Battery Running Down After iOS 26 Update? Apple Claims 'It's Normal'

Apple officially launched iOS 26 earlier this week. The latest release introduces a host of fresh features, including call screening and a reimagined Liquid Glass interface. However, several users have complained of poor battery life in their devices following the update. 

According to Apple, it’s perfectly normal if battery life drops after updating: this change should only be short-lived. Apple has brought out a support document explaining why users may experience poor battery life after a software update.

“Immediately after completing an update, particularly a major release, you might notice a temporary impact on battery life and thermal performance. This is normal, as your device needs time to complete the setup process in the background, including indexing data and files for search, downloading new assets, and updating apps,” Apple said in the document.

In other words, you can expect your iPhone’s battery to drain faster and the device to feel warmer for a short period after a major software update.

The document added, “New features are exciting and help you get even more out of your Apple product, though some may require additional resources from the device. Depending on individual usage, some users may notice a small impact on performance and/or battery life.”

Thus, your gadget’s performance and battery life can be impacted over the long term if you use new features that “require additional resources from the device.”

For those familiar with iPhone software updates, this is hardly unexpected.  The key message is that following the installation of iOS 26, or any significant update, your device will undergo extra background activity that can temporarily increase its workload. Fortunately, this typically settles down within a few days and shouldn’t cause lasting concerns.

The latest iOS update introduces an AI-driven battery saving feature known as Adaptive Power. This feature is automatically enabled on the iPhone 17 series, while users of older iPhone models will need to activate it manually via the Settings option. Since Adaptive Power relies on Apple Intelligence, it is only compatible with devices from the iPhone 15 Pro onwards.