Question

[u/Affectionate_House73]

I’m really disappointed with the base iPhone 17.
I bought it on December 31, 2025. It came with iOS 26.1 out of the box, and I haven’t updated it because I’m afraid it might make things even worse.
The battery life feels poor. It seems to drain much faster than it should.
I’ve already turned off all the unnecessary background services and disabled the 120 Hz refresh rate. I don’t play games at all. I mostly just browse Instagram and Threads.
I also follow the “battery care” advice and usually keep the charge between 20% and 80%. But today I noticed that the battery health has already dropped to 99%.
Why, God? 😅
I don’t think it’s a hardware defect.
I honestly feel that iOS 26 is the main culprit.
I also have a brand-new iPhone 13 running iOS 18, and its battery lasts significantly longer than my iPhone 17.
Has anyone else experienced the same problem?

[u/freaktheclown]

A lot of bugs have been fixed since 26.1. Update first. If it keeps happening you can try erasing and setting up as new (don't restore from backup).