which is better: "Optimized Charging" or "Limit to 80%"

By peter, 14 April, 2024

Forum
iOS and iPadOS

I have an iPhone 15 Pro.

Under the Battery Settings, "Optimized Charging" is selected by default.

A friend told me that the best way to extend my battery life was to choose "Limit Charging to 80%" instead.

I couldn't find any clear anser on the web for which setting is better.

I generally don't run down my battery to less than 80-85% in any day if it starts at 100% charge, so maybe the 80% limit is good.

Anyway, just looking for other people's suggestions and experience.

Thanks.

--Pete

Options

Comments

By Justin Philips on Thursday, April 11, 2024 - 23:12

They also guarantee 1000 cycles of battery charging. Earlier, the guarantee was for 500 cycles.

By peter on Thursday, April 11, 2024 - 23:12

Thanks. I didn't see that Apple recommendation in my searches. I figured they picked the default as "Optimized Charging" since that was the best for the battery, but that must be the best for people who use a lot of battery during the day and don't want to run out of charge while still being good to their battery life.

I just changed to 80% since, as I said, I never use more then 15-20% charge per day.

--Pete

By Holger Fiallo on Thursday, April 11, 2024 - 23:12

Always done it. When phone is close to 50 or 70 I charge it. No issues. Using 13 pro and iOS 17.4.1. I want my 20%

By Ollie on Thursday, April 11, 2024 - 23:12

I'll always keep my phone to 100 % when I can jsut in case. The worst case scenario is having to have the battery replaced slightly sooner.

Life's too busy to consider battery health, Far better to have your phone maxed out and ready to go, in my view. Your battery is going to degrade no matter what, babysitting it will only postpone the inevitable.

By Dave Nason on Thursday, April 11, 2024 - 23:12

Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team

The 80% limit switch has always struck me as a little odd. If I do not use it, my battery may more quickly degrade to a capacity like 80%, at that point meaning I have a maximum of 80% of the original battery.
To avoid this, I can choose to limit myself to that 80% here and now.
Yes I’m over simplifying a bit. You might do the 80% limit day to day and let it go to the 100% on particular occasions when you need it, and there could arguably be a small resale value benefit. But on balance it still doesn’t appeal to me.
Dave

By Holger Fiallo on Thursday, April 11, 2024 - 23:12

20% gives you several hours of use while 80% loses close to 4 or 6 hours. I gave my friend my 11 pro max and her sister 12 pro and battery still great. Got both when they came out. They have no issues.

By Enes Deniz on Thursday, April 11, 2024 - 23:12

Does that extra 20 percent continue to give you that extra few hours of usage time for several years? Definitely not! Your battery will degrade much faster, especially if regularly charged overnight.

By Holger Fiallo on Thursday, April 11, 2024 - 23:12

Yes it does to me. Always done and will do so. That is my experience. I also setup my iPhone to save battery by following tips that AppleVis has posted in the past and those who posted in YouTube.

By Enes Deniz on Thursday, April 11, 2024 - 23:12

I highly recommend that you go through those tips once again. Do also note that keeping/switching background app refresh off for apps that you don't need it or avoiding using cellular data at all times, for instance, can also help save battery. It depends on a combination of several factors at once, so charging your battery up to a hundred percent and still having a relatively long lifespan should not mean you are doing everything right and can make use of the full potential.

By OldBear on Thursday, April 11, 2024 - 23:12

One thing I know for sure, keeping a device on the charge all the time without a feature to stop it charging at some point can do dammage to the lithium batteries, including making them swell up and braking the device apart at the seams, much less not holding a charge. That being said, the old-time, Nickel-cadmium batteries were utterly horrible!!
Having to charge a degraded battery multiple times a day seems to happen a little before the iPhone model stops being supported in regular updates for me. Having to take it in for a battery replacement isn't worth the few months I could squeeze out of the phone.
I wish I could put a tablet or phone in a drawer, powered down, and keep it around for emergencies, or even put it to use as an entertainment box or a single-use device. Can't really do that if the battery is built-in, and the software is vulnerable.

By Holger Fiallo on Thursday, April 11, 2024 - 23:12

Thanks. No issues with the tips. Always follow them and my battery is good. Will see what happens with iPhone 16 and iOS 18 regarding battery.

By Enes Deniz on Thursday, April 11, 2024 - 23:12

Overconfidence often brings about severe consequences, so one should refrain from it. You claim you always follow the tips, but you do not. You might be able to say you do what is the most appealing to you and are happy with the results, but as I did say before, the tips do include avoiding overcharging, which is indeed something you do not appear to do. I don't care what you do, but asserting that you do follow the tips when you do not, is definitely not the most consistent response. Yet again, as I said before, iOS 18 and iPhone 16 may offer improved battery life, but not necessarily because the user uses the device in the most battery-friendly manner.

