iPhone XS Battery Health Degrading Too Fast? Here’s What You Should Know

Smartphone batteries degrade over time. That’s inevitable. But the introduction of Battery Health tools in iOS 11.3 now means that users have just another thing to fret about unnecessarily.

If you check Reddit or the Apple Support communities, you may find some users posting questions about whether their own battery capacity degradation is normal or not. In one Reddit post, a user said his battery health depleted 2% in just two months.

That rate of battery decay may be concerning for some users since Apple says any battery below 80 percent is considered to be at least partially degraded.

On the other hand, in our own testing, some batteries degrade much slower than that. One iPhone XS Max we checked still had 100 percent of its battery capacity more than three months after it was purchased.

And another user on the same Reddit forum echoed the same results. They reportedly bought their device at launch and took extra precaution to never fast charge or charge overnight. Several months later, their battery health is still at 100 percent.

• Apple says that it should take around 500 complete charge cycles to degrade a battery to 80 percent.
• A charge cycle is when you completely charge your device and use it until its battery capacity depletes.

That’s just a rough estimation and so much of this is variable. Because of that, it’s hard to say what level of battery depletion is “normal.” It all comes down to how often you use your iPhone, for what purposes, and your charging behavior. Because of that, your own mileage may vary widely.

It’s also worth noting that the accuracy of the battery health tools can vary, too. Though they show the same estimations that Apple diagnostic technicians have access to, it’s still just an estimate based on mathematical models.

For some people, a loss of 1 percent capacity a month may be normal. For users who take extra precautions, their batteries may age much slower than that.

What Can I Do to Slow the Degradation of My iPhone’s Battery?

There are a number of things you can try to stop your battery capacity from depleting that quickly. Make sure your phone never gets too hot (particularly while charging) and follow these general battery-saving tips.

• Best Tips for Improving iPhone Battery Life and Saving Energy
• 6 Types of iPhone Apps That Kill Your Battery (and How to Stop Them)

Some users report success by never using fast charging or charging their devices for too long. You can also follow some of the tips and insights that Apple’s Battery Health menu gives you.

But, in the end, it’s probably not worth spending too much time fretting about the issue. Your battery will naturally and inevitably degrade over time — that’s just a fact.

You can get your battery swapped at an Apple Store for a new one, but it’s not worth doing so unless your performance is being impacted or you’re experiencing random shutdowns frequently.

While it’s too late to take advantage of $29 battery swaps, you can still get your iPhone’s battery replaced for $49 or $69, depending on your model. Just follow this link to set up a battery swap appointment with Apple.