One of the new features of iOS 16 is the option to enable the battery percentage in the status bar for iPhone X and later for the first time. However, the option hasn’t been made available for iPhone XR, iPhone 11, and iPhone mini models – until now. iOS 16.1 beta brings the battery percentage indicator to these iPhones.
Battery percentage indicator coming to more iPhones
The first beta of iOS 16.1 for iPhones was released on Wednesday to developers, and it comes with a bunch of new features. But in addition to that, the update also enables the battery percentage in the status bar for iPhone models that were previously not supported by this feature.
Apple never made it clear why the battery percentage indicator wasn’t available for these models. Some users speculated that Apple didn’t like the result, since iPhone XR and iPhone 11 have an LCD with lower pixel density compared to other iPhones. At the same time, iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 13 mini don’t have much screen space in the notch area because of their sizes.
Even a support article from Apple confirmed that the feature wasn’t available for these models. Now, it seems that the company has changed its mind.
Despite this change, the feature works pretty much the same as in iOS 16.0, and not everyone seems to have liked this implementation. As detailed by 9to5Mac’s José Adorno, the battery icon doesn’t match the battery percentage as it drains. This can easily make users believe that the battery is still full while it’s not.
In a poll conducted by 9to5Mac, over 55% of our readers said they liked having the battery percentage back on the iPhone. Of those who responded to the poll, 22% told us they didn’t like the implementation but will end up using it, anyway. Of our readers, 16% had plans to keep the new feature turned off.
More about iOS 16.1
As Apple has just released iOS 16.0 to users, the company is now working on the next update to the iPhone operating system. iOS 16.1 introduces new APIs for Live Activities and iPhone 14 Pro’s Dynamic Island. The update also comes with a new Clean Energy Charging feature, as well as initial support for Matter and the option to delete the Wallet app from the iPhone.
According to Apple, both iOS 16.1 and iPadOS 16.1 (which will be the first release of version 16 for iPads) will be released to the public in October.
Read also:
- Live Activities API returns with iOS 16.1 beta 1, here’s how it works
- iOS 16.1 adds Clean Energy Charging feature to ‘reduce your carbon footprint’
- iOS 16.1 to let users delete Wallet app amid antitrust concerns over Apple Pay [U: Confirmed]
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