It's safe to say iOS 16 has been a hit so far, with iPhone users going wild for personalised lock screens, new Focus modes and more. One tiny detail that didn't go down well was the new battery status icon – and it seems Apple is already tweaking it.
Ever since the 'notch' was introduced to the iPhone in 2017, the battery icon hasn't featured a number depicting the percentage of juice left. This finally returned in iOS 16, but the execution was, shall we say, a little unpopular. (For all the intel on the new iPhones, check out our guide to the iPhone 14.)
A close-up of the iOS 16 battery icon (left) vs the iOS 16.1 version (right) (Image credit: @viticci on Twitter)
The issue is that the battery icon no longer shows the juice depleting horizontally – instead, all users have to go on is the number plastered over the icon. For many, it's proving confusing to see a combination of a full battery icon and a low number sitting on top of it. But in the latest iOS 16 beta, it seems Apple has found a solution (and it looks a lot like those fan-made edits we saw last month).
Yep, in a rare instance of Apple taking users' design grumbles on board, the company has edited the icon so that, rather than only turning red when the battery goes below 20%, the icon will now slowly deplete in real time.
There we go: Apple has tweaked the design of the battery percentage icon in iOS 16.1 beta 2. It now shows the proper charge level 🎉 pic.twitter.com/15tvFUCaPxSeptember 20, 2022
So glad Apple listened and made the battery percentage icon change dynamically (iOS 16.1 B2) pic.twitter.com/7aS21wjz5nSeptember 20, 2022
It's easy to see why Apple decided to make the change. The current design is hardly the most accessible option – there are countless complaints on Twitter from iPhone users who've glanced at their device and mistakenly believed their battery is full despite the percentage number. And when we've had to make do with just the 'bar' indicator for years, it's no surprise that this is the way people are used to gauging their battery life.
While there's no official word on when iOS 16.1 will drop, if it's already available in beta then a public release can't be far behind. In the meantime, you can still enjoy those awesome lock screens, as well as lesser-known accessibility features like Sound Recognition. If you want the best iPhone experience available right here and now, check out today's best iPhone 14 Pro deals below.
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Daniel John is Design Editor at Creative Bloq. He reports on the worlds of design, branding and lifestyle tech, and has covered several industry events including Milan Design Week, OFFF Barcelona and Adobe Max in Los Angeles.
