Charging Habits That Wear The Battery Faster

Your iPhone battery isn’t fragile, but it is affected by heat and stress over time. Two things tend to age batteries faster: keeping them hot, and keeping them at 100% for long stretches.

Overnight charging is usually fine because your iPhone has built-in battery management features. The bigger issue is charging in ways that trap heat, like charging under a pillow, under direct sunlight, or while you’re playing demanding games.

If you want to really know how well your battery is going, look at Settings > Battery > Battery Health and see how your phone is aging. Apple also shows you relevant battery information like your Maximum Capacity and Cycle Count. 

There are a couple of things you can do to improve your charging habits. First, as we mentioned, stop using your iPhone while it’s charging and make sure to keep it in a room with a good temperature so it doesn’t overheat. 

Go to Settings > Battery > Charging, and tweak the settings so your iPhone has a Charge Limit (on an iPhone 15 or newer) or you’re using Optimized Battery Charging. Both of these will make sure that your battery doesn’t age as fast by avoiding that high-stress 100% mark as much as possible. While you’re here, also toggle on Adaptive Power if your iPhone supports it, as this can intelligently extend your battery life by learning your usage habits.

Last but not least, make sure to use the right charger and cable. Avoid bad quality charging accessories, and instead make sure that everything you use comes from Apple or is MFi (Made For iPhone) or USB-IF certified.

Quick Win: If you have an iPhone 15 or newer, set your Charge Limit to 80% or 90% in Settings > Battery > Charging. It significantly extends the chemical lifespan of your battery.