Your iPhone’s battery indicator makes it clear when your phone is charging (green), or running low (red), but what if you need specific numbers? The good news is that, starting with iOS 16.1, and on newer versions, it’s simple to see the actual battery percentage in the status bar. Let’s see how to turn it on and some other ways to track your power consumption.
Enabling Battery Percentage in the status bar
On iPhones with Touch ID (like an iPhone 8, an iPhone SE, etc.), the battery percentage appears by default. But if you have an iPhone with Face ID (like the iPhone X or later), you will have to turn this feature on yourself.
- Open Settings: Go to Launch the Settings app on your iPhone.
- Go to Battery: Tap on the Battery option and scroll down.
- Enable Battery Percentage: Turn on Toggle the Battery Percentage switch.
When you do, the battery percentage will start to show up on the screen inside the battery icon in the top right of the screen.
- Below 20%: The icon turns red.
- Charging: The icon turns green.
Show a Batterie Widget on Your Home Screen
The Batteries Widget will provide you with more specific battery info if, for example, you’d like to see the level of charge of your AirPods or Apple Watch.
- Press and Hold the Home Screen: Once you’re in the right place, tap and hold on an empty area until the icons begin to jiggle.
- Tap the Plus (+) Icon: This opens the widget menu.
- Search for Batteries: Or click on or type ‘Batteries’ in the search bar.
- Select a Widget Style: You can select from small, medium and large widget sizes.
- Add the Widget: Move your finger to “Add Widget”, then click where you want to place it.
If you use more than one Apple device or if you had multiple instruments that you sync to with iTunes, this widget is especially useful since it shows the battery levels of any Apple accessories you have synced to your iPhone in addition to your iPhone.
Updating to iOS 16 — Why You Should.
If you’re on an older version of iOS, the move to iOS 16 or newer is worth it. By the way, it has also brought a host of new holes and better performance, other than displaying the battery percentage.
Stay Informed, Stay Charged!
If you don’t have the status bar percentage enabled or using the Batteries widget, it’s easier than ever to keep an eye on your iPhone’s battery life. Never have to guess again and always know when its time to recharge!