Although iOS 27 has smarter Apple Intelligence and new features that make upgrading very tempting, when a brand-new version like this launches, aside from bugs, many people are bound to worry about whether battery life will get worse. Recently, an overseas YouTube channel specializing in testing iPhone battery life officially released a real-world test video of iOS 27. The results show that there isn’t much difference for most models, meaning iPhone users considering upgrading basically don’t need to worry too much about battery life.
Image source: iAppleBytes
Will iOS 27 be more power-hungry? Battery life test results for 6 iPhone models are in, with mixed results.
Recently, iAppleBytes released a battery life test video for iOS 27 and iOS 26.7. The six iPhone models tested were: iPhone SE20202, iPhone 11, iPhone 12, iPhone 13, iPhone 15, and iPhone 16. Their battery health was all above 84%, with the iPhone 16 still at 100%. The testing method used Geekbench’s built-in battery life test mode and turned off auto-brightness.
When iOS 27 launched, Apple also released iOS 26.7 alongside it, so users who aren’t ready to upgrade to iOS 27 can update to this more secure version first. However, those still holding off may well still be on iOS 26.6.2, so both versions below will be compared with iOS 27.
First, let’s look at iAppleByte’s iOS 27 test results.
In the iOS 27 version, the iPhone SE2020 has a battery life of 3 hours 20 minutes, the iPhone 11 5 hours 16 minutes, the iPhone 12 5 hours 38 minutes, the iPhone 13 6 hours 48 minutes, the iPhone 15 7 hours 26 minutes, and the iPhone 16 14 hours 40 minutes:
In iOS 26.6.2, battery life is 3 hours 11 minutes for iPhone SE2020, 4 hours 57 minutes for iPhone 11, 5 hours 46 minutes for iPhone 12, 7 hours 2 minutes for iPhone 13, 7 hours 30 minutes for iPhone 15, and 15 hours 3 minutes for iPhone 16:
From the table below, it is clear that after the upgrade, the iPhone 16 showed the largest drop in battery life, losing 23 minutes. Although this number seems quite significant, overall it still has more than 14 hours of battery life, so in terms of user experience there may not be much noticeable difference. The iPhone 11 had the largest increase in battery life among them, gaining 19 minutes. The other models showed no major differences:
| iPhone model | iOS 26.6.2 | iOS 27 | Battery life changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| iPhone SE 2020 | 3 hours 11 minutes | 3 hours and 20 minutes | +9 minutes |
| iPhone 11 | 4 hours 57 minutes | 5 hours 16 minutes | +19 minutes |
| iPhone 12 | 5 hours 46 minutes | 5 hours 38 minutes | -8 minutes |
| iPhone 13 | 7 hours 2 minutes | 6 hours 48 minutes | -14 minutes |
| iPhone 15 | 7 hours 30 minutes | 7 hours 26 minutes | -4 minutes |
| iPhone 16 | 15 hours 3 minutes | 14 hours 40 minutes | -23 minutes |
Next up is iOS 26.7: iPhone SE2020 battery life is 3 hours 08 minutes, iPhone 11 is 5 hours 24 minutes, iPhone 12 is 5 hours 25 minutes, iPhone 13 is 6 hours 26 minutes, iPhone 15 is 8 hours 9 minutes, and iPhone 16 is 13 hours 38 minutes:
Upgrading from iOS 26.7 to iOS 27 makes a huge difference for both iPhone 15 and iPhone 16. The iPhone 16 gains over 1 hour of battery life, which is very noticeable in everyday use—it’s almost safe to say iPhone 16 users must upgrade. But the iPhone 15 meets a different fate: battery life actually drops by 43 minutes:
| iPhone model | iOS 26.7 | iOS 27 | Changes in battery life |
|---|---|---|---|
| iPhone SE 2020 | 3 hours 8 minutes | 3 hours 20 minutes | +12 minutes |
| iPhone 11 | 5 hours 24 minutes | 5 hours 16 minutes | -8 minutes |
| iPhone 12 | 5 hours 25 minutes | 5 hours 38 minutes | +13 minutes |
| iPhone 13 | 6 hours 26 minutes | 6 hours 48 minutes | +22 minutes |
| iPhone 15 | 8 hours 9 minutes | 7 hours 26 minutes | -43 minutes |
| iPhone 16 | 13 hours 38 minutes | 14 hours 40 minutes | +1 hour 2 minutes |
Overall, aside from the iPhone 15 running iOS 26.7, there’s basically no need to worry about battery life getting worse on the others. For more detailed test content, you can watch the original video below.
iOS 27 hands-on video:
iOS 26.6.2 hands-on video:
iOS 26.7 hands-on video:
Source: KOCPC Chinese