iOS 11 brings over a variety of new features and improvements for both iPhone and iPad. But the new software release, now installed on nearly 60% of compatible devices, does have one major issue concerning battery life. iOS 11 drains battery life on iPhones a lot faster than you’d expect, and while there unofficial fixes in place, we’re still waiting for the real thing.
Only Apple can deliver the kind of iOS improvements that will improve battery life on iPhone, and it looks like the first major iOS update will bring significant battery life gains.
Apple is currently in the final stages of testing iOS 11.1, and the fifth beta was released the other day, a few days after Apple rolled out what looked like the golden master of iOS 11.1. If you’re a developer or a registered beta tester, you can easily install iOS 11.1 beta 5. And the best thing about it is that it brings massive battery improvements.
As the following video shows, the battery improvements were actually included in iOS 11.1 beta 4 which was released late last week. YouTube channel iDeviceHelp ran battery life comparison tests between iOS 11.1 beta 4 and iOS 11.0.3, using the same three devices: iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 7 Plus and iPhone 8 Plus.
On iOS 11.0.3, all iPhone models died after less than five hours of continuous screen usage, with the iPhone 6 Plus actually offering better battery life. Once iOS 11.1 beta 4 was installed, each phone gains anywhere between two hours and almost four hours of battery life. The iPhone 8 Plus is the big winner here, getting some four hours of extra screen life. That doesn’t mean you should expect real-life iPhone usage to net you four hours of additional life on the latest iPhones. But the test does show that iOS 11 fixes the battery drain you may be experiencing right now.
Check out the video to see the full tests, complete with explanations.
