The latest iOS 16 beta just added back one of my favorite features

By Prakhar Khanna Published August 8, 2022

The notch on the iPhones changed some things forever. It changed the way the iPhones looked. It changed the way we unlock our phones. But it also removed one of the features that we didn’t know we needed until it was gone. We are talking about the battery percentage level, which used to be shown in the iPhone status bar. Well, guess what? It is making a comeback in iOS 16 beta 5.

The latest iOS 16 beta adds the feature of showing battery percentage in the status bar within the battery icon. For reference, the feature has been absent from all the iPhones with Face ID because the presence of the notch didn’t give Apple enough space for adding the battery percentage – up until iOS 16 beta 5. To recall, iOS 15 and previous versions used a battery icon to show the battery level. Since iOS 15 is still the current stable version of iOS, most people are using it. And it doesn’t clearly display the battery percentage left on your iPhone.

Battery percentage on iPhone 12. — Prakhar Khanna/Digital Trends

But the feature that gives us a better idea of battery status at a glance is now here. It was intriguing to see if Apple added it just for the iPhone 13 series, which has a smaller notch compared to predecessors, or the iPhone 12 and earlier models as well. So I installed the iOS 16 beta 5 on my wide-notched iPhone 12. And I’m happy to report that it’s working on iPhone 12 as well! To enable the feature, you need to go to Settings > Battery and toggle on the Battery Percentage option.

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Going into the details, the battery icon colors are based on the status of the battery and the iPhone’s background. For instance, it is green while the phone is charging, white or black when in normal use, and yellow when the low-power mode is turned on. While iOS 16 is currently available in public beta and beta 5 is only for developers, you are likely to get the stable version with the launch of the iPhone 14 in September.

It should be noted that beta features are sometimes removed from the stable build due to various reasons. A new feature in an iOS beta isn’t a 100% guarantee it remains in the public build. But we hope this one stays, especially because Apple received so much backlash when it was removed with the iPhone X. Having to wait this long to get the battery percentage indicator back isn’t ideal, but we’re just happy it’s finally returned.

Mobile Writer

Prakhar Khanna is an independent consumer tech journalist. He contributes to Digital Trends' Mobile section with features and…

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