iOS 16 Beta 6: New Battery Percentage Icon Still Not Enabled on Some iPhones

The new battery percentage icon that Apple introduced in the fifth developer beta of iOS 16 is still not available on the standard iPhone 11, iPhone XR, iPhone 12 mini, and iPhone 13 mini in the sixth beta of iOS 16 seeded to developers today.

ios 16 beta battery percentage icon
Since the release of the iPhone X in 2017, and on every iPhone with a notch since, battery percentage has only been visible in Control Center by swiping down on the top-right corner of the display. Apple made headlines last week when it finally made battery percentage visible in the status bar again on iPhones with a notch, eliminating the need to swipe down, but the feature is not supported on all iPhones in the latest iOS 16 betas.

The new icon includes the battery percentage within the icon rather than to the left of it. The white battery icon remains completely filled in until the battery reaches 20% or lower, at which point a fifth of the icon turns red and the rest of the icon becomes translucent. The icon's current implementation has proven to be controversial, but it's important to remember that iOS 16 is still in beta and subject to additional changes.

It's unclear why the new battery percentage icon is not available on some iPhone models with a notch, but the excluded models are either "mini" iPhones or have an LCD display instead of an OLED display. As mentioned, iOS 16 is still in beta testing, so it's possible that Apple could expand the feature in a future beta release.

Apple is expected to release iOS 16 to all users with an iPhone 8 or newer in September.

Related Roundups: iOS 16, iPadOS 16
Related Forum: iOS 16

Top Rated Comments

verniesgarden Avatar
10 months ago
Here’s my take on what it should look like.



Attachment Image
Score: 29 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BGPL Avatar
10 months ago
I just can't get enough on this battery percentage play by play in iOS 16. Keep em coming.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
t0rqx Avatar
10 months ago
You need an M2/A17 or equivalent to have the percentage displayed as smooth and crisp like Apple designed it as intended. Do not ask why.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BootsWalking Avatar
10 months ago
"Hey Siri, What's my battery percentage?"

"Sorry, I'm not authorized to say the battery percentage on your iPhone 11"
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jonblatho Avatar
10 months ago
I think it's fair enough that Apple's not enabling the battery percentage on certain iPhones for size concerns (the iPhone 12 mini's battery icon is about 25% smaller than the iPhone 12/12 Pro's) or legibility concerns (the XR/11 have much lower pixel density; they're @2x instead of @3x).

Omitting it on the iPhone 13 mini is inexplicable under either of those reasons, though, because it has a @3x display and, thanks to the smaller notch, it uses the same size battery icon as the iPhone 12 Pro Max.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
axantas Avatar
10 months ago
What a fuss about such a detail, we would like to have as an option. Just do it Apple, add a toggle in settings and move on. Nothing to see here…
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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