Ever since the world first saw iOS 16’s reintroduced battery percentage indicator early last month, people have expressed strong opinions about the icon. Many, including Engadget Associate Editor Cherlynn Low, he felt that Apple could have done a better job with it. In its current iteration, the icon remains static, displaying only a percentage, until your iPhone’s battery runs below 20 percent capacity. It’s a design decision that makes the indicator less useful than it should be, as in most cases you need to look closely to see how much battery you have left.
Fortunately, Apple is working on an improved version of the icon. Earlier today, the company released the second beta version of iOS 16.1 (via MacRumors). Among other things, the update introduces an adjustment to the battery percentage indicator. Now, instead of the icon only turning red when your iPhone’s battery drops below 20 percent charge, it will also gradually drain as the battery drains. It’s a small change, but it improves usability.
Beta 2 also includes a lock screen tweak. When you plug in your phone to charge, a battery percentage indicator will briefly appear above the time, bringing back a feature from iOS 15. On the iPhone 14 Pro, you’ll also see one appear within Dynamic Island. The next version of iOS 16 does not yet have a release date. We’ll also note here that Apple could further tweak some of the changes found in beta two.
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