The iPhone Battery Percentage Is Back Where It Should Be In iOS 16 Beta 5
Battery life is one of the most important features of a smartphone, as is the ability to rapidly see how much of a charge you have remaining. While vague battery indicators can provide users with a rough idea of how much of a charge their device has, they're not very useful when it comes to seeing exactly where you stand and whether you need to top up the device before heading out for the day.
That's where battery icons with percentages come in — these indicators show exactly how much of a charge is left, making it clear that the half-filled icon refers to, for example, 39% remaining charge rather than 50%. The iPad offers this sort of battery percentage indicator, and once upon a time, the iPhone did, too. Things changed in a big way with the Face ID revolution, however, and after years of patience, Apple is finally rewarding iPhone owners with the return of its more detailed battery charge icon.
The battery percentage is back, but will it remain?
The iPhone battery percentage icon in the status bar has returned with the new release of iOS 16 beta 5. All iPhones leading up to the X display battery percentage in the status bar, but Apple sacrificed the convenience of the icon in favor of the then-groundbreaking notch design, which left little room for status bar data. Now, it looks like the company has figured out a way to do both.
On the models prior to the iPhone X, the battery percentage was displayed next to the battery icon. With the new design, the percentage is housed inside the battery icon, leaving space for other status bar data like Wi-Fi and cell signal information. Users no longer have to go through the hassle of opening the Control Center to check their battery level. When an iPhone running the latest iOS 16 beta is in Low Power Mode, the battery icon changes to yellow while still displaying the percentage. When charging, the battery icon turns green and shows a small charging icon next to the percentage.
The new indicator is available for the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 models, excluding the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 mini, as well as on the iPhone X and the iPhone XS models. If you have an eligible model and you are already running iOS 16 beta, first update to beta 5, then go into Settings, Battery, and then Battery Percentage to enable the feature. According to CNBC, Apple hasn't said whether the new feature will make it to the final cut of iOS 16, but our fingers are crossed hoping it does.