Apple is developing an innovative “adaptive power” feature as part of its upcoming iOS 26, designed to extend battery longevity. The feature, detailed in the iOS 26 developer beta, allows the iPhone to make “small performance adjustments to extend your battery life,” such as reducing screen brightness and permitting certain tasks to take longer.
Additionally, Apple has indicated that it may automatically switch on Low Power Mode, which limits background activities, once the battery level drops to 20 percent. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman first revealed the prospect of an AI-enhanced battery optimization feature last month.
According to Gurman, this new feature will utilize the “battery data it has collected from users’ devices” to identify which applications could have their power consumption minimized. This approach is akin to Google’s Adaptive Battery feature for Android, which leverages AI to evaluate app usage patterns, enabling it to deactivate less frequently used apps running in the background.
In the iOS 26 developer beta, the Adaptive Power toggle is conveniently located next to Low Power Mode within the Battery > Power Mode section of the Settings menu.
Apple intends to expand access to the iOS 26 beta to a larger group of users next month, targeting a full public release in the fall. In addition to the novel “Liquid Glass” design, iOS 26 will introduce numerous enhancements, including updates to the Camera, Phone, Safari, and Messages applications, along with Apple Intelligence-infused live translation capabilities for text messages and calls.