Apple using cheaper batteries in iPhone 14 and 15 series that degrade more quickly says tipster

A tipster who has made accurate leaks in the past has claimed that Apple is using cheaper batteries in the iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 series smartphones than it had used in the iPhone 13 series. According to @RGcloudS, the batteries in the iPhone 14 and 15 series incorporate batteries that have a lifespan of 600 cycles on average, while most typical flagship phones use 800 cycle count batteries. The reason for the shortfall in charge cycles is that the cells in each battery are of a lower quality.

This compares with battery cells used in flagship phones under the umbrella of Chinese company BBK which feature “more advanced self-healing cells” with a 1,600 cycle count. This is despite the fact that many of these phones also offer charging speeds at 100W or as high as 240W. It has often been thought that one advantage of the iPhone’s slow charging speeds of up to 27W at the high end was better for battery health. It now seems that iPhone 14 and 15 series users may have the dual disadvantage of having both slower charging and reduced battery lifespans.

It was only in August that reports surfaced that iPhone 14 series owners were experiencing earlier than usual battery degradation issues. Covering the issue, The Verge noted that less than a year into the ownership of their iPhone 14 series phones, users were seeing battery capacity levels as low as 88% – this includes the Wall Street Journal’s tech reporter, Joanna Stern who felt it unusual. The Verge's own staff also saw premature battery health drops in their iPhone 14 models saying, “In previous years, most haven’t seen a drop in reported capacity until two years of use, at least.”

An Apple support page states that an iPhone “battery is designed to retain up to 80% of its original capacity at 500 complete charging cycles.” Apple will replace the battery if it reaches less than 80 percent capacity within twelve months, which it considers to be defective. If it drops to 79% anytime after one year of ownership, then Apple offers a battery replacement service at $99. Assuming iPhone 14 owners were reporting 88% of battery capacity in August had purchased their device in October last year, it could be line-ball in terms of whether their battery is faulty, or performing exactly as Apple designed.

It is interesting to note that purchasers of Apple’s other major products can look forward to more robust battery charge cycle counts. Apple Watch, iPad and MacBook owners can all look forward to enjoying devices that “retain up to 80% of its original capacity at 1000 complete charge cycles.” The key difference between these product lines is that the iPhone models sell in much higher volumes than Apple’s other products and supply chain issues could play a role in this discrepancy. The more cynical might suggest that Apple has also built a very successful servicing business for its iPhones and that it could easily opt to use better batteries.

According to @RGcloudS, however, Apple made the decision to use cheaper batteries in order to offset the costs of including of other newer components to keep prices in check while keeping the "out of the box" experience unchanged. Of course, customers continue to buy iPhones in droves, and “the average customer” doesn’t care about issues like this – at least so the argument goes. No doubt, there will be at least some iPhone 15 series owners will be keeping at least one eye on their battery health over the next 12 months.

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