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Now that the iPhone 15 review embargo has lifted, we’re starting to see some bits about what is actually new in the operating system on the new iPhone 15. Outside of what iOS 17 has brought to other iPhones.
And that newest feature is, a way to see your battery cycle count. This is really a lot more indicative of how your battery health is doing, versus a percentage. Because batteries are rated for a certain number of cycles, typically around 800 for an iPhone. Now, on top of that, the iPhone 15 is also showing the manufacture data and the first use. So you can really see how old your battery is.
Now this information is not new, so it’s hard to see why this is only on the iPhone 15. Since there are literally Shortcuts made to give you this information from an analytics file on your iPhone. But maybe this will be added in the future, to older iPhones, possibly in a iOS 17.1 update.
How to find your battery cycle count on iPhone 15
Since we don’t yet have an iPhone 15 in hand (Friday!) we have to rely on information from other users. And according to Ray Wong, you can find your battery cycle count from the Settings > General > About screen. Interesting that it is not available on the battery health screen in the battery section.
What is an actual battery cycle? Well, to put it in laymans terms, it’s when your battery does a 100% recharge. So if your battery is down to 20% and you charge it up to 100%, that’s not a full cycle yet, that’s only 80% of one. If you charge it again from 80% to 100%, then it’s now a full cycle. So it’s not each time you charge to 100%, which is important to note here.
Apple has also added a new setting in the iPhone 15 that will prevent devices from charging beyond 80%. This is also going to help you prolong your battery health, but I’d recommend just using your phone. No sense in cutting off a fifth of your battery just to get it to last another year or so. Especially when a battery replacement is less than $100.