The next iOS 17 update could improve the battery life on your iPhone

Tests performed by YouTube video channel iAppleBytes (via Cult ofMac) on various iPhone models showed that unlike iOS 16, which increased the Geekbench battery score (which computes how much work a phone can perform on a single charge) on multiple iPhones, iOS 17 has lowered the battery test scores for the same models across the board. While the iOS 17.0.1 and iOS 17.0.2 updates managed to improve the numbers slightly, for the most part, the test scores are lower from the level seen when iOS 16 was released.

The battery test scores could improve following the next update which is supposed to exterminate a bug that caused the iPhone 15 series to overheat. However, since this is a bug related to iOS 17, it is possible that the process of turning down the heat will impact older iPhone models as well. And since a phone that generates excess heat is usually draining the battery at the same time, there is a chance that the next iOS 17 update will improve the battery life on other models besides the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max.

Some iPhone 15 series users were noticing that their phones were burning through one percentage point of battery for every minute while they were overheating. For example, five minutes on Instagram (one of the apps that have reportedly caused iPhone units to become too hot to handle) reduced the battery life by five percentage points. Ten minutes on the app would wipe 10 percentage points of life off of the battery.

The chart published by iAppleBytes covers models starting with the iPhone SE (2020) through the iPhone 13 line. The latter model saw its Geekbench battery test score drop from the 4620 it achieved using the last iOS 17 beta release to 4100 when iOS 17 was released. The two subsequent minor updates brought the score back to 4250. To put that score in perspective, the all-time highest score of 5870 for the iPhone 13 came after iOS 15.0.1 was disseminated right after the phone was first released.

If you look at the chart, you'll see that most iPhone models respond to iOS updates together as a group. So if the next update does improve the battery life of the new models, odds are that your older iPhone will see some improvement as well. How much of an improvement? All we can say at this point is that your mileage may vary.