The always-on screen of the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max always shows something in standby, whether it’s the wallpaper, clock and widgets or, since iOS 16.2, a mix of all that. This display requires energy, which has an impact on autonomy. Yes, but by how much?
According to our experience, the battery of smartphones holds up well even if the screen is always on, hitting the battery. The YouTube channel PhoneBuff wanted to get to the bottom of it with iPhone 14 Pros restored to iOS 16.2 without a Cloud connection, without apps other than Apple’s, and in airplane mode.
In the first test, after 8 hours in a room with a brightness of 150 lux, the iPhone displaying the wallpaper and the one displaying only the clock lost only 2 points of autonomy , a solid 98% battery for both. iPhone with nothing still has 100% battery.
Same test, but this time in a room where the brightness is 1,000 lux. The difference is important since the iPhone must ensure that the wallpaper is visible even in standby. But again, after 8 hours, little change: the iPhone with the wallpaper has a 97% battery, the iPhone with just the clock 98%, and the control iPhone 100%.
After 24 hours, the iPhone with the wallpaper has an 80% battery, compared to 84% for the iPhone with the clock (and still 100% for the control iPhone).
This test has the merit of existing, but it is hardly representative of real use. In real life, the iPhone will be connected to the network, the screen will refresh the information of the widgets, it will find itself face down on the table, the energy saving mode will be activated, or the mode of concentration Rest , or it will be in a bag, or we will move away from it… Apple has listed the different scenarios in which the always-on screen of the device turns off completely:
iPhone 14 Pro: the 8 scenarios for turning off the always-on screen
PhoneBuff also compared the iPhone 14 Pro in sleep mode with the wallpaper disabled, against a Galaxy S22 (which does not show the wallpaper in sleep). First observation: the position of the clock constantly varies on the Samsung smartphone, certainly to avoid burn-in effects on the OLED screen. Apple may have found another solution because the clock stays in place on the iPhone!
24 hours later, the batteries of the two smartphones are tied: 84%. Interestingly, the control Galaxy S22, which displays nothing at all, lost juice (-5 points), which was not the case for the control iPhone.