This iOS 26 feature helps extend your iPhone’s battery life

While the update brings many noticeable changes, the most valuable features are those that quietly save battery life. After upgrading, the iPhone 16 Pro began to drain faster, yet several new tools in iOS 26 helped stabilize battery performance without compromising speed or functionality.

This was reported by MakeUseOf.

iOS 26 features that help improve battery life

iOS 26 introduces a new Adaptive Power Mode, designed to adjust dynamically to your personal usage patterns. Unlike Low Power Mode, it doesn’t disable essential features — instead, it subtly reduces screen brightness by a few percent, limits unnecessary background activity, and slightly scales back performance only when you’re not running demanding apps.

To enable it, go to "Settings" — "Battery" — "Power Mode", and activate notifications for when the mode is in use.

In the "Settings" —"Battery" section, it has become easier to identify "power-hungry" apps. The interface highlights those that consume excessive energy (background activity, screen time, frequent notifications), displays activity by day, and flags problematic apps. From there, it’s simple: delete unnecessary apps, temporarily force-close extras, or disable "Background App Refresh" for them.

Immediately after installing iOS 26, the system indexes files, optimizes apps, and updates databases — this temporarily increases energy consumption and may even slightly warm the device. Typically, everything stabilizes within a day or two. Small patches like iOS 26.1/26.1.1 often bring additional optimizations, so it’s worth keeping your device updated.

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