By Holy Diver on Thursday, April 18, 2024 - 23:12

Hopefully soon the EU mandates for easily removable batteries take effect and, much like the change to USB C trickle out to the rest of the world. I remember my first ever smart phone, much like the ham radios I’ve used made it very easy to just pop out the old battery and get a new one. I guess they just figure most people will use their phones for a few years and trade them in when it's time to upgrade, if you’re following that cycle it probably doesn’t matter much. Then again since your phone still has so much charge at the end of every day you probably wouldn't notice that extra 20% in your regular life so that limit would help prolong your phone’s life span if that's the main priority.

By Serena on Thursday, April 18, 2024 - 23:12

the problem with removable batteries, is that to make room for the removable backs and bits to hold it, it means we can't have these thinner, lighter phones. so if that becomes a thing, expect to be dragging around bigger, bulkier phones. personally, i'll stick with the thinner design and not removable. and btw, how many damned times, have i seen a device break down, because the battery compartment breaks, which means you still have to fix the entire phone, in stead of just the battery. ugh. lol. also, i have my phone limited to 80, and it has some other good effects over the battery health. yes the health is why i do it, but it also stays cooler, as it isn't charging as long, and there for i don't feel like i'm picking up a branding iron in stead of a phone. hahahaha. personally, since i got the 15 pro, i have always had the battery limited to 80, and i have yet to run the battery flat on a whole day out. so honestly, it's not a problem. if you do run it down, you may want to consider a battery bank, or battery case if you can find one for your phone. but i sure haven't seen the 80% limit cause a problem yet. my phone is now around 6 months old, and still has 100% available, and that's including using it in australian heat which normally murders the battery due to over-heating.

By Andy Lane on Thursday, April 18, 2024 - 23:12

If I was trying to convince people to accept a consumer device that was seriously compromised in order to allow me to make more money from the consumer, I’d need to tell that consumer something that justified my otherwise obvious decision to dip into their pocket more often. I might tell them, you can’t have slim and sexy phones without glued on backs. I’d be lying though or at least bending the truth. There’s nothing to stop phone manufacturers engineering around this problem of wanting slim and also removable back panels. In fact, back in the before times. Phone manufacturers used to do this without any problem at all. Those phones were even waterproof before apple innovated enough courage to make their sealed phones waterproof. With billions of dollars, it’s possible to find solutions to problems. Especially problems that were solved 10 years ago. It’s also possible to use those billions to get more billions. We’re in the age of the latter but what’s extra galling is that the marketing teams are in on the deal now and they’re working hard to convince us it’s for our own good.

Sometimes it is, change from 30 pin dock connector to lightning is a good example. Sometimes not so much, removing the headphone adaptor while announcing some overpriced under performing Bluetooth headphones would be an example of the marketing team working harder than the engineering team.

Non removable batteries is possibly the worst example of what a well paid, highly motivated marketing department is capable of. It’s gaslighting at best and possibly even more sinister than that because one abuse of truth allows for another and then we find ourselves accepting batteries and laptop lid sensors coded to the device for no justifiable reason other than the bottom line, and not ours.

By Andy Lane on Thursday, April 18, 2024 - 23:12

Have you thought about only charging every 3 days? Lithium batteries like to be between 20% and 80% preferably they’d stay at 60% forever but that’s not very useful. They also don’t like being charged often. As you only use 15% - 20% battery capacity per day. What I’d be doing is limiting capacity to 80% then discharging down to 20% - 30% over the next 3 days then charging back up to 80% This way, you’d enormously extend the life of your battery by doing the things it doesn’t like less often, (charging) and never doing the things it really doesn’t like, (completely discharging or completely charging). Alternatively, I’d just turn on charge to 80% and then not worry about it and move on with life. Either way, your battery should last a good long time. Just going from 60% - 80% every day isn’t as ideal as it could be.

By Holger Fiallo on Thursday, April 18, 2024 - 23:12

It well it has worked for me for ever. Be safe.

By Enes Deniz on Thursday, April 18, 2024 - 23:12

What is it that has worked for you forever? Whatever it is, asserting something works forever is just another sign of overconfidence. Anyway, I have a question: Could limiting charging to 80 percent have adverse effects on the battery like chemical aging due to the device being kept on power and trying to balance the battery level and keep it at 80% as the battery is charging and draining at the same time?

