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Your current iPhone battery could last longer with iOS 19, thanks to AI

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This story is part of our complete Apple WWDC coverage
Updated less than 1 day ago

Imagine downloading a software update for your current iPhone and the battery life getting extended. That could be a reality thanks to iOS 19.

According to a report by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, we can expect iOS 19 to leverage AI in such a way as to actually improve battery life efficiency on iPhone.

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This will apparently be classed as an Apple Intelligence feature that’s called battery management.

Possibly the best part is that this new battery life extension could arrive as soon as this September, when iOS 19 is expected to roll out following its announcement at WWDC 2025 in June.

What is iOS 19 battery management?

According to the report, Apple is planning an AI battery management system with the next software update. But how does it work?

Allegedly the AI will work to analyze just how a person uses their iPhone and will then make adjustments to best conserve power.

Gurman writes: “To create the technology — part of the Apple Intelligence platform — the company is using battery data it has collected from users’ devices to understand trends and make predictions for when it should lower the power draw of certain applications or features.”

He goes on to say that the “people with knowledge of the matter” spoke about a lock-screen indicator. This should intelligently be able to show just how long it will take to charge up the device back to full.

This all makes sense following rumours of the iPhone 17 Air potentially having battery life issues due to its slimmer form.

Gurman points this out directing saying: “The driving force behind the battery feature is the company’s upcoming slimmed-down iPhone 17, which will be offered as an alternative to the standard and Pro models. Because of its thinner design, the new iPhone will have a much smaller battery — and fewer hours of life than other models.”

Since this is an iOS 19 feature it may well apply to iPads too, as well as older iPhones. Although since this is part of Apple Intelligence, it will only work on devices capable of supporting that – so iPhone 15 Pro Max or newer.

Luke Edwards
Luke has over two decades of experience covering tech, science and health. Among many others, Luke writes about health tech…
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