iOS 13 Introduces New 'Optimized Battery Charging' Feature - MacRumors
Skip to Content

iOS 13 Introduces New 'Optimized Battery Charging' Feature

Apple in iOS 13 introduced a new "Optimized Battery Charging" feature, which is designed to extend the total battery life of your iOS device.

Found in the Battery section of Settings under "Battery Health," the optional toggle learns from your personal habits and waits to finish charging all the way up until you need your iPhone.

optimizedbatterycharging
For example, if you often charge your phone up at night while you sleep, Apple might charge it to 80 percent right away, but wait until an hour or so before you wake up to charge the remaining 20 percent.

That keeps your iPhone at an optimal capacity for battery health, rather than keeping it close to 100 percent on the charger.

Avoiding topping up the battery continually while it sits on the charger reduces the amount of time that your device spends at maximum capacity, and over time, this could extend the life of your battery.

Battery health has been a hot topic over the course of the last year, after Apple was found throttling the processor speeds of iOS devices with degraded batteries to prolong device life as long as possible.

That issue spurred Apple to be more forthcoming about overall battery health, providing details about capacity and performance in the Battery portion of Settings. Aside from the new toggle to optimize charging, there are no major changes to the Battery Health feature in the first iOS 13 beta.

Related Forum: iOS 13

Popular Stories

iPhone 18 Pro Rumored Colors

What's Coming in September: New iPhones, Apple Watches and More

Thursday August 13, 2026 4:20 pm PDT by
Apple will introduce at least five new devices at its iPhone-centric event next month, and it's also possible we'll get devices waiting on Siri AI like the Apple TV. iPhone 18 Pro The iPhone 18 Pro is going to look like the iPhone 17 Pro, but with a smaller Dynamic Island. It's getting some internal updates, including a new Wide camera with a variable aperture for more control over lighting ...
iPhone 17 One Year Later Thumb 1

Should You Buy an iPhone 17 Now or Wait for iPhone 18?

Friday August 14, 2026 12:15 pm PDT by
For the first time since Apple started selling standard and "Pro" iPhones, we're not going to get an entry-level iPhone model this fall. Apple doesn't plan to release an iPhone 18 in September, and will only launch the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and foldable iPhone Ultra. The lower-cost iPhone 18 won't come out until spring 2027. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more ...
Everything New Your iPhone Can Do on iOS 27 Feature 1

30 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 27

Friday August 14, 2026 6:24 am PDT by
Apple will release iOS 27 in September, and despite the company's focus this year on refining its flagship operating system and nixing bugs, there are still many additional features on the way, not least of which is Apple's new context-aware Siri, re-tooled for the generative AI era. This year's major iPhone software update isn't all about AI, though, as the following feature list...

Top Rated Comments

KazKam Avatar
94 months ago
I'm all for anything they can do to optimize battery performance and extend life, so well done on this one. However, at the end of the day, the one thing they could do to really make a difference is make all the phones just a mm thicker and fill it with battery. Bigger battery is what I want, as much as they can spare.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
94 months ago
This is awesome. I've been waiting for a feature like this! I wonder if there will be a setting in control center to override this setting and charge to 100%, or if this needs to be turned off in settings to charge to 100%.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
twocents Avatar
94 months ago
I'm impressed with how Apple has been incorporating machine learning. Features like this and Siri suggestions that really tailor your experience with the system has so much potential :D
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
baryon Avatar
94 months ago
Sounds great, but what happens if there's the odd day when you have to get up at 3am for a long day of work? Having that 20% missing will be particularly important on a particularly long day.

I mean it could just adjust it to my alarm, but since you can have multiple alarms set, it could get a bit messy.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bobob Avatar
94 months ago
Apple was found throttling the processor speeds of iOS devices with degraded batteries to prolong device life as long as possible.
Those bastards!
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
94 months ago
Sounds great, but what happens if there's the odd day when you have to get up at 3am for a long day of work? Having that 20% missing will be particularly important if I get up earlier than usual.

I mean it could just adjust it to my alarm, but since you can have multiple alarms set, it could get a bit messy.
Then turn the feature off on those days. I mean, since it's an odd day you're already changing your alarm right? Change this along with it.
Yes, it would be nice if it tied to the alarm though. Maybe it will.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)