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New iOS updates typically bring exciting features and quality of life changes alongside them, yet the latest version has caused plenty of unrest amongst iPhone owners after people notice a concerning trend with their batteries.
Not every new iOS update can arrive with something you'll notice and take advantage of, but even the most stereotypically 'boring' editions often implement device-saving cybersecurity fixes that you definitely won't want to miss out on.
What's emerged as an alarming occurrence in recent years, however, is how often new updates appear to 'break' essential systems within some of the more popular Apple devices, and these typically relate to the health of each gadget's battery.
You can have the most powerful hardware or the most advanced software, but if your device's battery isn't up to scratch then it'll all be for nothing unfortunately, so you can understand why this new update is causing a lot of stress.
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Many expected the negative focus of iOS 26.5 to be on the addition of adverts within the Maps app, yet there have been countless reports of iPhone battery degradation overnight — and seemingly no way of reverting to the previous state before the update.
Sharing their experiences on the r/iOSBeta subreddit's official iOS 26.5 discussion thread, many users have pointed towards brutal battery falloffs after downloading the update, indicating that Apple might need to tweak some things before it goes live for everyone else.
"I literally unplugged it two hours ago and haven't really much [used] it and it drained 50% of the battery out of nowhere," one user highlights alongside a screenshot of their battery status page, adding that their battery health capacity still reportedly 90% for an iPhone 15 Pro Max.
Another added a simple 'ouch' to a screenshot showing 76% battery capacity despite only charging an hour ago, alongside usage that's around three times greater than the average for the day that it was used.
These issues have even extended to the hardware side of things, with a third user reporting that they're "not able to charge it while switched on," adding that it "continues to lose energy more quickly even while plugged in and on and/or used."
This understandably has made people want to roll back to the previous update as it can dramatically impact their experience when using their phone, but having this data should hopefully help Apple iron out any major creases that have appeared with the new version, making it much better for the actual launch in the near future.
