Your iPhone has a hidden number that reveals when it’s time to get an upgrade

EVERY iPhone features a hidden number that reveals when it’s time to upgrade.

It’s worth checking it every so often to see how your gadget is faring.

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When you buy a new iPhone, it will have very good battery life.

But over time, the maximum capacity of the battery decreases.

Eventually, a battery can perform so poorly that you may struggle to even make it through a day between charges.

Thankfully it’s very easy to check exactly how much capacity your iPhone battery has left.

When you buy a new iPhone, it’s considered to have a 100% battery.

And this percentage will reduce as you deplete and recharge the device.

So after 500 charging “cycles” – or about two years – you’d expect to be on around 80%.

That means you’re getting 20% less life out of a full iPhone charge compared to when it was new.

Go into Settings > Battery > Battery Health & Charging.

Then look under Maximum Capacity to see what your battery performance percentage is.

This is a measure of battery capacity relative to when it was new,” Apple explains.

“Lower capacity may result in fewer hours of usage between charges.”

If you’re below 80%, you might find it very annoying.

What to do if iPhone battery capacity is low

One option is to simply upgrade your iPhone.

If the battery capacity is low then you’ve probably had it for a few years, so upgrading isn’t a bad idea.

But a far cheaper option is to simply buy an iPhone battery replacement from Apple.

This means you’ll have “like new” battery life without forking out for a brand new model.

The price of an iPhone battery replacement can vary depending on your model.

The Apple website has a calculator that explains how much you’ll have to pay for each model.

You can find it here.

“Use our ‘Get an Estimate’ tool to review potential costs,” Apple explains.

It’s a good time to do it, given that the price of an iPhone battery swap is about to rise.

From March 1, an iPhone battery swap will cost £20 more in the UK and an extra $20 in the US for millions of handsets.

Replacing an iPhone 13, iPhone 12, iPhone 11 or iPhone X battery will set you back £89 / $89 after March 1.

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