Just a day after the iOS 18.1 update, social media has erupted with iPhone users venting about one major issue: their battery life has taken a serious hit.
X is a popular site for those wanting to vent about their battery issues, and complaints have surfaced ranging from, “So after updating to iOS 18.1 RC, my phone became super hot all of a sudden” to “I’ve had iOS 18.1 installed for less than an hour and have noticed a battery drain from checking email and scrolling X.”
Also: My biggest regret after updating my iPhone to iOS 18 (and I’m not alone)
Others are pointing fingers at specific features for their battery issues, claiming that “too much battery drain if you switch on Apple Intelligence.”
But it’s not all negative. Some seem to be more than happy with the latest update.
So, what’s going on?
Also: 8 ways I prepped my iPhone for iOS 18.1 – and I recommend you do too
I’ve been running iOS 18 and iOS 18.1 betas since they’ve been available and my feeling has been that battery life has been pretty appalling. I’ve gone to the point where I have a power bank with me at all times.
However, I only installed the final release of iOS 18.1 yesterday, and who knows what last-minute bug fixes it contains. But I have to give it the benefit of the doubt.
Also, add to that the fact that after every update, the iPhone has to perform a lot of background and housekeeping tasks, which eat up processor power and, in turn, drain the battery harder than usual. Apple knows this and wants users to know because there’s now a message that appears in the Battery screen in Settings that informs users of this.
Apple tells iPhone users to expect poor battery life after iOS updates.
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET
My advice is to wait and see how it plays out. Give iOS 18.1 about 24 to 48 hours to finish all the background tasks before you start to worry and turn off any features. If the problem persists, hopefully, Apple can address it with a future update.
