The new secret trick of iOS 26 is called “Adaptive Power.” Forget the frustrating Low Power Mode; this feature will optimize your iPhone’s battery life.
Battery wear is the Achilles’ heel of any smartphone, but Apple has finally found a clever solution. With the arrival of iOS 26, a function named Adaptive Power is being introduced. This feature extends battery life without ever compromising your user experience.
The Secret of Prolonged Battery Life on iOS 26
Adaptive Power is an intelligent system that leverages the computational power of Apple Intelligence. Simply put, your iPhone will first undergo a phase of observing your habits.
iOS 26 features a new “Adaptive Power” mode to help extend your battery life 👀 pic.twitter.com/a9uWfsQcFS
— Apple Hub (@theapplehub) June 9, 2025
However, Apple admits that this secret function of iOS 26 is not magical right away. The system requires about a week of learning to analyze your routine. During this time, your iPhone collects data on your usage. When do you use your phone intensively? Which applications consume the most energy? And at what times do you need maximum performance?
Once this calibration period is complete, Adaptive Power takes action. It optimizes consumption in various ways: Brightness is slightly reduced, limited to a maximum of 3. Background tasks and automatic syncs will be restricted.
The CPU frequency will also be reduced since the processor runs a bit slower when you aren’t using heavy apps. Moreover, Low Power Mode automatically activates whenever the battery drops below the critical level of 20%.
Apple has been attentive, ensuring that this Adaptive Power never affects performance when using features that require a lot of power, such as photo/video capture or gaming.
Which iPhones Are Invited to the Party?
As I mentioned, since Adaptive Power relies on the power of Apple Intelligence, it is unfortunately not accessible to everyone. Only models equipped with chips capable of supporting local AI can benefit from it.
If you own a standard iPhone 15 or an earlier model, you won’t have access to this feature. The iPhones compatible with Adaptive Power are the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max, the 16 series, including the 16, 16 Plus, 16 Pro, and 16 Pro Max, as well as the iPhones 17, 17 Pro, 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air.
Note that for models prior to the iPhone 17, this feature must be enabled manually in Settings, then Battery, and finally Power Mode. Only the latest generations (iPhone 17, iPhone Air, and Pro models) come with this feature activated by default.
