One of the biggest reasons I upgrade my iPhone is for better performance and longer battery life, which are the only real upgrades anyway. That’s why it’s been frustrating to see so many iPhone 18 Pro owners, myself included, talking about battery drain issues. Some people say their brand-new phone drops 1% every few minutes. Others report worse battery life than on their older iPhone 14 or 15.
But not everyone is having this problem — a few say their iPhone 18 Pro lasts all day with 40–60% left at night. The mixed experiences make it confusing. After digging into dozens of user reports, here’s what I’ve learned about why this happens and what you can do about it.
It appears that there isn’t a single cause. Instead, several factors seem to be at play:
(Do not worry, our fixes below address these causes)
- Background activity after setup or an update: Insights in Settings > Battery inform you of activities happening in the background that can affect battery life and thermal performance for a while, such as Ongoing iOS Update or Ongoing Device Setup. When the activity finishes, battery life will return to normal.
- Third-party apps: Meta apps (Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook, Messenger) plus TikTok and Telegram are consistently reported as battery hogs, sometimes using power even when the app isn’t open. If an app shows Background Activity in its battery details, you can improve battery life by reducing your use of the app.
- After an update: If you notice that your battery life has decreased after updating your device, wait a few days and then check again. Certain tasks related to the update continue in the background and might affect battery life and thermal performance.
- Display & brightness: Brightness can affect battery life. To maximize battery life, let auto-brightness adjust your display or dim your screen.
- Hardware differences: Some units may just be defective. A handful of users said exchanging the phone solved the problem, especially if you think that your iPhone is overheating.
How to Fix Fast Battery Drain on iPhone 18 Pro
- Give it time: If you notice that your battery life has decreased after updating your device, wait a few days and then check again. While background tasks are ongoing, you might see the Insight Ongoing iOS Update in Settings > Battery.
- Check battery usage by app: Go to Settings > Battery and see which apps use the most power. If Instagram, WhatsApp, or TikTok are at the top, try deleting them for a few days and compare. Also ensure that these apps are up to date.
- Update iOS and apps: Install the latest iOS 27 version, and update all apps.
- Disable draining features: Turn off Always-On Display (Settings > Display & Brightness > Always On Display). Or turn on Low Power Mode: open Settings, tap Battery, tap Power Mode, then turn on Low Power Mode. Lower screen brightness (Settings > Display & Brightness, then drag the slider) and turn on Auto-Brightness (Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size > Auto-Brightness).
- Reset all settings: This option doesn’t erase your personal data, but it does return many system settings to their defaults. Here’s how you can do it:
- Open Settings.
- Tap General.
- Scroll down and select Transfer or Reset iPhone.
- Tap Reset.
- Choose Reset All Settings.
- Enter your passcode if prompted, then confirm.
- Use compatible charging accessories: Charge with the included charging cable and an Apple USB power adapter or other compatible power adapter.
- Test after changes: Monitor battery life after each step. If things don’t improve, it may be a hardware defect, then the only option is to contact Apple.
According to Apple’s tech specs, iPhone 18 Pro offers up to 24 hours of typical use and up to 36 hours of video playback, and iPhone 18 Pro Max up to 30 hours of typical use and up to 45 hours of video playback. If your iPhone 18 Pro battery still can’t last a full day after trying all of the steps above, it’s worth contacting Apple Support. Apple can run diagnostics to see if it’s a hardware issue. You can easily check to see if your device is still under warranty. You may have to replace your battery, and depending on your warranty type, which may cost money.
