Some iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro users are reporting issues with unexplained battery drain, as noted in discussions on Reddit, Apple Support Communities, and MacRumors forums. While many complaints center on the iPhone 16, similar problems have been observed in older iPhones running iOS 18.
Battery Drain Concerns on iPhone 16 Models
The MacRumors forum has a long-running thread on iOS 18 battery life issues that began during the beta testing phase. However, after iOS 18 was officially released and the iPhone 16 series launched, a new wave of users has expressed frustration over excessive battery drain.
Many iPhone 16 users have noticed significant power loss, even when their devices are idle. One MacRumors user said:
“I have the iPhone 16 Pro, and the battery drops to 60% from 100% by midday, with minimal use. It definitely needs to be fixed—I should have kept my 15 Pro!”
A similar complaint came from a 16 Pro Max user:
“I upgraded from the 15 Pro Max to the 16 Pro Max, hoping for better battery life. Unfortunately, I’m only getting 50-60% of the battery life compared to my year-old 15 Pro Max, even with all settings optimized for battery efficiency.”
Standby Mode Problems
For many users, the battery drain seems to occur primarily in standby mode when the phone is not in use. One user found that disabling features like the Always On Display (AOD) and ProMotion (which adjusts the refresh rate to 120Hz) helped reduce some of the background activity but didn’t fully fix the issue. They shared:
“Despite turning off AOD and ProMotion, my phone still drained from 70% to 59% in just over four hours. Clearly, something is wrong on Apple’s end.”
Other users have noticed rapid battery loss within minutes of unplugging their phone, even with minimal activity.
Comparing iPhone 16 with Older Models
Some users have compared their iPhone 16 Pro to older models like the iPhone 14 Pro. In one case, a Reddit user claimed that, with the same usage, the iPhone 16 Pro dropped to 58% battery in 36 hours, while the iPhone 14 Pro remained at 85%.
Many affected users have tried various troubleshooting steps, such as disabling background refresh, turning off the Always On display, or even resetting their phones. While some have seen slight improvements, others continue to experience severe battery drain.
Possible Solutions and Updates
Some users have noticed slight improvements after updating to iOS 18.0.1 or testing the iOS 18.1 beta. However, the battery issues persist for many, suggesting there may be an underlying bug in iOS 18 that needs further attention from Apple.
Until Apple releases a more comprehensive fix, iPhone 16 users will have to cope with these battery drain problems and hope for a solution in future software updates.
