iPhone Slow Down Update: How To Check Your Smartphone's Battery Health, Life

After Apple admitted to purposefully slowing down older iPhone models, some people might be interested in finding out exactly how their battery health is doing.

Apple said it intentionally slows down iPhone models because of the battery, in an effort to avoid unexpected shutdowns on older devices. The revelation led to backlash from iPhone users, and Apple eventually issued an apology on Thursday over the “misunderstanding.”

"First and foremost, we have never — and would never — do anything to intentionally shorten the life of any Apple product, or degrade the user experience to drive customer upgrades,” the company said in a letter to consumers. “Our goal has always been to create products that our customers love, and making iPhones last as long as possible is an important part of that.”

The company also offered a cheaper battery replacement price to customers. As of now, the out-of-warranty battery replacement fee is $79, plus the cost of shipping. However, starting next month, Apple will offer a lower price: $29. The lower cost applies to those who have an iPhone 6 or later starting and will be available worldwide until December 2018. Apple will release more details on the changes soon, the company said.

While the fee is less than $30, users might first want to check out how their battery life’s health is. Luckily, there are a few ways to find out.

Apps To Check Your iPhone Battery Health

There are several apps to check the health of an iPhone battery. One of the apps is called Battery Life, available for free on the App Store. The app tells users how much capacity their battery life has left. The app also has a Raw Data section that provides users with more information about their device’s battery.

Another app for battery health information is called Geekbench4, which is available for $0.99 on the App Store. The app includes a “battery benchmark” that measures the battery life of a device when running processor-intensive apps, like games. The app provides users with battery information, like its overall health, state, level, temperature, voltage and more.

Battery Life Doctor is another free app on the App Store that indicates a device’s battery health. The app provides users with raw data on their battery, battery charge reminders, available time estimations and more. The app also gives users a battery percentage of their device’s battery health. Battery Life Doctor works with iPhones and iPads and has pretty good reviews on the App Store.

One reviewer said:

“I wanted a way to check the overall health of the battery like I can on my Mac. This app seems to fit the bill. I assume the info it’s giving me is correct. I’m at about 82% of a new battery in terms of health, which seems reasonable.”

Besides downloading an app, users can also directly ask Apple about their iPhone’s battery health. iPhone owners can go to an Apple Store and have an employee run a diagnostic test. Users can also go to Apple’s support website and get information about their device by providing the device’s serial number and other details.