iOS 26 Introduces AI-Powered Adaptive Power Mode for Extended iPhone Battery Life

iOS 26: Extend iPhone Battery Life With Adaptive Power Mode

In iOS 26, currently in beta, Apple offers a new Adaptive Power Mode that works alongside the existing Low Power Mode to intelligently extend your iPhone's battery life. Unlike Low Power Mode's heavy restrictions, this AI-powered feature makes subtle adjustments that you're barely meant to notice. Here's how it works. When your battery usage runs higher than usual, Adaptive Power Mode automatically makes small performance tweaks to help your iPhone last longer. Apple says this includes slightly dimming the display brightness or allowing some tasks to "take a little longer" to complete. The feature works in the background without the limitations of Low Power Mode, although the latter may still be activated if your device depletes to a 20% charge level. Adaptive Power Mode requires Apple Intelligence, which limits availability to the following iPhone models: The feature won't work on iPhone 14 Pro models or earlier, since they lack the necessary AI processing capabilities. However, if you're the proud owner of an iPhone 17 (launching September 2025), rest assured Adaptive Power Mode is supported. Follow these steps to enable the feature, which is turned off by default: Once enabled, your iPhone will automatically monitor battery usage patterns and make adjustments when needed. You don't need to manage the feature manually, as it works entirely behind the scenes. iOS 26 will see a general release in September 2025.

New iPhone feature doubles battery life -- but only these models will get it

iOS 26 new feature adaptive power mode: iOS 26 introduces an adaptive power mode, potentially doubling iPhone battery life by intelligently adjusting performance. This feature, however, is exclusive to iPhone 15 Pro, Pro Max, and iPhone 16 models due to its reliance on Apple Intelligence and the A17/A18 chips. While older iPhones miss out, the upcoming iPhone 17 is expected to include this power-saving capability. iOS 26 new feature adaptive power mode: Apple recently released a fascinating new feature in iOS 26 that might make the iPhone battery last twice as long, with one of the underrated features, which is the new adaptive power mode that helps to extend the life of an iPhone by making "small performance adjustments to extend your battery life," as per a report. This feature lowers the screen brightness, and "allowing some activities to take a little longer" is just one example of how it can do this, as per the Tom's Guide report. However, unlike the current low power mode, adaptive power mode continuously works "when your battery usage is higher than usual," according to the report. While many iPhone users had been waiting for this feature, this new power mode is unfortunately not available to all iPhones running iOS 26, as per the Tom's Guide report. ALSO READ: After Figma's blockbuster IPO, CEO Dylan Field made $5 billion without a degree! Do Gen Z need college to succeed? This feature is just limited to the newer iPhones that support Apple Intelligence, which means an iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, and any of the current iPhone 16 models. Here's the full list, as compiled by the Tom's Guide report: ALSO READ: As the July jobs report paints a grim picture, 114 companies plan layoffs in August - is yours on the list? But if a person has any other older models like an iPhone 14 Pro Max, then they are out of luck because it appears that adaptive power mode is an AI-powered feature, according to the Tom's Guide report. One of the reasons that Apple might be keeping the feature exclusive to Apple Intelligence is that it could be that the A17 Pro and A18 chips used by these supported iPhones are better optimized to handle this task, which would explain this decision, as reported by Tom's Guide. ALSO READ: Top economist sounds alarm: US economy teetering on recession and is on the brink of big trouble As per Tom's Guide, it is expected that iPhone 17 devices will offer adaptive power mode whenever they're released, considering how they are likely to be running iOS 26 out of the box. According to the report, iOS 26 is currently available as a public beta, with a full release expected in the fall of this year. Can I get Adaptive Power Mode on iPhone 14 Pro or older? No, it's only available on newer iPhones with Apple Intelligence support. Why didn't Apple include this on all iPhones? Older iPhones likely don't have the chip power to handle the AI processing needed for this feature.