iOS 17 has surprised me with one useful upgrade

The iPhone 15 is expected to launch in a few months time, and with it should be an all new operating system for the iPhone range. That's not news – we already got a pretty comprehensive run through of the big changes at WWDC 2023.

That includes a range of little changes. For example, Contact Posters – which are kind of like a digital business card in your phone – isn't a game changing feature, but it's a nice little addition to help you navigate sending contact information more freely.

Recently, I've started using the public beta version of iOS 17, to try out some of the new features first hand. And one thing has really struck me, which wasn't mentioned as part of the new features.

In the 24 hours between installing the beta and sitting here to write this, my battery life has been dramatically better. It's particularly noticeable for screen-off battery usage, but even in use it seems to be holding up a little better.

For example, I tend to charge my battery to around 95% before bed. When using iOS 16, I'd usually wake up to figure in the low 80s. No bother, just pop it back on charge for 20 minutes or so before I leave. With this though, I was still on 91% the next morning. That's significantly better.

That trend has continued throughout the day. By late afternoon, my battery was sat on 64%. Normally, I'd expect it to be somewhere around 50% by that time. Again, it was never really an issue before, but I won't complain about having more juice.

It's not clear what's causing this either. It's reasonable to assume that the operating system has been optimised for more efficient use, though that is an assumption. If that is the case, there's also no guarantee that the processes which cause that will make it through to the final public release.

For now, then, I'll just bask in the added battery life afforded to me. You can also get access to the beta version of the software right now. If you'd prefer to wait for the full release, it's expected to launch sometime in September, based on historic release schedules.