Click to Skip Ad
Closing in...

This is why your iPhone 7’s battery might die in a year

Published Nov 30th, 2016 10:37AM EST

If you buy through a BGR link, we may earn an affiliate commission, helping support our expert product labs.

There’s a new battery issue plaguing various models of Apple’s phone, including the iPhone 6s. Though we should expect Apple to investigate and fix the bug that causes unexpected shutdowns even when the battery is more than 30% full, users should also understand how these iPhone batteries work. Just like any other battery, they age. The more you use them — and phones do need constant charging — the more likely the battery is to degrade. In fact, even if you buy a brand new iPhone 7 right now, you might still run into battery issues a year from now.

DON’T MISS: There’s a fix for your iPhone 6s’ serious battery drain, but you might not like it

Although Apple is currently offering a free battery replacement program for the iPhone 6s, the severe battery draining bug affects other iPhones as well, including the iPhone 6 and iPhone 5s. In order to understand why this happens, you should watch a new video from Business Insider that perfectly illustrates how a Lithium-ion battery works, and explains why you can expect its maximum capacity to drop over time.

It’s the actual components of the battery that cause the problem. The chemical reaction inside the battery is what makes it tick. But it’s also responsible for its demise. The more battery charging cycles you put it through, the more likely you are to drop the maximum theoretical charge.

Basically, Lithium ions build up over time and cripple battery life.

Given that you charge your iPhone almost every day, you’re likely to get more than 300 cycles a year. Maybe significantly more than that. And a mobile battery will drop 20% in charge after 400 cycles, the video explains. The fact that the battery is relatively small doesn’t help either.

So in about a year after you buy the brand new iPhone 7, or any other smartphone with a similar battery consumption cycle, you might experience battery issues.

Check out Business Insider‘s video at the source link below.

Chris Smith Senior Writer

Chris Smith has been covering consumer electronics ever since the iPhone revolutionized the industry in 2008. When he’s not writing about the most recent tech news for BGR, he brings his entertainment expertise to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe and other blockbuster franchises.

Outside of work, you’ll catch him streaming almost every new movie and TV show release as soon as it's available.