Apple Confirms iOS 16 Battery Percentage Display Not Available on Certain iPhone Models

Following iOS 16's public release, Apple has confirmed that users of older generation iPhone models will miss out on the ability to show their ‌iPhone‌'s battery percentage directly in the status bar.

ios 16 beta battery percentage icon
In an updated support document, Apple says that the new battery percentage display is not available on the ‌iPhone‌ XR, ‌iPhone‌ 11, the iPhone 12 mini, and the ‌iPhone‌ 13 mini. Apple provides no additional information about why these devices will miss out on the new feature.

Apple added the battery percentage display icon in an iOS 16 beta over the summer. The new toggle, which can be found within Settings and Battery, lets users always see their battery percentage directly in the status bar without having to swipe down into Control Center.

Ever since the ‌iPhone‌ X with the notch, users have asked Apple to make it easier to see their ‌iPhone‌'s battery level directly in the status bar. Still, Apple's recent implementation has proven to be controversial.

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.

Related Forum: iOS 16

Popular Stories

Generic iOS 18

Apple Releases iOS 18.0.1 With Touch Screen Bug Fix and More

Thursday October 3, 2024 2:22 pm PDT by
Apple today released iOS 18.0.1 and iPadOS 18.0.1, the first updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating systems that debuted earlier in September. iOS 18.0.1 and iPadOS 18.0.1 come two weeks after the launch of iOS 18. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. According to Apple's release notes, the...
macOS Sequoia Night Feature

Apple Releases macOS Sequoia 15.0.1 With Bug Fixes

Thursday October 3, 2024 2:27 pm PDT by
Apple today released macOS Sequoia 15.0.1, the first update for the macOS Sequoia operating system. The 15.0.1 update comes a week after Apple first released macOS Sequoia 15. Mac users can download the ‌macOS Sequoia‌ update by using the Software Update section of System Settings. According to Apple's release notes, macOS Sequoia 15.0.1 fixes a bug that could cause the Messages app...
maxresdefault

Two Weeks With the iPhone 16 Pro Max

Friday October 4, 2024 12:04 pm PDT by
Now that it's been two weeks since the iPhone 16 models were released, we've been able to spend enough time with the new devices to share a more in-depth review on their performance, battery life, feature set, and more. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. We've been testing the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max, but the gap between the Pro models and the standard iPhone 16...
Prime Big Deal Days Hero 3

The Best Early Prime Day Deals on AirPods, Apple Watch, and More

Friday October 4, 2024 10:43 am PDT by
Amazon is hosting another Prime Day event this year, called Amazon Prime Big Deal Days and offering shoppers the first chance to save on holiday shopping from a major retailer. Similar to the first Prime Day, it will last for two days (October 8-9) and you can already find a large selection of early deals across Amazon's storefront, covering savings on tech, clothing, video games, groceries, and...
top stories 5oct2024

Top Stories: iOS 18.1 Coming Soon, October Apple Event Rumors, and More

Saturday October 5, 2024 6:00 am PDT by
It's hard to believe we're already into October with the iPhone 16 launch behind us, but there's lots more still to come from Apple this year on both the hardware and software fronts. We're still expecting a number of Mac and perhaps some iPad updates in the very near future, while Apple Intelligence features are set to begin rolling out with iOS 18.1 and related operating system updates....
15 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

15 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.1

Friday September 27, 2024 6:14 am PDT by
Apple is set to release iOS 18.1 in October, bringing the first set of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update marks a significant step forward in Apple's AI integration, offering a new Siri contextually-aware experience and a range of additional capabilities powered by on-device machine learning and large language models. There are a couple of handy new...
ipad mini 2021 youtube

New Report Reveals When to Expect the iPad Mini 7

Tuesday October 1, 2024 2:09 pm PDT by
Apple is working on a new iPad mini that will "potentially" be released "by the end of 2024," according to a report today from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Last month, Gurman reported that Apple had "new iPads in the works," including an upgraded version of the iPad mini. At the time, he said the device was "on deck for Apple's October event" alongside the first M4 Macs. The wording in his...
M4 Real Feature Red

Gurman: Apple to Launch New M4 Macs and iPad Mini 7 on November 1

Sunday October 6, 2024 6:40 am PDT by
Apple will announce several new M4 Mac models around the end of October, with the company planning to launch at least some of them as soon as Friday, November 1, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Writing in his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman said that Apple will launch a new M4 version of its low-end 14-inch MacBook Pro, as well as higher-end 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models...

Top Rated Comments

berrymetal Avatar
27 months ago
if you want a battery percentage upgrade to iPhone 14, peasants!
Score: 65 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dschulian Avatar
27 months ago

Those models specifically have low DPI displays, so rendering something as small as that might make it look weird or illegible.
My iPhone 4 could display that. And I could read it without thinking: Hum, this looks weird?!

It’s a shame those small UI updates are now exclusively for newer models too.
Feels like Apple is running out of ideas on how to motivate people to upgrade their phones. So they come up with the most ridiculous ways to cripple the OS/UI.
Score: 35 Votes (Like | Disagree)
shakerstevens Avatar
27 months ago
"users of older generation iPhone models will miss out on the ability" - my iPhone mini 13 was still the latest model until a week ago with a better 476 ppi screen than the normal size iphone 13. Hmmm
Score: 30 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kierkegaarden Avatar
27 months ago
I prefer no percentage — my life has become less stressful by not knowing the number.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Unggoy Murderer Avatar
27 months ago
Suspect it's text legibility. The Xr / 11 screens don't have the pixel resolution to effectively display the numbers, and the mini's are probably either too tight on space, or the text would be too small.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
boak Avatar
27 months ago

Those models specifically have low DPI displays, so rendering something as small as that might make it look weird or illegible.
False. The 12 mini and 13 mini have the highest DPI of any iPhone. Ever.

And interestingly the smallest bezels too.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)