Apple Says iOS 16's New Haptic Keyboard Option Might Affect Battery Life

iOS 16 introduced a new haptic feedback option for the default keyboard. When enabled, the iPhone makes a slight vibration after each key tapped while typing, providing physical confirmation that the key was pressed. The feature is a useful addition to the iPhone, but keep in mind that Apple says it can potentially impact battery life.

iOS 16 Keyboard
"Turning on keyboard haptics might affect the battery life of your iPhone," says Apple, in a support document published last week. Apple does not provide any additional details, so it's not clear exactly how much battery life the feature uses. Note that Low Power Mode does not disable haptic feedback, so the only option for users who are concerned about potential battery life impact is to keep the feature turned off.

Any software feature on an iPhone obviously consumes battery life, but that Apple felt it was worth explicitly mentioning for haptic feedback is notable.

To enable haptic feedback for the keyboard, open the Settings app, tap Sounds & Haptics → Keyboard Feedback, and turn on Haptic. The same toggle switch can be used to turn off the feature at any point. The feature is available on the iPhone 8 and newer running iOS 16 or later and utilizes the Taptic Engine inside iPhones.

(Thanks, Dean Lubaki!)

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

Top Rated Comments

MrGimper Avatar
13 months ago
I'm pretty much 100% certain it will.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nfl46 Avatar
13 months ago
I have a 14 Pro Max. We were built for this. Lol. Turn it onnnn!
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DTphonehome Avatar
13 months ago
Turns out you need to use energy to power a tiny motor. Who knew?!
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Apple Knowledge Navigator Avatar
13 months ago
Well who would’a guessed.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Think|Different Avatar
13 months ago
Hmm, ok, well I'm never going back! You can't take it away from me!
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
alex2792 Avatar
13 months ago
Taptic feedback for keyboard is by far the best iOS 16 feature. Not sure what took apple so long since android had this for years.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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