According to a reliable leaker, Apple uses less expensive batteries in the iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 series of devices than it did in the iPhone 13 series. The batteries in the iPhone 14 and 15 series, according to @RGcloudS, have an average lifespan of 600 cycles while those in most other premium smartphones have an 800 cycle count. Because each battery's cells are of inferior quality, there are fewer charge cycles available.
This contrasts with "more advanced self-healing cells" with a 1,600 cycle count that are found in premium phones manufactured by the Chinese manufacturer BBK. Even if many of these phones also offer charging speeds of 100W or even 240W, this is the case. It has long been believed that one benefit of the iPhone's slow charging rates, which may reach 27W at their maximum, was greater battery health. Users of the iPhone 14 and 15 series may now experience a twin disadvantage of slower charging and shorter battery life.
Reports of iPhone 14 series owners encountering battery depletion difficulties earlier than usual didn't start to circulate until August. Less than a year after purchasing their iPhone 14 series phones, consumers were reporting battery capacity levels as low as 88%. This included Joanna Stern, a tech reporter for the Wall Street Journal, who thought it was uncommon. Even the staff of The Verge saw early battery health declines in their iPhone 14 models, noting that "in previous years, most haven't seen a drop in reported capacity until two years of use, at least."
According to a website of support from Apple, an iPhone "battery is designed to retain up to 80% of its original capacity at 500 complete charging cycles." If the battery loses more than 80% of its capacity in the first 12 months, Apple will replace it free of charge. After a year of ownership, Apple offers a battery replacement service for $99 if it ever lowers to 79%. If owners of iPhone 14s who reported 88% battery capacity in August had bought their phones in October of the previous year, it's possible that their batteries are either defective or functioning as Apple intended.
It's interesting to note that customers of Apple's other flagship products should expect batteries with higher cycle counts of charges. Owners of the Apple Watch, iPad, and MacBook may anticipate using products that "retain up to 80% of its original capacity at 1000 complete charge cycles." The main distinction between these product lines is that Apple's iPhone models sell in far higher volumes than the company's other items, and supply chain problems may be a factor in this gap. The more pessimistic could argue that Apple could easily choose to utilize stronger batteries because it has created a very successful maintenance business for its iPhones.
However, according to @RGcloudS, Apple decided to use less
expensive batteries to balance the costs of adding other more modern components
to keep prices in control while maintaining the "out of the box"
experience. Customers continue to purchase iPhones in large numbers, and,
supposedly, "the average customer" is unconcerned with such matters.
The battery health of at least some owners of an iPhone 15 series device will
undoubtedly be monitored over the course of the following 12 months.
