every time iOS After an update is launched, in addition to new features, what everyone is most concerned about is often “Battery lifeHas it gotten worse?” Especially for people who use mobile phones heavily every day, power is a sense of security. this time Apple The launch of iOS 26.4 has also caused many users to wait and see whether they should update.
The well-known YouTube channel iAppleBytes also conducted actual testing at the first time, using a consistent testing environment and tools to compare various models. iPhone Battery life difference after update. Although this type of test is different from daily use scenarios, it has certain reference value in “comparison under the same conditions”.
So what is the actual performance of iOS 26.4, and whether there will be significant differences between different generations of iPhones. This data may give you a clearer direction.
▲Picture source:iAppleBytes
iOS 26.4 battery life test is out! Take a look at the battery performance of 6 iPhone models at once
Apple officially released iOS 26.4 (version number 23E246) a few days ago. The biggest concern of many users before the update is still whether battery life performance will be affected. After all, system updates sometimes bring optimizations, but they may also be accompanied by additional power consumption.
This test conducted by iAppleBytes continued their usual standard process. After all devices are updated, leave it for about 26 hours to allow the system to stabilize and confirm that no background programs continue to run before entering the formal test.
The test environment also maintains consistent conditions, including screen brightness fixed at 25%, automatic brightness adjustment turned off, and connected to the same Wi-Fi network, ensuring fair comparisons between different models.
▲Picture source:iAppleBytes
This time the Geekbench 4 battery stress test is used. The core concept of this tool is to allow the phone to continue performing high-load operations, such as repetitive computing tasks and keeping the screen on for a long time, thereby quickly consuming power and calculating battery life.
Although this kind of test is different from the general situation of browsing social media and watching videos, the advantage is that “the load of each device is exactly the same”, so it is more suitable for comparing the differences between different models or different system versions.
The Geekbench test is mainly divided into two modes, one is a complete test from 100% battery all the way to 0%, and the other is a short-term test to estimate the results. This time the complete discharge mode is used, so the data reliability is relatively high.
▲Picture source:iAppleBytes
iOS 26.4 battery life of each model
According to the test results, the battery life performance of 6 iPhone models under iOS 26.4 is as follows:
- iPhone SE (2nd generation): 3 hours 20 minutes
- iPhone 11: 5 hours 27 minutes
- iPhone 12: 5 hours 55 minutes
- iPhone 13: 5 hours 24 minutes
- iPhone 15: 9 hours 19 minutes
- iPhone 16: 14 hours 59 minutes
In addition, for comparison, the iPhone XR is still stuck on iOS 18.7.7, and its test battery life is 4 hours and 29 minutes.
Judging from the data, the gap between different generations is still quite obvious. In particular, the iPhone 16 has a battery life of almost 15 hours, which is quite far behind the older models.
▲Picture source:iAppleBytes
Geekbench battery score comparison
In addition to actual battery life, Geekbench also provides a battery score that represents the amount of computing done while draining the battery. The higher the score, the better the overall performance and battery life.
The scores for each model are as follows:
- iPhone SE (2nd generation): 1988 points
- iPhone 11: 3260 points
- iPhone 12: 3546 points
- iPhone 13: 3240 points
- iPhone 15: 5590 points
- iPhone 16: 8990 points
The comparison score of iPhone XR is 2733 points. It can be observed that the scores of the recent two generations of models have significantly improved, showing that the new processor has indeed improved in performance and power consumption control.
▲Picture source:iAppleBytes
How to read the test results
If you look purely at the data, iOS 26.4 does not have an obvious decline in battery life. Judging from the past test trends of iAppleBytes, the performance this time is roughly similar to iOS 26.3.1, which is a stable level.
For newer models, the battery life advantage is still obvious, while the older models remain within a reasonable range and do not experience a significant decline.
However, we should also be reminded that this type of stress test is an extreme situation, and the battery life performance during daily use will still be affected by factors such as usage habits, app behavior, and network status. Therefore, the actual body feeling may be slightly different from the test data.
▲Picture source:iAppleBytes
Conclusion
Overall, iOS 26.4 is considered a “stable update” in terms of battery life and has no obvious negative impact. For users who are waiting to see whether to upgrade, if you are worried about power consumption, you can basically rest assured with this update.
Of course, the battery life gap between different models still exists, and the new iPhone has more obvious advantages in performance and power management. If you are using an older model, you may need to adjust your usage habits or battery health management to maintain your experience.
If your focus is system stability and feature updates, then iOS 26.4 is still a version worth upgrading to. As for whether the battery life has been improved, it may not be surprising, but at least it has not hindered it, which is an acceptable result for most people.
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Source: KOCPC Chinese