The problem emerged clearly immediately after the release of the new operating system last September 15th, so much so that Apple itself had to officially intervene to admit its existence, while reassuring its customers: the installation of iOS 26 in fact, it may lead to a reduction in battery life, at least in the first few days following the upgrade.
There have been numerous complaints from those eager to experiment with the new functions available on theirs iPhonethey put it to the test right away, realizing however the negative impact that the new operating system had on both the performance and battery life of the smartphone. Everything is normal, according to what was communicated by the company, according to which the installation of iOS 26 can temporarily affect both the overheating of the device and the battery life.
But why does all this happen? The Cupertino giant explains that after the upgrade, if you want, you can already take full advantage of your iPhone, but in reality this involves a extra consumption of system resources, the real source of the problem. The phone, in fact, requires a “settling” phase, and continues to work in the background to complete a series of operations, such as indexing data and files, updating apps and downloading additional resources. Although not visible, these activities have repercussions on the system, causing overheating and reduction of autonomy, albeit only temporarily: once this phase is completed, the battery should return to operating as it did before the upgrade.
Having said this, however, many new functions of iOS 26, such as Liquid Glass and advanced animations, may require more resources, so Apple’s declared objective is to intervene with the next updates to limit the extent of their weight on the batteries of electronic devices.
If you encounter such problems, you can check whether the problem is a consequence of the update or not. Simply open Settings-Battery and check Insights and Suggestions: if it appears a “Ongoing iOS Update” everything is ok, so simply the system is still busy in the phases following the upgrade and you have to wait a few days to appreciate the real impact of iOS 26 on the battery.
The best suggestion, in these cases, is not to “squeeze” the system too much right away, and to leave the iPhone charged and connected to Wi-Fi overnight for a couple of days: downloads and indexing proceed better and more fluidly with continuous power and a stable connection. It is advisable to avoid prolonged and heavy sessions at least as long as the “Ongoing iOS Update” remains: doing so reduces overheating and the negative impact on the battery.
The problem becomes more worrying when the same situation arises at the end of the adjustment process and the warning disappears.
At this point through Battery Settings it is possible to evaluate which apps are consuming the most energy at the top of the list: Apple has made valid guidelines available to its customers to reduce consumption and optimize battery performance. Instead, it is possible to consider the replacement of the same if its maximum capacity falls below 80%.