Apple explains why your iPhone’s battery is draining after an iOS update

Every time there’s a big iOS update–either a major yearly release or a particularly feature-packed point release like iOS 15.4–you’ll find users complaining that their battery doesn’t last as long as it used to. On social media, users will complain of significant battery drops just hours after the update.

Those who follow this closely have maintained that this is to be expected. The operating system is performing background operations, optimizing all sorts of data, and sometimes doing stuff like re-scanning your photos with new machine learning algorithms, and this increases battery drain. Not to mention that battery management is handled by sophisticated algorithms that may need several charge-and-drain cycles to adapt.

In a rare official comment on the matter, the Apple Support Twitter account confirmed this to be true.

Thanks for reaching out! We’ll be happy to help. It’s normal for your apps and features to need to adjust up to 48 hours after an update.

Let’s have you reach out to us in a DM if this is still an issue after that time so we can help you look into this further.

— Apple Support (@AppleSupport) March 19, 2022

According to Apple, fast battery drain is not unusual after an iOS update but usually resolves itself within 48 hours. If you’ve just updated (or restored) your iPhone and have noticed that your battery isn’t lasting as long as it used to, don’t panic. Just use it as you normally would for a couple of days and check again. If, after several days, you find your battery is still draining much more quickly, it might warrant reaching out to support to investigate the issue.

Related Articles