IF it seems like your old iPhone doesn’t have the same battery life as when it was new, you’re not wrong.
Batteries do get worse over time and it’s nothing to panic about.
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Most modern consumer technology – including your iPhone – runs on lithium-ion batteries.
And these batteries get worse over time and with usage.
That means an iPhone that you’ve had for two years won’t last as long per charge as it didn’t when you first bought it.
So if you feel like your iPhone battery isn’t holding up like it used to, that’s almost certainly why, according to Apple.
“As lithium-ion batteries chemically age, the amount of charge they can hold diminishes, resulting in shorter amounts of time before a device needs to be recharged,” Apple explained in a memo.
“This can be referred to as the battery’s maximum capacity — the measure of battery capacity relative to when it was new.
“In addition, a battery’s ability to deliver maximum instantaneous performance, or “peak power,” may decrease.
“In order for a phone to function properly, the electronics must be able to draw upon instantaneous power from the battery.”
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As batteries chemically age, their “impedance” can increase – reducing the phone’s ability to draw up this power.
This can get worse in low states of charge or in very cold places.
And as impedance rises, you’ll experience worse battery performance.
“When power is pulled from a battery with a higher level of impedance, the battery’s voltage will drop to a greater degree,” Apple explained.
So after a very long time, your iPhone battery can begin to perform very poorly.
Most importantly for normal users, your iPhone battery will hold less charge the more times you run it down and “re-juice” it.
It’s estimated that most iPhone batteries will have about 80% of their original battery capacity after around 500 charge cycles.
You’re likely to reach that in about two years.
In fact, you can check your maximum battery capacity by going into Settings > Battery > Battery Health.
Of course this issue isn’t limited to Apple iPhones.
It’ll be the same on all smartphones (including rival Samsung) and other portable gadgets too, like a Nintendo Switch.
Easy upgrade
Thankfully an aged iPhone battery isn’t the end of the road for your smartphone.
Although it may be tempting to upgrade to a newer model, there’s a cheaper option.
Apple offers paid-for battery replacements that typically cost less than £100/$100.
That means you can get “like new” battery life out of your old iPhone model.
You might find that general iPhone performance improves after the battery replacement too.
So rather than getting rid of your old iPhone, consider simply swapping out the battery at an Apple Store.
It could save you hundreds by dodging an expensive upgrade.
