I bought my sister an iPhone 15 for her birthday and while checking it out, I noticed the “Charge Limit” function. This limits battery charging to 80%, a proprietary feature of the entire iPhone 15 line.
I decided to try it out of curiosity – and very quickly turned it off for reasons that I did not expect.
Does anyone actually use it? endures?
Why limit your iPhone’s charge level at all?
Briefly about the function “Charge limit”. She is in Settings → Battery → Charging optimization.
There is research confirmed data: To extend the life of the battery, it is advisable to keep it in a state of medium “charge” for as long as possible. The gap between 20 and 80 percent of capacity is considered the least harmful. Conversely, a discharging state between 0 and 20%, as well as a charging state between 80 and 100%, shortens the life of the cells in the battery the most.
Apple cannot influence the last 20% of the charge in any way, but it can easily influence the final “one-fifth”. The power controller in the iPhone 15 can prevent the device from charging above 80% capacity. This is what the function is responsible for Charge limit.
Theoretically, a feature “Charge limit” should substantially reduce the number of battery cycles accumulated per year. The device will still sometimes (how often and when is unknown) be charged to 100% so that the controller can keep track of the actual capacity of the cells. But this should happen rarely.
Sounds good. After all, it’s fashionable to worry about your smartphone’s battery, but replacing it after a couple of years of use is too lazy and “expensive.” In electric cars, a similar feature is built almost everywhere and has proven its effectiveness a long time ago.
Why is this feature more annoying than helpful?
If you turn on Charge limit, the iPhone will almost never be charged to 100% again. In a week and a half of use in this mode, I saw 100% only once – on the second charge from the moment the feature was activated.
Respectively, in the corner you will always have 80%. And this is the strangest feature in this (otherwise) quite useful feature. You leave the house, and you are already at 75%. At lunchtime it’s already 50%. By evening it’s good if it’s 30%.
Yes, the iPhone will last until the night, especially if it is no more than a year old from its first activation. But how long will you last?
Now, every time you pick up your iPhone, you are constantly confused by the unusually low charge level. And by the second half of the day, these 50%, or even 30%, begin to seriously strain you. You know that everything is OK, it should be so, and you clearly have enough. But you still subconsciously begin to be cautious and even worry, especially if you know that you won’t be able to charge your device soon.
Apple thought through the technical side of the feature. And completely ignored psychological. We were offered to give up 20% of the battery charge in exchange for extending the battery life cycle, but at the same time they endlessly show their absence in the corner of the display.
What should have been done? Just recalculate the displayed battery readings in the corner and make the actual 80% capacity look like 100%.
This would not make the iPhone work any longer, but it would make it much easier for its owner to determine how much time his iPhone has left to work. Moreover, one could get used to it much faster. After all, we all know from personal experience how long a device will work when it has such and such a percentage in the corner. But when the report starts at 80, and especially if it’s a new iPhone, how can you even count anything?
If you left it at 100%, you could quickly forget that this feature is enabled. And then, after a year or two, be glad that you have much fewer cycles and better battery condition than others without this feature.
Or am I the only one and you take advantage Charge limit without a shadow of regret, you tolerate starting the day with 80% and ending it with 20% on the new iPhone, paying absolutely no attention to it?
iPhones.ru I bought my sister an iPhone 15 for her birthday and while checking it, I noticed the “Charge Limit” function. This limits battery charging to 80%, a proprietary feature of the entire iPhone 15 line. I decided to try it out of curiosity – and very quickly turned it off for reasons that I did not expect. Does anyone really use it and tolerate it? Why limit the iPhone’s charge level at all…
Nikita Goryainov
@ngoryainov
Editor-in-Chief of iPhones.ru. Thank you for reading us. Have a question, suggestion or something interesting? Write to [email protected].
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