Apple recently released iOS 14.6 to users, which contains some security fixes and other updates. However, it seems that something might have slipped through the cracks in Apple's QA testing.
Some users on various forums on the internet like — Apple's own support site — have reported abnormal battery drain, and overheating in some cases, since updating to iOS 14.6. This is more than just a few people reporting the problem, since more and more comments and threads keep appearing.
- iPhone 13: Everything we know about Apple's next phone
- Here's what we know about iOS 15 right before WWDC 2021
- Plus: Xiaomi breakthrough charges phone to 100% in 8 minutes
At time of writing, Apple has not confirmed its knowledge of any battery drain or overheating problems. That hasn't stopped more and more people from adding their own experiences to the pile. Some people have said that using a device as new as the iPhone 12 mini has caused overheating, even during basic tasks like checking email or browsing the web.
Since Apple hasn't acknowledged this yet, we don't know of any sort of fix for those affected. The usual factory reset solution may help, but that's a pretty drastic option to take on a mere chance of it working. We wouldn't recommend going that route unless it's the last possible option — we do understand, however, how frustrating abnormally high battery drain can be.
It's possible that iOS 14.6 introduced some kind of bug into the battery sensors, perhaps making the system think that the battery is lower than it is. Or perhaps the update wasn't properly tested or optimized and is just using far more resources than it needs to. It's hard to tell right now, and we won't know more until Apple confirms or denies the problem.
We should note that this is not a widespread issue with all devices running iOS 14.6. For instance, we have not noticed our iPhone 12 Pro unit's battery draining any faster than before since updating from iOS 14.5. Your mileage may vary.
