iOS 26 AI Battery Management Feature May Launch With iPhone 17 Air

Apple's rumored AI-powered battery management feature may not be announced at WWDC as part of iOS 26, with Apple potentially launching the tool in tandem with the release of the iPhone 17 Air in September. That's according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, who made the prediction while hosting a Discord chat over the weekend.

iPhone 17 Air Pastel Feature
Gurman reported in May that Apple plans to use AI to help you better manage your iPhone's battery life. iOS 26 will have an AI-powered battery management option that will analyze how you use your device and make adjustments where possible to cut down on battery usage.

According to the report, the battery option will be included in the Apple Intelligence suite of features, with Apple drawing on battery data that it has collected from users over time. The battery mode will be able to cut the power draw of apps and other system features based on device usage, and it will also include a Lock Screen indicator that shows how long it will take an ‌iPhone‌ charge.

Gurman has previously acknowledged that the new battery management tool was designed with the super-slim iPhone 17 Air in mind, but this is the first time he has suggested the feature may not arrive until the device is released later in the fall.

Apple's new ultra-thin ‌iPhone‌ doesn't have as much space for a battery inside, and some rumors have suggested that the ‌iPhone 17 Air‌'s battery will not be up to par with the battery life of other iPhone 17 models. Apple plans to improve ‌iPhone 17 Air‌ battery life with the AI optimizations, though the feature set will be available for all iPhones that are able to run iOS 26.

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Top Rated Comments

F23 Avatar
6 weeks ago
"Hey Siri how long until fully charged?"

Setting a timer for 45 minutes, expect some rain tonight.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kottu Avatar
6 weeks ago
This function will not work on older phones (including iPhone 16) as it needs a dedicated chip on the battery. ”It is the most sophisticated chip in the world with 1 trillion transistors and own neural engine with 24 teraflops calculating speed. We call it Apple B1”
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bluecoast Avatar
6 weeks ago

"Hey Siri how long until fully charged?"

Setting a timer for 45 minutes, expect some rain tonight.
'Here's what I found on the Internet:'
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BarrettF77 Avatar
6 weeks ago
If this turns out to be true I am officially done with this brand. The did jack and **** for iPhone 16 users and hailed it as AI central. And if a Mac from 10 years ago can tell me how long it will be full but a iPhone 16 pro cannot, this is not the brand for me.

Sad this is what it takes now for Apple to get its customers to upgrade.

Guess this may backfire by us selling our stuff off and going to Android. What a trash brand they have become.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
lindros2 Avatar
6 weeks ago
Physics > AI
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mazz0 Avatar
6 weeks ago
They should use “AI” to generate marketing guff about “AI” features. Assuming they don’t already.

Seriously, if this has a greater than 5% effect on battery life I’ll eat my hat*.

*I don’t own a hat.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)