Don’t say we didn’t warn you—but hold off on installing iOS 14.6 for now, as there’s a major battery drain issue, probably the worst one we’ve seen in the history of iOS. Hey, at least we still have a cellular signal after this update!
Apple released iOS 14.6 and more on Monday, which included support for Apple Card Family in the USA and Podcast subscriptions, to go with some bug fixes.
But it appears there is a major battery life problem and heat issue. Our iPhone 12 Pro Max saw its battery drain down quickly to 20% and was also getting warm to the touch after yesterday’s update. We rebooted our iPhone and chalked it up as iOS doing things in the background, and waited it out.
But this morning, after unplugging our iPhone in the morning, the battery life quickly drained from 100% to 35% in a span of four hours. Also, the iPhone 12 Pro Max was also very warm, so much so that we noticed it in our pocket.
iOS 14.6 produces significant battery drain, a reduction in battery health, the phone gets very hot. This is very noticeable when listening to podcasts. iPhone 11 Pro Max, 256 GB, iOS 14.6. #iOS14.6
— Jarrid Brown (@himjawa) May 25, 2021
Hey @Apple ! What about testing your iOS update before general release?
iOS 14.6 just set a new record in battery drain, and seems to damage battery health as well 👏🏼 👏🏼 @applesupport @tim_cook @MacRumours @PCmag @CNBCtech @CNNtech @SamsungMobile pic.twitter.com/cKGX1U0tOz— Stephane Pedrazzi (@StephPedrazzi) May 25, 2021
Others online are also seeing this iOS 14.6 battery drain issue on the iPhone. For now, we’ve force closed all apps in the background, but even then, after writing this post, our battery life has dipped from 35% to 32%.
Beta testers of iOS 14.6 experienced this battery drain issue dating back to RC1 from April, so it’s odd Apple hasn’t fixed it. The final version of iOS 14.6 is the same build as RC2.
If you’ve already installed iOS 14.6 and you’re dealing with this battery drain issue, try enabling Low Power Mode right away and also force close apps that are causing the most battery usage (Settings > Battery > Battery Usage by App).
How’s your iPhone battery life in iOS 14.6 right now (we’re now at 31%)?
