Getting the most out of your phone's battery is arguably one of the critical features for a smartphone. And the upcoming iOS 14.5 update from Apple has a new tool for ensuring that you're getting accurate information about your battery's capacity
The feature is a battery health recalibration tool, and it's first appeared in the iOS 14.5 beta 6 just released to developers. (Update: iOS 14.5 beta 6 is now available as a public beta, too.) Spotted by 9to5Mac, the recalibration feature will appear whenever your iPhone battery is underperforming.
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Though the feature has yet to go live, Apple already has a support document explaining how the battery health recalibration tool works and what it will do. According to Apple, the tool will fix "inaccurate estimates of battery health reporting."
Currently the Battery Health page of the Battery section in iOS 14's Settings app can show the maximum capacity of your phone's battery, which can be a good indicator as to whether your iPhone can last as long as it's supposed to. An inaccurate number or an inaccurate battery percentage can make it difficult to diagnose battery drain or reduced performance.
From the sound of Apple's description, this recalibration takes place without any intervention on your part. You'll see a message in the Battery Health section telling you that the battery health reporting system is recalibrating and that the process could take a few weeks. If the fix doesn't take, you'll also be alerted, with a possible recommendation about about taking your phone in for service.
Apple says the feature works on the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max. There's no indication as to whether battery health recalibration be limited to just those phones or expanded to older models as well. There's also no mention of any iPhone 12 models.
iOS 14.5 is set to come out at some point this spring, offering a significant number of new features for what would usually be a maintenance upgrade. In addition to the battery recalibration tool, we're expecting to get a new method of unlocking your iPhone with an Apple Watch, a number of Map improvements and the ability to share an Apple Card among multiple users.
