The notch on the iPhone X originally caused the removal of this long-lost setting.
This fall, Apple will release iOS 16, which will have both new features and reintroduction of an older feature. The battery level of your iPhone will once more be visible in the status bar from any location on the device.
After the release of the iPhone X, which introduced the notch — the black bar at the top of your device that houses a speaker and camera — there wasn’t enough screen real estate left to keep the battery percentage up there, so Apple nixed the feature from iOS.
If you’re short on time, read more about the fastest way to charge your iPhone.
Sure, you can examine the exact % in the Control Center by swiping down from the top right corner of your iPhone, but that just isn’t the same. No app or the home screen has a way to quickly check the battery level. Additionally, it’s difficult to determine the precise percentage from the battery icon alone, which is bad if your iPhone is about to die.
Thankfully, the battery % number is once again included in the status bar, inside of the current battery symbol, with iOS 16’s latest developer beta (5th) and public beta (3rd) releases. What you need to know about the new feature is provided below.
And here’s how to download the third public beta of iOS 16, which includes the new battery % function, if you want to start using it right away. The feature is also present in the fifth developer beta, but unless you’re an Apple developer, we don’t really advise downloading it.
How to restore the battery % to the iOS 16 status bar
You only need to be using the most recent iOS 16 public beta (3rd) or developer beta to see your battery level in the status bar (5th).
After the update, you should be able to access the battery icon in the top-right corner of your screen from anywhere on your iPhone and see the % displayed there. In this method, you can keep a careful check on whether your iPhone’s battery is full or nearly empty and know when to start charging it.
Although the setting is enabled by default, you can make sure it works by going to Settings > Battery and toggling on the Battery Percentage option. The battery icon on your device will turn entirely green when it is charging and display the percentage, while it will turn entirely yellow when it is in low power mode and display the percentage once more.