Simple Tips To Preserve iPhone 14 And iPhone 14 Pro Battery Health

Planning to keep your iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone Pro, or Pro Max for a long time? Here are some tips to preserve battery health.
If you're planning to keep your iPhone 14 or iPhone 14 Pro for a long period of time, you should preserve its battery health by following some basic tips
The internet is on fire right now with iPhone 15 related news. A lot of people are going to upgrade, while some may not later this year. If you are from the latter group and plan to keep your iPhone 14 or iPhone 14 Pro for an extended period of time, maybe two to three years, then I am going to share some tips on how to preserve battery health so that you get the most out of your phone's battery while it's in your ownership.
Use original or Apple certified accessories to charge up



This is the most obvious thing you should do while charging up your iPhone 14 or iPhone 14 Pro. Use the cable that came with your phone, or if you're using a third-party one, make sure it's MFi certified - just look for the 'Made for iPhone' badge, and you're good to go.
Also, make sure that you're either using a wall charger made by Apple or something that's high quality, if going for a third-party one. A quick search on the internet will list down a number of chargers that are made with high-quality materials and circuitry. A bad charger is all you need to ruin your iPhone and its battery instantly. Just spend the extra money and get a charger that will last you an eternity. Great chargers are extremely hard to break down, and if they do, they will never ever damage the connected device.
Stop worrying about charge cycles
Smartphone batteries are usually good for up to 500 charge cycles before hitting the 80% health mark. But that charge cycle number is absolutely useless if your usage habits are terrible. I've seen MacBook Pro laptops with just 15 charge cycles at 90% battery health. How? Because they were left on charge and at 100% at all times.
On the other end of the spectrum, you may come across a device with more than 100 charge cycles with 100% battery health because they were used carefully. Now read further about how you too can be careful with your iPhone's battery health.
Use a fast charger or a slow one, it's up to you
Fast chargers won't hurt your battery as long as the ambient temperature is low and the phone does not get too hot. If you constantly find yourself in a situation where your iPhone gets hot while charging, just use a slow charger that tops out at 12W. Anything that does not generate too much heat is good for battery health.
Use the 40-80 rule - but carefully
People swear by this rule, and I have tried it as well. Does it work? Only if you thoroughly respect how it works. If you don't, you'll end up losing battery health. I'm not going to take a deep dive into how Lithium-ion batteries work because a lot of people have done it already. But I'm going to tell you that keeping your charge level extremely high or extremely low is going to take a toll on your battery health. So, if you're going to maintain a charge between the 40% and 80% mark, make sure you drain the battery all the way from 80 to 40 before charging up again to 80. Don't hold the charge at 80%, and do not hold it at 40%, either.
If you're doing what I wrote above, you'll see how your battery health remains steady for a long time. Now the part that no one talks about when it comes to this rule - is awful battery life. While you're busy maintaining battery life between 40% and 80%, there's 40% of the total battery life you're never ever going to use, which will give you the illusion of horrible battery life on your iPhone. That's completely normal.
Making the battery drop to 20% or maybe even lower occasionally is not bad for the battery either. There are certain things that aren't in our control - for example, you're away from a power outlet or don't have access to a power bank. In those cases, it's fine to let the battery slide down a little until you can take things back into your own hands.
Use Optimized Battery Charging
While everyone out there will go deep into the science of how optimized charging works, but I'll make things easier by telling you that your iPhone's battery won't charge beyond the 80% mark unless the battery cools down. Therefore make sure the feature is turned on.
You can do this by going to Settings > Battery > Battery Health & Charging and turning the Optimized Battery Charging option on.



Keeping the feature turned off means the iPhone will charge all the way to 100% without any sort of pauses in between. That's simply not good for battery health at all.
Do not use your iPhone while charging (obviously)
Anything that generates heat is going to hurt battery health. If you're using your iPhone while charging, you're generating excess heat that will not only affect battery performance, but battery health, too. When you put your iPhone on a charge, make sure your iPhone is never ever used during the charging cycle. Avoid using it completely if you can.
While charging, remove the case for better dissipation of heat. A chunky case might be great for protecting your phone, but it will generate a lot of heat, especially if you're wirelessly charging.
Avoid wireless chargers in hot weather
Speaking of wireless charging, if you can avoid it completely, that's great. But, if you're charging in a room that's cool, especially air-conditioned, then it's fine. Also, make sure that the iPhone's case comes off while going ahead with wireless charging. While it's a convenient feature, wireless chargers generate way too much heat compared to wired charging.



If possible, I will highly recommend using wired charging while on the go, especially during summer. Sure, slapping on that expensive MagSafe Battery Pack will charge you up, but it comes at a cost which you will see on the battery health report page, eventually.
Wait for your iPhone to cool down before using it
If you feel that your iPhone is too hot, quite literally, do not start using it immediately. This is extremely important when you take your iPhone off the charger or are planning to put it on charge. Let the iPhone sit around for a while so that it reaches normal temperature - should not feel hot to the touch - and then start using it or place it on charge.
Though iPhone batteries are made to resist high temperatures, that does not mean they will forever stay perfect in the battery health department. Extreme temperatures are your iPhone's worst enemy.
Conclusion
If you don't feel like reading what I've written above, here's the short version of it all:

Use official accessories or at least Apple certified ones.
Keep your iPhone between 40% and 80%, and do not keep the battery too low or too high very often.
Use the Optimized Charging feature built into your iPhone.
Do not use your iPhone while charging.
Avoid wireless chargers completely if you can.
Let your iPhone cool down before you start to use it or charge it up.

Apart from the above pointers, it's absolutely fine to drop your iPhone's battery close to zero occasionally, especially during situations where you have no access to a charger. Taking the battery to 100% before going on a long commute is fine from time to time. Apple's built-in software and hardware wizardry ensures your iPhone's battery stays protected and cool by dropping wattage significantly as that percentage bar comes closer to full.
Written by Uzair Ghani