iOS 16.5 Update Released Last Week Causing Severe Battery Drain For iPhone Users

The iOS 16.5 update which brought a number of bug fixes is causing battery drain issue for several iPhone users.

Apple's fifth major update to its iOS 16 operating system (OS), iOS 16.5, which was introduced last week is costing iPhone users battery life. The iOS 16.5 update which brought a number of bug fixes is causing battery drain issues for several iPhone users, media reports say. The battery drain issue is affecting both old and new (eligible) iPhone model users.

According to a report, one hour of FaceTime call has led to a massive battery drain where the battery went from 100 per cent to 18 per cent.

One user vented ire on Twitter and posted: "iOS 16.5 battery drains faster than previously, and also charging is slow (from 23% until 100% take 3 hours via the original 20W Apple Charger)."

"Anyone notice how bad the battery life is on iOS 16.5?" another user tweeted.

It is likely that a bug is causing severe battery drain issues for iPhone users post the iOS 16.5 update even as public release of updates usually arrive without issues.

The iPhone maker may have realised the issue and mentioned that iOS 16.6 beta update has a fix for the battery drain issue. The tech giant released iOS 16.6 beta 1 for public beta testers less than a week after the release of iOS 16.5. Even as iOS 16.6 is unlikely to bring major features since Apple is expected to announce iOS 17 at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) slated for June.

It should be mentioned that Apple's latest iOS 16.5 update is compatible with iPhone 8 and later models. The latest iOS 16.5 update brings the new Pride Celebration wallpaper for the iPhone's Lock Screen to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community and culture.

Some of the important bug fixes that are included in Apple's iOS 16.5 update are fixes for Screen Time, Spotlight as well as Podcasts. The iOS 16.5 fixes the bug where Spotlight may become unresponsive, it also fixes an issue where Podcasts in CarPlay may not load content and also fixes the problem where Screen Time settings may reset or not sync across all devices, says a report by MacRumors.

As per Apple's security support documents, the iOS 16.5 and iPadOS 16.5 updates bring a fix for a wide range of security vulnerabilities, including three security flaws that were known to be actively exploited. Two of these security vulnerabilities were fixed via the iOS 16.4.1 and iPadOS 16.4.1 Rapid Security Response updates and are not an issue if users were running iOS 16.4.1 (a). However, another vulnerability is still active until you install the new software.