Those iPhone 14 battery complaints sound worrying

Although the iPhone 15 should soon be appearing, the iPhone 14 is still less than a year old. You would hope that after 11 months, the battery would still be going strong but there seems to be an increasing number of complaints about less than glowing battery health.

Most complaints aren't specifically noting shorter charge duration, but rather that the phone's own stats are stating that battery health has degraded, in some cases by 10% (see our pick of the best camera phones for alternatives).

We've seen several posts on social media in recent weeks from iPhone Pro owners reporting that the stated battery capacity on their device has fallen to below 90% according to their phone's battery health check. While there isn't necessarily a direct correlation with usage time, it's likely that this will lead the phone to stay charged for less time.

But not everyone is seeing the same issue. Some people say their battery capacity is faring better than with previous models – some still have 100% six months after purchase. It's not clear what's causing the difference. It could be down to individual usage of the phone since some people will use their device more intensively and charge it more frequently. 

It's also possible that climatic conditions in some regions are having an impact, with many countries having seen record hot summers. Either way, more people seem to be raising concerns about the phenomenon, including Sam Kohl of Apple news outlet AppleTrack, who described the level of battery degradation as "unacceptable".

This isn't the first time we've seen complaints about the iPhone 14 Pro battery and Pro Max battery. Last month, we reported on a Twitter feed in which people were sharing less-than-ideal iPhone Pro battery health stats. But the number of unhappy customers seems to be growing (you can check the battery health stats of your own iPhone in the settings).

There's no word from Apple on the matter, although one person who said their battery capacity was showing at 84 per cent when they bought it new says they were given a replacement. The iPhone 15 is expected to be released next month, and many are hoping that it will provide an improvement.