

Do you want to improve your battery health by activating the 80% Limit? Here is a simple guide that will help you prevent your device from charging beyond 80%:
1. Open the Settings App on your iPhone.
2. Scroll downwards and select the Battery option.
3. Tap on Battery Health & Charging.

4. Select Charging Optimization, and you’ll be presented with three options: Optimized Battery Charging, 80% Limit, or None.
Optimized Battery Charging: Your iPhone 15 will charge according to your charging habits.
80% Limit: Your iPhone 15 will stop charging when the battery reaches 80%.
None: Your iPhone 15 will charge fully with no restrictions.
5. Choose “80% Limit” to enable the feature.

Apart from charging settings, you can also check the Battery Cycle Count on the iPhone 15 to have better knowledge about your battery consumption and health.
1. Open the Settings app.
2. Tap General and then select About.

3. Scroll downwards to the Battery section and you’ll see the battery’s Manufacture Date, First Use, and Cycle Count.

Conclusion

Battery life is always one of the topics most concerned and shortens over time. The introduction of the 80% Limit helps you manage your phone charging more conveniently. It is an effective way to prevent unnecessary wear and tear on your battery cells, thus prolonging the overall battery life of your iPhone 15.

FAQs

Q1: What is the difference between Optimized Battery Charging and 80% Limit?
A1: Optimized Battery Charging works by learning your charging habits. It stops charging when it reaches 80%, and then completes the rest 20% before you need it.
80% Limit, on the other hand, is a way to restrict charging to a maximum of 80%. It reduces the possibilities of overheating and overcharging, further improving your battery health.

Q2: Can I disable the 80% Limit if I want full capacity?
A2: Of course you can. You can go to Settings App > Battery > Battery Health & Charging > Charging Optimization, and choose Optimized Battery Charging or None.

Originally published at https://www.ipitaka.com.

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