By Andy Lane on Thursday, April 18, 2024 - 23:12

If a person was trying to optimise battery lifespan, everything is bad. The optimal state for a battery is kept at around 15C and around 60% charge and not used. Even in that state, it’s still degrading slowly. It’s inevitable but doing certain specific things will increase the rate that happens by different amounts. The worst things to do are getting the battery extremely hot or cold. Then charging or discharging to either extrme. I think the jury is still out on whether fast charging is especially bad for the battery if the temperature can be kept at an ideal level. I think 20 - 25C. Maybe someone else could have a go at whether fast charging is bad for batteries if temps are ideal as last I checked which was a good few years ago, it wasn’t settled one way or the other. I’ve tried a few different solutions to cool mine. I’ve tried peltier coolers but find them annoying as the fan is usually small and shrill, My latest idea is using a muscle cool pack that I keep in the fridge. When I put my phone on charge I just get it out the fridge and put the phone on it. Once the phone is charged I pop it back in the fridge. Its no hassle at all and seems to be doing the trick. I also take the phone off charge at around 80% as I only have a 14 Pro Max which you can’t limit charging on for completely artificial reasons. Anyway, I’m 19 months in on my battery and I use it all day every day. I discharge to around 20% and charge to around 80% I do that twice a day and my battery is currently at 95% capacity.

By OldBear on Thursday, April 18, 2024 - 23:12

My priority is usually to milk it for every bit of use I can get out of it, then pass it on to those who can milk it for parts and scrap, assuming I can't use it for parts and scrap. I grew up in a home that was still using tube-type radios/TVs and, got to play with things like hand planes and bit and braces. I guess I should look into what Apple does with their recycling service. I've taken plenty of dead lithium batteries, and even some Ni-Cad batteries down to a hardware store's recycling center, and hoped they're actually doing something useful with them. Although, I wouldn't be surprised if the people of the distant future gleefully mine our landfill sites.
The iPhones are getting bulkier, even without replaceable batteries. I dare not use one in the real world without a case and screen protector, and the camera sticks out the back in a way that prevents it from being placed flat on a table or counter during use. If the battery cartridge on a device is breaking during ejection or normal use--not talking about dropping which would shatter a naked iPhone anyway--it was designed poorly.

By Lee on Thursday, April 18, 2024 - 23:12

Seems this maybe Temp orientated as Andy says. My 13 pro lasted two years before I upgraded. In that time I charged to 100% everyday and when I came to upgrade the battery still showed as 95% capacity. Which seemed good to me.

By Holger Fiallo on Thursday, April 18, 2024 - 23:12

My phone last close to 9 6 hours before it gets to 70%. I am happy with I get. I gave you my view and respect your. Please do the same. What works for you is for you. I was giving my point of view. If you do not care do not respond. Thanks.

By Enes Deniz on Thursday, April 18, 2024 - 23:12

@Holger Fiallo, I just tried to give you advice and wouldn't care that much about whether you actually followed it or not, but I do care and am unhappy about your attitude.
@Lee, I once had an iPhone 4S and it was smaller but still thicker and heavier, not to mention it was more durable. Not necessarily bulkier but more fragile have iPhones been getting in the recent years.

By Holger Fiallo on Thursday, April 18, 2024 - 23:12

I did not ask for it. If I wanted, I would ask. I trying to be nice and polite and you keep pushing. Again have a nice day. See how nice I am. Be safe.

By AppleVis on Thursday, April 18, 2024 - 23:12

Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team

A comment in this thread has been removed due to violations of our community guidelines. The comment contained personal attacks and derogatory language directed at another user, which is unacceptable and will not be tolerated on our forums.

We understand that discussions can sometimes become heated, but we strive to maintain a respectful and constructive environment for all members of our community. Personal insults, name-calling, and derogatory remarks do not contribute to productive discourse and can create an unwelcoming atmosphere for others.

We kindly ask all participants in this discussion to continue the conversation in a respectful and constructive manner.

