On iPhone 15 models, iOS 18 will recommend that users set a particular charging limit for their device based on their recent usage habits, with the aim of potentially improving their iPhone battery's lifespan by reducing the time that the battery is fully charged.
All four iPhone 15 models feature a setting that prevents the devices from charging beyond 80% while toggled on, and iOS 18 expands the feature by adding new 85%, 90%, and 95% charging limit options. With the new limit options, iOS 18 now takes a proactive approach to improving battery longevity by recommending a specific charging limit to users via a notification.
The recommendation also appears in the Settings app under Battery → Charging. The charging limit feature remains exclusive to the iPhone 15 lineup on the first iOS 18 beta, with the option not found on the iPhone 14 Pro or older.
In a related change, anecdotal reports suggest that iOS 18 could be recalibrating some devices' maximum battery capacity percentage. In Settings ➝ Battery ➝ Battery Health, "Maximum Capacity" is a measure of battery capacity relative to when the device was new. Lower capacity can result in fewer hours of usage between charges.
The first iOS 18 beta is available for Apple Developer Program members, and a public beta will follow in July. After beta testing is complete, the update should be widely released to all users with an iPhone XS or newer in September.
Thursday November 13, 2025 11:35 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3, the AirPods 4, and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 firmware is 8B21, all up from the prior 8A358 firmware released in October.
There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2, AirPods 4 with ANC, and AirPods Pro 3...
Tuesday November 11, 2025 9:48 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple released the first iOS 26.2 beta last week. The upcoming update includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, including a new Liquid Glass slider for the Lock Screen's clock, offline lyrics in Apple Music, and more.
In a recent press release, Apple confirmed that iOS 26.2 will be released to all users in December, but it did not provide a specific release date....
Thursday November 13, 2025 6:48 am PST by Joe Rossignol
iOS 26 extended pinned conversations in the Messages app to CarPlay, for quick access to your most frequent chats. However, some drivers may prefer the classic view with a list of individual conversations only, and Apple now lets users choose.
Apple released the second beta of iOS 26.2 this week, and it introduces a new CarPlay setting for turning off pinned conversations in the Messages...
Wednesday November 12, 2025 11:42 am PST by Joe Rossignol
While it was rumored that Apple planned to release new versions of the HomePod mini, Apple TV, and AirTag this year, it is no longer clear if that will still happen.
Back in January, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple planned to release new HomePod mini and Apple TV models "toward the end of the year," while he at one point expected a new AirTag to launch "around the middle of 2025." Yet,...
Wednesday November 12, 2025 9:15 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today announced that iPhone users can now create a Digital ID in the Apple Wallet app based on information from their U.S. passport.
To create and present a Digital ID based on a U.S. passport, you need:
An iPhone 11 or later running iOS 26.1 or later, or an Apple Watch Series 6 or later running watchOS 26.1 or later
Face ID or Touch ID and Bluetooth turned on
An Apple Account ...
Tesla is working to add support for Apple CarPlay in its vehicles, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports.
Tesla vehicles rely on its own infotainment software system, which integrates vehicle functions, navigation, music, web browsing, and more. The automaker has been an outlier in foregoing support for Apple CarPlay, which has otherwise become an industry standard feature, allowing users to...
Monday November 10, 2025 1:08 pm PST by Juli Clover
Today marks the fifth anniversary of the Apple silicon chip that replaced Intel chips in Apple's Mac lineup. The first Apple silicon chip, the M1, was unveiled on November 10, 2020. The M1 debuted in the MacBook Air, Mac mini, and 13-inch MacBook Pro.
The M1 chip was impressive when it launched, featuring the "world's fastest CPU core" and industry-leading performance per watt, and it's only ...
Friday November 14, 2025 10:02 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Starting with the upcoming tvOS 26.2 update, currently in beta, additional profiles created on the Apple TV no longer require their own Apple Account.
In the Settings app on the Apple TV, under Profiles and Accounts, anyone can create a new profile by simply entering a name and indicating whether the profile is for a kid. The profile will be associated with the primary user's Apple Account,...
Wednesday November 12, 2025 3:29 pm PST by Juli Clover
Apple today provided developers with the second beta of iOS 26.2, which adds a few new features worth knowing about.
Measure App
Apple's Measure app now features a Liquid Glass design for the level, with two Liquid Glass bubbles instead of white circles.
Games App
There's now an option to sort games in the Games app Library by size, in addition to Name and Recent.
CarPlay
The...
Wednesday November 12, 2025 2:49 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Update: It took a day, but Apple has now corrected its Apple Intelligence device compatibility list to show support for the earliest Apple silicon Macs. The original article follows.
Apple's website is causing some confusion among Mac owners, and for good reason – its device compatibility listing for Apple Intelligence appears to have dropped support for M1 Macs.
The U.S. version...
They’re getting to a point where people can hold onto their iPhones for 10 years. If I’m a shareholder, I’m asking what Tim is doing to replace the lost revenue from iPhone users who aren’t upgrading?
I charge my phone overnight, to 100%, every day ... don't care about battery health/lifespan. Its a consumable, when it doesn't meet my needs anymore it gets replaced
You're reducing the accumulation/creation of dendrites.
Dendrites are crystal-like formations in the cell that grow through the electrolyte, little by little, with each charge and discharge cycle. They cause short-circuit in a cell when they grow all the way through. This is the main way a li-ion cell dies.
Dendrites are formed primarily during deep charging and deep discharging. E.g., when you discharge the battery down to 0%, and when you charge the battery up to 100%. If you stay within the 20%-80% charge range all the time, a modern lithium ion cell can last probably 10x as many cycles compared to a battery that is cycled between 0% and 100%. But staying in that narrow range sacrifices 40% of the battery capacity, so it's pretty undesirable. Indeed, everything about battery design is balancing competing interests and picking 2 of 3 options.
Most battery controllers don't let you go to 0% anyway. When your phone is reporting 0%, it likely really means the battery has 1-3% left but for self-preservation it's not going to let the device turn on in that state. And most folks don't discharge their phone all the way daily anyway - it's a rare occurrence to be plugging in a totally dead phone. But most battery controllers let the battery charge to 100%. So dendrites slowly form.
By limiting the charging to 80%, you're greatly reducing/slowing the formation of dendrites.
But 80% is a bit aggressive in my opinion. Dendrite formation becomes a real problem at the extremes. 90-95% charge limit would be fine I think.
This is looking more and more like something in the hardware of the iPhone 15 models that allows the charging limits as well as this new feature. Maybe something controlling the USB C port or the battery controller itself?
All existing devices since iPhone 6S can do Optimized Battery Charging, which delays charging past 80%. All iPhones can pause charging when high temps are experienced. So we already know existing hardware is capable. This is confirmed by the fact jailbreaking can re-enable this artificially locked feature on iPhone 14 and older. This is a case of pure feature rationing.
