iPhone 17 Series Ships With iOS 26's Adaptive Power Mode Enabled by Default
The iPhone Air, iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max have the iOS 26 Adaptive Power option enabled by default, Apple said today in a support document that explains the feature.
Adaptive Power is meant to adjust the iPhone's power draw on days when you are using more battery power than normal. It can adjust power draw, lower screen brightness by three percent, and limit background activity. It's also designed to activate Low Power mode when the iPhone's battery drops to 20 percent.
While Adaptive Power is available for the iPhone 17 models, iPhone 16 models, and the iPhone 15 Pro models, it is only turned on automatically on the iPhone 17 models. It is off by default on iPhone 16 models, the iPhone 15 Pro, and the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
If you have an iPhone 15 Pro or any iPhone 16 model and want to opt in to Adaptive Power, you can do so by opening up the Settings app, tapping on Battery, tapping on Power Mode, and then toggling Adaptive Power on.
iPhone 17 users who want to turn Adaptive Power off can do so using the same steps.
Adaptive Power uses on-device intelligence, which is why it is only available on iPhones that support Apple Intelligence. Apple says that it predicts when you need extra battery life based on recent usage patterns, and it adjusts accordingly. Adaptive Power does not interfere with tasks that require maximum performance, like using the camera or playing games in Game Mode.
All of the iPhone 17 models have extended battery life, but the iPhone Air has the lowest battery life of the bunch. It can last for 27 hours when watching videos, but that can be extended to 40 hours with Apple's $99 MagSafe Battery.
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