iOS 13 Introduces New 'Optimized Battery Charging' Feature

Apple in iOS 13 introduced a new "Optimized Battery Charging" feature, which is designed to extend the total battery life of your iOS device.

Found in the Battery section of Settings under "Battery Health," the optional toggle learns from your personal habits and waits to finish charging all the way up until you need your iPhone.

optimizedbatterycharging
For example, if you often charge your phone up at night while you sleep, Apple might charge it to 80 percent right away, but wait until an hour or so before you wake up to charge the remaining 20 percent.

That keeps your ‌iPhone‌ at an optimal capacity for battery health, rather than keeping it close to 100 percent on the charger.

Avoiding topping up the battery continually while it sits on the charger reduces the amount of time that your device spends at maximum capacity, and over time, this could extend the life of your battery.

Battery health has been a hot topic over the course of the last year, after Apple was found throttling the processor speeds of iOS devices with degraded batteries to prolong device life as long as possible.

That issue spurred Apple to be more forthcoming about overall battery health, providing details about capacity and performance in the Battery portion of Settings. Aside from the new toggle to optimize charging, there are no major changes to the Battery Health feature in the first iOS 13 beta.

Related Forum: iOS 13

Popular Stories

iOS 26

15 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.2

Friday December 5, 2025 9:40 am PST by
Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below. Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the ...
Intel Inside iPhone Feature

Apple's Return to Intel Rumored to Extend to iPhone

Friday December 5, 2025 10:08 am PST by
Intel is expected to begin supplying some Mac and iPad chips in a few years, and the latest rumor claims the partnership might extend to the iPhone. In a research note with investment firm GF Securities this week, obtained by MacRumors, analyst Jeff Pu said he and his colleagues "now expect" Intel to reach a supply deal with Apple for at least some non-pro iPhone chips starting in 2028....
ive and altman

Jony Ive's OpenAI Device Barred From Using 'io' Name

Friday December 5, 2025 6:22 am PST by
A U.S. appeals court has upheld a temporary restraining order that prevents OpenAI and Jony Ive's new hardware venture from using the name "io" for products similar to those planned by AI audio startup iyO, Bloomberg Law reports. iyO sued OpenAI earlier this year after the latter announced its partnership with Ive's new firm, arguing that OpenAI's planned "io" branding was too close to its...
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

10 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Monday December 1, 2025 2:40 am PST by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
Photos App Icon Liquid Glass

John Gruber Shares Scathing Commentary About Apple's Departing Software Design Chief

Thursday December 4, 2025 9:30 am PST by
In a statement shared with Bloomberg on Wednesday, Apple confirmed that its software design chief Alan Dye will be leaving. Apple said Dye will be succeeded by Stephen Lemay, who has been a software designer at the company since 1999. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that Dye will lead a new creative studio within the company's AR/VR division Reality Labs. On his blog Daring Fireball,...
maxresdefault

iPhone Fold: Launch, Pricing, and What to Expect From Apple's Foldable

Monday December 1, 2025 3:00 am PST by
Apple is expected to launch a new foldable iPhone next year, based on multiple rumors and credible sources. The long-awaited device has been rumored for years now, but signs increasingly suggest that 2026 could indeed be the year that Apple releases its first foldable device. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Below, we've collated an updated set of key details that ...
Apple John Ternus 2019

Will John Ternus Really Be Apple's Next CEO?

Friday December 5, 2025 9:01 am PST by
There is uncertainty about Apple's head of hardware engineering John Ternus succeeding Tim Cook as CEO, The Information reports. Some former Apple executives apparently hope that a new "dark-horse" candidate will emerge. Ternus is considered to be the most likely candidate to succeed Cook as CEO. The report notes that he is more likely to become CEO than software head chief Craig Federighi, ...
ios 18 to ios 26 upgrade

Apple Pushes iPhone Users Still on iOS 18 to Upgrade to iOS 26

Tuesday December 2, 2025 11:09 am PST by
Apple is encouraging iPhone users who are still running iOS 18 to upgrade to iOS 26 by making the iOS 26 software upgrade option more prominent. Since iOS 26 launched in September, it has been displayed as an optional upgrade at the bottom of the Software Update interface in the Settings app. iOS 18 has been the default operating system option, and users running iOS 18 have seen iOS 18...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2 Release Candidates to Developers and Public Beta Testers

Wednesday December 3, 2025 10:33 am PST by
Apple today seeded the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2 updates to developers and public beta testers, with the software coming two weeks after Apple seeded the third betas. The release candidates represent the final versions of iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2 that will be provided to the public if no further bugs are found during this final week of testing....
Johny Srouji

Apple Chip Chief Johny Srouji Could Be Next to Go as Exodus Continues

Sunday December 7, 2025 10:41 am PST by
Apple's senior vice president of hardware technologies Johny Srouji could be the next leading executive to leave the company amid an alarming exodus of leading employees, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports. Srouji apparently recently told CEO Tim Cook that he is "seriously considering leaving" in the near future. He intends to join another company if he departs. Srouji leads Apple's chip design ...

Top Rated Comments

KazKam Avatar
85 months ago
I'm all for anything they can do to optimize battery performance and extend life, so well done on this one. However, at the end of the day, the one thing they could do to really make a difference is make all the phones just a mm thicker and fill it with battery. Bigger battery is what I want, as much as they can spare.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BtradI1 Avatar
85 months ago
This is awesome. I've been waiting for a feature like this! I wonder if there will be a setting in control center to override this setting and charge to 100%, or if this needs to be turned off in settings to charge to 100%.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
twocents Avatar
85 months ago
I'm impressed with how Apple has been incorporating machine learning. Features like this and Siri suggestions that really tailor your experience with the system has so much potential :D
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
baryon Avatar
85 months ago
Sounds great, but what happens if there's the odd day when you have to get up at 3am for a long day of work? Having that 20% missing will be particularly important on a particularly long day.

I mean it could just adjust it to my alarm, but since you can have multiple alarms set, it could get a bit messy.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bobob Avatar
85 months ago
Apple was found throttling the processor speeds of iOS devices with degraded batteries to prolong device life as long as possible.
Those bastards!
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
archer75 Avatar
85 months ago
Sounds great, but what happens if there's the odd day when you have to get up at 3am for a long day of work? Having that 20% missing will be particularly important if I get up earlier than usual.

I mean it could just adjust it to my alarm, but since you can have multiple alarms set, it could get a bit messy.
Then turn the feature off on those days. I mean, since it's an odd day you're already changing your alarm right? Change this along with it.
Yes, it would be nice if it tied to the alarm though. Maybe it will.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)