Let's keep our community a welcoming and inclusive space for all. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

By Enes Deniz on Thursday, April 18, 2024 - 23:12

Okay, let's try to be... "polite... and see what happens.
Dear FIALLO,
I regret to inform you that your posts contain information and contradicting statements that mislead the members and visitors, and therefore have to be corrected and/or clarified by you or, if necessary, another Applevis member. It is obvious that the tips and advice on prolonging battery life posted on applevis.com (i.e. this website( and elsewhere do include avoiding overcharging, which, according to your own statements, is definitely not something you do. The very same post in which you mention this also has information shared by you of your very own will regarding your stance on the matter, and the fact that you claim, in your own words, that fully charging your battery has always worked for you, which is deemed a clear sign of overconfidence. Without even explaining what "always work" refers to, you subsequently attempt to back this claim by arguing that newer hardware and software will offer improved battery life, which is not necessarily linked to how you use your device. It can already be inferred that both the iPhone 16 and iOS 18 will still come with improved performance and battery life compared to the iPhone 15 and iOS 17 for the same user, as it is already this that is meant by "improved performance". It is perfectly possible that a careful user doing everything one can to preserve the performance of an older device running an older version of iOS extend the battery life much longer than someone using a newer device without much care, but it should be noted that it is either the average user or the maximum capacity that is meant by "improved performance", depending on the context, so it is a generic term used to offer a comparison under identical circumstances. As for your claim that you have been trying to be polite, this, again, has also been found to be inconsistent, due to the fact that you claim that you were given advice even though you didn't ask for it, while it was actually none other than you who did not even bother to offer your assumption (that it always works) as your own approach and instead insisted that you followed the tips and that it has worked for you forever. What was done in response, on the other hand, was to at least try to make you acknowledge that this would be your own preference, and that you shouldn't assert that it would always work. The responder cares more about your misleading and disdainful remarks than how you use your own device and what you do with it. You are strongly advised to use your common sense and deduction skills or some modesty and self-criticism.

By Holger Fiallo on Thursday, April 18, 2024 - 23:12

Very well. I am not in charge of this web page so they can do whatever. I was giving my view on my iPhone. I was not asking for input but responding to the post. Thanks.

By Enes Deniz on Thursday, April 18, 2024 - 23:12

I humbly beg forgiveness and do declare that henceforth, I shall seek thy favor before addressing any of thy remarks. U no whatcha talkin' about man? Why and how on earth should I request your permission before I post anything in reply to your posts? By the way, was I polite enough this time? :)

By fatih on Thursday, April 18, 2024 - 23:12

I used to use an iPhone se 2020 which my brother gave it to me. It had 84% battery capacity at the time and I used it for 9 or so months or even a year, and it kept at 84%, but I had battery life consirns , so much so that I'd keep celular off all the time when I was out, which caused me to lose communication with my friends over whatsapp or whatnot. HOwever I got an iPhone 13 and am quite happy with it's battery life, therefore I turn colular on while I'm out and turn wifi off. This way I get to save battery, and I think that the 20w adapter doesn't harm the battery, because most of the time I'm home and I charge my phone once every 2-3 days. It's going well I suppose.
Thanks for reading.

By Dennis Long on Thursday, April 18, 2024 - 23:12

I always drain it near zero or to zero. No issues.

By Holger Fiallo on Thursday, April 18, 2024 - 23:12

I always charge it at night and does a nice job. Most times is about 50 or 60%. Is also set up to charge only to 80% until 6:00 AM, when I wake up. 13 pro has good battery. iOS 17.4.1 is good regarding that. Hope iOS 17.5 is also good.

By Bingo Little on Thursday, April 18, 2024 - 23:12

If you were to wring your beer mat out into the glass, how much extra beer would you have to drink? I've always thought this discussion over optimisation etc. smacks of that. The amount of discombobulation that charging one's battery to such and such a percentage - what does it all amount to, in the end? Personally, I run the battery down to zero except, say, where I know I need to top it up because I'll be out, in which case I'll charge it from wherever it's a for as long as I am able to charge it. This optimisation stuff, keeping batteries at certain temperatures or certain percentages has never excited me. is that because I don't care enough about having to replace my battery a week or so earlier than I otherwise would have to? Probably; but I can't pretend to care if I don't. I realise, that said, this issue is important to some people - andy Lane has gone superbly granular in his contributions, for example. So I am open-minded enough to be ready for those people to convince me to care about this. show me why it's not the equivalent to wringing out my beer mat for the sake of one more sip.

By Holger Fiallo on Thursday, April 18, 2024 - 23:12

Agree. What works for you is cool. What works for me is good also. Some do not get it.

By Andy Lane on Thursday, April 18, 2024 - 23:12

I kind of agree with you. The ringing a beer mat out is a good analogy. If someone is interested in optimization and they enjoy trying to make things last then the information provided above should help. If they see a phone as a device they’ll keep 2 years then dispose of then optimization is a waste of time. The benefits of not over or underheating or over and under charging are very real but those benefits might not interest someone as using the device in the most convenient way is more attractive. Speaking for myself, I enjoy understanding and optimizing but thats definitely not for everyone and niether approach is better than another. Different strokes and all that. I always have the idea of keeping a phone and making it last many years but it hasn’t happened yet. Theres always someone to give or sell my old device to but maybe i’ll finally do it with my current 14 pro max when I get the 16 pro max later this year.

