iOS 26 adds a new Adaptive Power Mode to newer iPhones to extend their battery life under heavy load. It will achieve this by lowering the display brightness and making other under-the-hood changes.
Additionally, iOS 26 revamps the Battery Usage menu, providing more details about power consumption from various apps.
Adaptive Power extends your iPhone’s runtime under load
Apple did not specifically talk about any battery-related improvements in iOS 26 at WWDC25‘s opening keynote. But it includes a major new feature that aims to extend your iPhone’s battery life when used heavily.
With Adaptive Power, Apple says your “iPhone can make small performance adjustments” to extend battery life. This will include lowering the display brightness or “allowing some activities to take a little longer.” This suggests that the company may be downclocking the chipset to reduce power consumption and extend battery life.
Screenshot: Aaron
Adaptive Power differs from Low Power Mode, which takes more drastic steps to increase your iPhone’s battery life.
Adaptive Power will only be available on iPhone 15 Pro and newer models. You can find the option under Settings > Battery in iOS 26. The feature will also come to newer iPads with iPadOS 26.
Battery Usage menu gets more detailed
Screenshot: Rajesh Pandey/Cult Of Mac
Alongside Adaptive Power, iOS 26 revamps the Battery usage menu to provide more details. It compares your current battery usage to your historical patterns and informs you if you’re using more power than usual.
A yellow exclamation mark appears next to the usage percentage of apps consuming excessive power. You can tap “View All Battery Usage” to see a full breakdown of your battery consumption over the past week, complete with an hourly usage graph. Tapping on a previous day reveals a breakdown of the power consumed on that specific day.
Unlike in iOS 18, Apple no longer shows battery usage based on a 24-hour and 10-day timeline.
Rajesh has been closely following and writing about the latest happenings in the world of mobile for nearly a decade now. While he prefers Android, he does not deny the superiority of Apple’s products and ecosystem.
