Save battery life: These new features are coming with iOS 26
Apple doesn't just want to be more economical with battery capacity in the flat iPhone Air. Other devices will also benefit from iOS 26 features in this area.
The iPhone Air in all four colors: Apple has also tweaked the operating system to ensure that the battery lasts a whole day.
(Image: Apple)
With iOS 26, Apple is delivering a range of new features designed to extend the iPhone's battery life. To achieve this, the manufacturer is also using various AI functions—but not only these. However, users are confused by the fact that the functions are active by default depending on the model series, and it takes a while for them to actually “kick in” properly. In addition, Apple explicitly warns that there may be initial restrictions on battery life after the update.
Partially automatic
Apple's new power-saving feature is called “Adaptive Power.” According to an official support document, the feature is enabled by default on the iPhone 17, 17 Pro, 17 Pro Max, and Air. If you don't want it, you have to turn it off. However, it can be turned off and activated manually on the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max, as well as the iPhone 16 family with the 16, 16 Plus, 16 Pro, 16 Pro Max, and 16e models. Earlier device models do not support adaptive performance but can still use familiar modes such as optimized charging.
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Apple describes adaptive power as follows: “[It] uses the device's built-in intelligence to predict when you need extra battery life based on your current usage patterns—and then adjusts as needed to make your battery last longer that day.” However, interventions in the system do not occur when using applications that “require maximum performance,” including camera use and the “Game Mode” gaming mode. The iPhone lets you know when adaptive performance is active—at least if you have enabled the corresponding notifications in the battery settings.
What the new power-saving mode does
According to Apple, battery saver mode can do four things: make “performance adjustments” (details are still vague), reduce screen brightness by (only) three percent, limit the number of background processes, and automatically switch to low-power mode when the battery level reaches 20 percent. How much of a difference this ultimately makes will only become clear in the coming weeks.
This is because it takes about seven days (“at least,” writes Apple) for the iPhone to adapt to usage habits. In addition, if the device has just been equipped with iOS 26, there will be a period of weak battery performance. “Immediately after completing an update, especially a major version update, you may notice a temporary decrease in battery life or some warmth,” Apple says. This is normal, “as your device takes time to complete the setup process in the background, including indexing data and files for search, loading new assets, and updating apps.”
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