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Your iPhone Is Getting a Simple Upgrade to Extend Its Battery Life

It’s kind of nerdy, but it’s also a feature that could genuinely be helpful.

Smartphone screen showing settings options including "Set Background Sounds Volume," "Set Battery Charge Limit," "Set Classic Invert," and "Set Closed Captions+SDH.Tucker Bowe for Gear Patrol
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By Tucker Bowe

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Apple is gearing up to roll out iOS 26.4, a software update that will introduce several new features and ways to customize your iPhone.

One of them aims to extend your iPhone’s long-term battery life.

New Charge Limits

Close-up of a smartphone screen showing Shortcuts and Instagram app icons with a notification badge on Instagram.
The new feature will make you get familiar with the Shortcuts app, if you aren’t already.
Tucker Bowe for Gear Patrol

When Apple introduced iOS 18 in fall 2024, it introduced a lesser-known feature called Charge Limit, which gave users greater control on what percentage their iPhone’s charged to, be it 80-, 85-, 90- or 95-percent.

The idea is that, like all devices with a lithium-ion battery, it’s not good to constantly charge your iPhone to 100%, as it degrades faster. This is one of the main reasons older iPhones can’t hold a charge as long.

And with Charge Limit, it aims to benefit people who keep their iPhones connected to power throughout the day, as they don’t always need to be at 100 percent.

(For those who go most of the day without charging their iPhone, it’s probably best to just turn on “Optimized Battery Charging,” which is a separate setting that charges your iPhone to 80 percent. Then, after learning your habits, your iPhone will only charge to 100 percent right before you take it off the charger.)

Smartphone screen showing a shortcut setup to set battery charge limit with an option to ask each time.
The Shortcuts apps will have a new option to “Set Battery Charge Limit.”
Tucker Bowe for Gear Patrol
Smartphone screen showing a battery charge limit setting with options from 80% to 100%, currently set to 80%.
Here, you can set your iPhone to charge to specific levels based on specific variables.
Tucker Bowe for Gear Patrol

Set Battery Charge Limit

When iOS 26.4 rolls out, it will introduce a new way to customize how you set your iPhone’s Charge Limit. Specifically, the software adds a “Set Battery Charge Limit” option in the Shortcuts app.

This will allow you to automate and specify Charge Limits for various situations. So when you’re traveling, sleeping, or in situations where you’re not connected to Wi-Fi, your iPhone will automatically charge to those levels based on the specific Charge Limit and scenario you’ve set.

Admittedly, it’s a fairly nerdy or pro-user feature, as not everybody goes that deep into Shortcuts, but it extends Charge Limits to a wide range of simple or oddly specific scenarios. And it gives you greater control over your iPhone’s battery settings.

Close-up of a smartphone screen showing a notification that the iPhone has been updated to iOS 26.4.
The next software update, iOS 26.4, is expected to roll out by the end of this month. The above is shown running the public beta.
Tucker Bowe for Gear Patrol

When’s it coming?

The public beta for iOS 26.4 is out now.

Apple is expected to officially roll out iOS 26.4 to the masses sometime in Spring 2026. It could come as early as next week. Think March 23rd.

About the Author: Tucker Bowe has been on Gear Patrol’s editorial team since 2014. With a passion for consumer tech and hi-fi, he tracks everything from headphones and turntables to smartphones and wearables. If it lights up or makes noise, he probably covers it.

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