Adaptive Power in iOS 26 may extend iPhone battery life

Adaptive Power in iOS 26 uses on-device intelligence to make selective performance adjustments to help save battery; it is on by default for iPhone 17 models and iPhone Air and is available to other iPhones that support Apple Intelligence.

Since the iOS 26 update, Apple has added a feature called Adaptive Power that quietly adjusts performance to conserve battery. The feature is enabled by default on Apple's newest phones and is available on models that support Apple Intelligence. It runs in the background and begins making adjustments after about a week of learning a user’s habits. The feature is intended to help mainly in power-hungry situations like recording video, editing photos, or playing games. Key details: - Adaptive Power uses on-device intelligence to predict when you’ll need extra battery and makes performance adjustments to help your battery last longer. - Apple says the feature takes about a week to analyze recent usage patterns before it becomes active. - Adaptive Power is enabled by default on iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max and iPhone Air. - The feature is available on iPhones that support Apple Intelligence, including iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max, iPhone Air, iPhone 16 and 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max, iPhone 16e, and iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max. - On iOS 26, the Adaptive Power toggle appears in Settings > Battery > Power Mode, and there is an option for Adaptive Power Notifications to alert when it activates. Summary: Adaptive Power aims to reduce battery drain in higher-usage situations by selectively de-prioritizing tasks and adjusting performance after an initial learning period. How much it improves day-to-day battery life across different users and models will become clearer as more people adopt iOS 26 and newer phones are used. Undetermined at this time.