iPhone Battery Draining Faster After iOS 26.2? Here's Why
Zachary McAuliffe

Joseph Maldonado/CNET/Apple
Apple released iOS 26.2 on Dec. 12, and the update brings a few new settings to your iPhone including another way to adjust some Liquid Glass elements on your device, as well as some important bug fixes. If you downloaded the update and noticed your device's battery was draining faster than usual, Apple wrote online that it's normal and -- most importantly -- temporary.

Apple released a statement in September saying if your iPhone battery drains quickly after downloading an update, it's nothing to worry about.

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"This is normal, as your device needs time to complete the setup process in the background, including indexing data and files for search, downloading new assets, and updating apps," Apple wrote in a support page. "Immediately after completing an update, particularly a major release, you might notice a temporary impact on battery life and thermal performance."

But your personal iPhone usage could be contributing to battery drain, too. Apple said some features might need more resources to function, so depending on how much you use your iPhone, you might "notice a small impact on performance and/or battery life."

So while your device might experience some additional battery drain at first, it should be a temporary issue after you download iOS 26.2. If you find you're using your iPhone more after downloading iOS 26.2, that could be contributing to your battery drain, too.

For more iOS news, here's what to know about iOS 26.2 and what was included in iOS 26.1. You can also check out our iOS 26 cheat sheet for other tips and tricks.