iPhone owners say iOS 15.4 is causing serious battery drain

This week, Apple rolled out iOS 15.4. If you have a supported device, you can download the new software update right now. The update is packed with great new features, including the ability to unlock an iPhone with Face ID while wearing a mask. But as with any new software, some users are running into issues after updating. Ever since iOS 15.4 launched on Monday, iPhone owners have been taking to Twitter to complain about battery drain.

iOS 15.4 causing battery drain issues

Every time Apple releases an iOS update, iPhone owners start complaining about battery life. It seems that iOS 15.4 is no exception, as Twitter is full of reports about serious battery drain. Here’s a small sampling of the complaints as of Thursday:

As Daily Mail notes, battery drain is not usually permanent. In fact, ZDNet’s Adrian Kingsley-Hughes explained why battery drain happens back in 2020:

Installing a new OS on an iPhone triggers a lot of stuff to go on in the background, from indexing to recalibrating the battery, and this can go on for hours or even days. Not only does this consume power, but the battery recalibration can give the impression that the battery is draining more rapidly when in fact it isn’t. Add to this the dual factor of a lot of app updates happening following a new release, combined with a lot of new features available that may put more drain on an older handset.

Basically, give your iPhone a few days to recalibrate before you start panicking. Chances are that your battery life will be back to normal soon enough. Of course, depending on how old your phone is, it’s possible that your battery has started to degrade.

You can see how your battery is doing by going to Settings > Battery > Battery Health. My iPhone 11, for example, is down to 83% maximum capacity after two and a half years of daily use. As such, updates may impact my battery life more severely.

Best new features in iOS 15.4

Battery drain aside, there are a bunch of great reasons to install iOS 15.4 on your iPhone. As noted above, iOS 15.4 allows users to unlock their iPhone with Face ID while wearing a mask. This would have been even more useful a year ago when mask mandates were still active in many states, but it’s a useful addition to the list of features nevertheless.

iOS 15.4 also brings a new American voice to Siri, improved Live Text integration in Notes and Reminders, Tap to Pay on iPhone, the ability to add notes to Keychain passwords, and a new anti-stalking prompt for AirTags. Plus, a bunch of new emojis are now available.

iOS 15 is compatible with all of the same iPhone models as iOS 14. As such, if you have any version of iOS 15 on your iPhone already, you can update to iOS 15.4 immediately. And even if you do have to deal with increased battery drain, you should always update ASAP.

More iPhone coverage: For more iPhone news, visit our iPhone 13 guide.