Battery health has become a hot topic among YouTubers, with many claiming to have the secret to keeping your battery at a perfect 100%. But is it really possible? In this post, we’ll delve into the truth behind battery health and why that 100% number is misleading.
Apple claims that after 500 charging cycles, the iPhone’s battery health will drop to 80%. And if we do a bit of math, for every 25 times the iPhone is charged, the battery health will drop by 1%.
Currently, my iPhone 13 Pro Max has a battery health of 88%, indicating that it has undergone approximately 300 charge cycles.
However, after checking the internal battery cycle count of my iPhone 13 Pro Max, it shows that the phone has actually charged 410 times.
How is this possible? To understand this, you first need to comprehend what Full-Charge Capacity (FCC) and Nominal Charge Capacity (NCC) are. The FCC represents the maximum capacity of the battery when it was brand new, while the NCC reflects its current capacity.
Now, iPhones come with lithium-ion batteries which don’t operate at a constant maximum capacity. Every time you go through a full charge cycle, you lose a small percentage of capacity.
The MaximumFCC of my iPhone is 4506 mAh, which is higher than its rated capacity of 4352 mAh. This means that the battery shipped with a higher capacity than advertised.
Now, since my iPhone received an extra 150 mAh of battery capacity, it obviously takes longer for the counter to tick down from 100% battery health to 99%.
And this isn’t something that only happens with iPhones; almost every phone ships with a slightly higher battery capacity than stated.
So, the actual battery health of my iPhone is not 88%, it’s actually 84%.
Final Thoughts
It’s easy to get caught up in the pursuit of maintaining a 100% battery health. However, this number is often deceptive and doesn’t accurately represent the true capacity of your battery.
YouTubers and numerous articles claiming to have tricks to maximize battery health are simply lucky to have batteries that started with higher-than-rated capacities.
Instead of obsessing over your battery health, focus on practical tips to extend your battery life, such as optimizing settings and reducing power-consuming activities.
I’m Jaskaran Singh, a passionate tech enthusiast from Delhi, now based in Ahmedabad. My five-year journey as a tech writer has culminated in my role as the Editor in Chief at TheWorldsBestAndWorst, where I continue to explore and share the myriad facets of technology with my audience. Beyond writing, I also run a YouTube channel, with a community of 50,000 subscribers.
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