By Bingo Little on Thursday, April 18, 2024 - 23:12

You have excelled yourself in reinforcing my conviction not to care. Use the bleedin' battery and when it runs out, charge it! If you're going out in a bit and think to yourself: hang on hang on hang on the battery's only 30%, charge it! If you're going out and only remember five minutes before leaving that you forgot to charge your blasted phone...well you're stuffed in that case, I suppose, although Mrs Bingo will very kindly allow yours truly to use the in-car USB port to charge mi' iPhone in such an eventuality. Mind you, that doesn't do me much good if we're both going, say, to work: Mrs bingo works locally and drives to work but alas, Bingo must take the Tube. To the Mayor of London and TFL, every journey matters. see it, say it, sort it. anyway the drive from bingo Towers to the Tube Station probably give me an absolute maximum o3 minutes on the USB charger, and only that long if Mrs Bingo struggles to find a sparking pace. You're not getting much of a battery percentage out of that. I bet that does the lithium no good at all, lads and lasses. Anyway, been working from home today and the battery's at 38%...hang on, how? I haven't even been bleedin' doing anything! Maybe if I'd been one of these optimisation merchants I'd be at 40%, which although only a smidgeon more sounds a lot more, doesn't it? Maybe this whole optimisation malarchy is psychological. anyway, this is a Northern Line train, terminating at Battersea Power Station.

By Bingo Little on Thursday, April 18, 2024 - 23:12

whatever the level, I'm always defeated; I charge the damn thing and my voice is deleted!

By Andy Lane on Thursday, April 18, 2024 - 23:12

Could I interest sir in a dual USB in car charging solution. In Bingo’s case I do think charging as little as possible may be a way to maintain mental health by saving infuriating redownloads of his beloved voice. See it, Say it, Sort it, Download it again.

Also who are those creepy kids telling me not to leave my luggage unattended. They really creep me out. I can imagine their heads swivelling 180 degrees every time they warn me to take care on the escalator.

By Enes Deniz on Thursday, April 18, 2024 - 23:12

What you asserted earlier, as you admitted yourself, was that it had to work. Always. Forever. And now you're saying once again that I don't get your point even after my lengthy explanation and your acceptance.

By Bingo Little on Thursday, April 18, 2024 - 23:12

I'm not clever enough to understand the point you're making here, Sir.

By Ollie on Thursday, April 18, 2024 - 23:12

I think there may be a little drifting of terminology in this thread.

Battery health = how much your battery can hold compared with when it was first purchased. With extended use, this will decrease.

Battery life: Is how long a battery charge lasts for before it needs recharging, EG, from fully charged to 0 %.

I know it's a little thing but clarity of terminology often helps with such discussions. This one seems to have gotten a little spicy... As usual. Maybe it's flirting though, who knows. :)

By Bingo Little on Thursday, April 18, 2024 - 23:12

Ollie, I take your point and agree with you on terminology - so many people say tannoy when they mean public address system. Still doesn't help, though. battery life, battery health, battery healthy life...Bingo remains unconvinced.

By Holger Fiallo on Thursday, April 18, 2024 - 23:12

Bingo. I waon. Oh well. This issue will never get result. Apple makes suggestions and we may or may not follow. I am happy with my iPhone and what works for me is cool. What works for others is also cool. Bingo hope your voiceover deleting itself gets fix one day. Be safe.

By Bingo Little on Thursday, April 18, 2024 - 23:12

I threw in a spoonerism earlier to test the water. How many people will comment on it, I asked myself? Absolutely nobody, I can now answer myself. Hardly surprising, perhaps, as this discussion has had it fair share of those whom the Rev. Sooner might regard as shining wits. Battery currently at clickerty click, folks, which is an upper 2nd class honours at undergraduate level, so not bad I suppose. then again, it's probably suboptimal given the battering to which it is subjected in Bingo's care, what with his inability to remember to charge the bleeder. Andy, they now exhort you not to run as well. stand on the right, hold the handrail and do not run. Such is the progressive infantalisation of this formerly great country. I daresay it happens in North America Too. Australia, I imagine, is made of sterner stuff - I can well picture exhortations to race each other on the escalators, with Eddie Jones doing the announcements.

By Ollie on Thursday, April 18, 2024 - 23:12

Bingo, your posts always remind me of my own work, when I was paid by the word.