How to check iPhone battery health and charge cycle count?

One of the biggest worries for iPhone owners is the degrading battery health. Although it’s quite common among Android phones too, the pinch for Apple users is felt by the expensive replacement costs. The Cupertino-based tech giant recommends getting your iPhone fitted with a new battery once its health falls below 80 per cent. However, users can still continue to use their device without getting a replacement but at the cost of slower performance and obviously reduced battery backup.

Apple lets iPhone owners check their device’s battery health easily. iPhone 15 and newer models also come with additional built-in tools like battery cycle count and limit charging. The charge cycle on any iPhone is directly correlated with the battery health. In this article, we guide you through the steps of checking both the battery health and charge cycle count on your iPhone.

How to check iPhone battery health?

As per Apple, iPhone 14 and older models are said to retain up to 80 per cent of their original capacity after a 500-cycle count. On the other hand, iPhone 15 and newer models are designed to retain capacity until it reaches 1,000 cycles. Monitoring your iPhone’s battery condition is quite straightforward. 

1. Open the Settings app on your phone.

2. Scroll to Battery

3. Tap on Battery Health and Charging.

On this page, you’ll see Maximum Capacity, Peak Performance Capability, and Optimized Battery Charging. As the name suggests, maximum capacity shows the remaining capacity of the iPhone’s battery. Peak Performance Capability displays a message on how the iPhone is performing. It will mention that the battery is significantly degraded and peak performance may be impacted if the capacity is below 70 per cent. Even if the capacity drops below 80 per cent, an important message recommending battery replacement would be displayed. 

ALSO READ: Tips to ensure your iPhone battery life stays optimised

Another useful feature that Apple has built into the iPhone 15 series and later is the charge cycle count. It is a valuable metric to determine the device’s battery condition. One charge cycle happens when 100 per cent of the iPhone’s battery capacity has been depleted. The confusing part? It doesn’t have to be in one go. Multiple recharge cycles in a single day or over many days count as one cycle. 

For eg: The battery drops to 80 per cent and you refuel it to 100 per cent only once counting as a fraction of the cycle. But topping it up five times in a single day i.e. the rest 20 per cent from 80 per cent will be considered as a one-charge cycle. 

Similarly, in another case, if you use 75 per cent of the battery in one or two days, refuel it fully, and then use 25 per cent – this constitutes a full charge cycle because you will have discharged a total of 100 per cent of the capacity. 

How to check the charge cycle count?

On iPhone 15 and later with iOS 17.4 and newer, follow the steps below:

1. Open Settings app.
2. Scroll down to Battery.
3. Tap on Battery Health.

Here, you will see details of the battery manufacture date and when it was first used. Below that you will get a cycle count.

Checking your battery health and charge cycle count is quite easy with the aforementioned steps on your iPhone.