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The little-known iPhone battery charging hack coming with iOS 18 free upgrade

22 June 2024 , 06:30
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Don't miss the other iPhone battery hacks in the video above

A NIFTY battery charging trick for iPhones has been quietly developed by Apple, and is set to land on devices with iOS 18.

Apple recently unveiled heaps of new iPhone features, as well as its highly anticipated AI offering.

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An iOS beta is a pre-release of the Apple software to a large group of testersCredit: Alamy
The orange segments are periods of time when the iPhone is being charged with a cable that has a wattage too weak for the device
The orange segments are periods of time when the iPhone is being charged with a cable that has a wattage too weak for the deviceCredit: Reddit

As always, Apple headlines with what it thinks are the biggest and best features.

But some smaller, equally useful updates don't get the same air time.

One of those features is Apple's upcoming slow charger warning.

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The feature wasn't even announced by Apple at WWDC 2024.

Instead, eagle-eyed Reddit user, freaktheclown, stumbled across it in the beta version of iOS 18.

After installing iOS 18's beta, the Reddit user noted a new amber warning on the battery page in settings.

In the graph showing your battery deterioration and power ups throughout the day, there are new orange segments,

The segments are periods of time when the iPhone is being charged with a cable that has a wattage too weak for the device.

During these 'amber' periods, the beta tester admitted they were connected to a 5W charger.

A 5W charger is the traditional Apple charger that used to come with iPhones.

But as Apple handsets have grown more powerful, so have their chargers.

The iPhone 14, for example, is not listed as a compatible device with the 5W charger - due to the fact that it requires the power of Apple's newer 20W cables.

The 5W and 20W chargers have now been dubbed 'Slow' and 'Fast' chargers.

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These terms will now be reflected in Apple's battery tracking, helping customers see where they can be getting a speedier charge.

It means users are less likely to waste their time waiting for a slow charger to slugglishly power up their device.

Millie Turner

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