Ultimate Guide to Extending iPhone Battery Life on iOS 17 and 18

Extending iPhone battery life is crucial in today's world, especially for users running iOS 17 or iOS 18. With each update, Apple introduces new tools to optimize power consumption and improve device efficiency. This guide offers practical, effective tips to maximize your iPhone's battery life-whether you own the latest OLED models with 5G or older iPhones with LCD screens. We'll cover essential iOS settings like Low Power Mode, display brightness, background processes, and share actionable advice for everyday use.

Monitor Battery Usage and System Suggestions

In the Battery section of your iPhone settings, you'll find a detailed breakdown of power usage by apps and helpful system suggestions (such as lowering screen brightness). Reviewing this data can help you identify power-hungry apps and fine-tune your settings for better efficiency.

Core Tips for Saving Battery on iOS 17 and iOS 18

• Low Power Mode: iPhones feature a built-in Low Power Mode that automatically reduces background activity and dims the display when your battery is low. To enable it manually, go to Settings → Battery → Low Power Mode. This mode pauses automatic email fetch, disables "Hey Siri," stops background content refresh, and minimizes animations-making it one of the most effective ways to extend battery life.
• Adjust Screen Brightness and Use Auto-Brightness: Your display is one of the biggest power consumers. Lower the brightness manually or enable Auto-Brightness in Settings → Display & Brightness. Apple recommends keeping the screen dim and using Wi‑Fi instead of cellular data. You can quickly adjust brightness in Control Center-avoid keeping it at maximum.
• Prefer Wi‑Fi Over Cellular: Wi‑Fi connections use less power than mobile data. Whenever possible, connect to Wi‑Fi for internet access. Both Wi‑Fi and cellular drain more battery when signal strength is weak, so consider enabling Airplane Mode in areas with no signal to prevent constant network searching.
• Smart Data and 5G Settings: On iPhone 12 and newer, the "5G Auto" Smart Data feature automatically switches to LTE when 5G speeds aren't needed, saving battery. Find this in Settings → Cellular → Cellular Data Options → Voice & Data. If you travel often or have weak coverage, enable this mode to prevent rapid battery drain from unnecessary 5G searches.
• Disable Automatic Updates and Background Activity: Turn off auto-updates and background content refresh for apps you rarely use. Go to Settings → General → Background App Refresh and set it to Off or Wi‑Fi Only. This prevents battery drain from constant email checks or social app updates. Also, restrict location access for non-essential apps in Settings → Privacy → Location Services by choosing "Never" or "While Using."
• Manage Notifications and Alarms: Frequent notifications wake up your screen and drain power. In Settings → Notifications, disable push alerts for apps you seldom use. You can also enable "Scheduled Summary" to group notifications. Additionally, lower keyboard and notification vibration volume, as haptics can consume significant energy.
• Set Shorter Auto-Lock Time: Reduce your auto-lock interval (e.g., to 1-2 minutes) via Settings → Display & Brightness → Auto-Lock. This ensures the screen turns off quickly when unused, conserving battery.
• Limit GPS and Location Services: Turn off GPS when you don't need it. Constant location tracking-such as in maps or messengers-rapidly depletes battery. For apps that don't require location access (like App Store or Dropbox), deny their permissions in Settings → Privacy → Location Services.
• Check Battery Health and Service: If your iPhone is two to three years old and struggles to hold a charge, check Battery Health in Settings → Battery to view your capacity percentage. If you see a "Service" warning, consider replacing the battery to restore performance. Cleaning connectors and using an original charger also help maintain battery health.

iOS 17 and iOS 18 Features Impacting Battery Life

• Insights & Recommendations (iOS 18): iOS 18 analyzes background processes and offers battery-saving tips in Settings → Battery. You might see suggestions like "Enable Auto-Brightness" or "Check App Settings." After updating, you may notice an "iOS Update" insight, indicating background indexing and optimization-temporary battery drain is normal. Give your device a few days to complete these processes.
• Apple Intelligence (AI) Mode on iOS 18: New AI-powered features-such as image creation in Image Playground or Genmoji-run locally on your iPhone and can be processor-intensive. Users have reported that an hour of emoji generation can drain an iPhone 16 Pro Max by 50%. Use these features sparingly when you need maximum battery life.
• Dark Mode for OLED Screens: iPhones with OLED displays (models after iPhone X, except XR/11/SE2/3) can save power using Dark Mode. Black pixels on OLED screens consume less energy. Switch to Dark Mode in Settings → Display & Brightness → Dark. In iOS 18, you can even adjust app icon colors for dark backgrounds, but simply enabling Dark Mode already helps.
• AirDrop "Device Proximity" (iOS 17): The constant device search feature in AirDrop ("Device Proximity") uses battery even in standby. If you rarely transfer files this way, disable it in Settings → General → AirDrop. This won't affect standard AirDrop, but will cut unnecessary Bluetooth/Wi‑Fi activity.

Advanced Tips for Power Users

• Remove Unused Widgets: On iOS 14 and later, widgets on your Home or Lock Screen regularly refresh data-maps, weather, news, etc. If you don't use certain widgets, remove them by long-pressing and selecting "Remove." This cuts background network activity and conserves battery.
• Disable Video Handoff to Mac: If you've never used "iPhone Video Handoff" (AirPlay screen sharing to Mac), turn it off. This feature can maintain a persistent connection and send notifications to both devices, using extra power. Go to Settings → General → AirPlay & Handoff → iPhone Video Handoff and remove your Mac from the device list.
• Turn Off Live Activities: Starting with iOS 16, Live Activities (real-time widgets for taxis, deliveries, or sports) appear on the Lock Screen. If you don't use them, disable Live Activities to reduce continuous network activity. Navigate to Settings → Face ID & Passcode (or Touch ID), find Lock Screen Access, and turn off Live Activities-this will stop dynamic content from loading on your Lock Screen.

Summary and Recommendations

These battery-saving tips will help most users extend their iPhone's runtime without needing a battery replacement. For travel, consider combining several measures: enable Low Power Mode, switch to Airplane Mode in areas with weak coverage, download maps and documents for offline use, and turn off unneeded services like Bluetooth and background data. For older devices, monitor battery health-if capacity drops below 80%, replacing the battery is advisable.

Reducing resource usage-like lowering brightness, using Dark Mode (for OLED screens), shortening auto-lock, and disabling background updates-can add hours of battery life. On iOS 17 and 18, rely on built-in tools: regularly check the Battery section in Settings, use Low Power Mode, and keep your system updated, as new updates can sometimes improve energy efficiency. Third-party "battery saver" apps rarely offer more benefits than iOS's native settings. By following these recommendations, you'll significantly increase your iPhone's battery life from a single charge.