On the 5th of July, I showed you how liquid glass animations can impact your battery. In this screenshot from my previous video, you can see that what iOS 18 can do with 1% battery. iOS 26 did it with 13%. But back then, my iPhone 16 Pro Max was running iOS 26 developer beta 2. A lot of you requested to do the same test after the stable release, which I did. So, let me show you if things improved. For this test, I chose four scenarios that all iPhone users have to do on daily basis regardless they are light or heavy users, which are checking the notification center, open and close apps, scrolling in firstpart apps, which is Apple photos in this test, and finally unlocking the phone. I will do each task 150 times by hand to make sure it mimics actual usage. I chose this number based on the latest studies that suggest that we unlock our smartphones 150 times a day. Similarly, we get up to 150 notifications daily. Beside how alarming the numbers are, think about how Apple's liquid glass heavy animations could impact your iPhone's battery.
I will use the same footage from my previous video when my 16 Pro Max was running iOS 18 and to compare this to iOS 26 to measure the battery usage and heat I get from the same phone on both versions. On the left I have the 16 Pro Max running the stable version of iOS 26 and on the right I have the same phone running iOS 18.5. The screen brightness is calibrated on the same light meter which is about 50% and the starting battery is 80%. I also used the same wallpaper, clear icons, and the home screen layout as my previous video to avoid any discrepancies. Now, let's begin the test. And the first one is to check the notification center 150 times. Then, I will measure the battery usage and temperature after each test. I know checking the notification center 150 times back to back is not a common scenario, but we will get an estimate of the difference between both versions under the same conditions.
We all agree that iOS 26 has the coolest and most realistic glass animation in the market when you pull down the notification center, but it's not as cool on your battery or CPU. This animation alone requires a lot of processing power. Plus, we do this action between 100 to 150 times a day. So, after trying this for 150 times back to back on both versions, here is what I found. Starting with the thermals, iOS 26 raised the 16 Pro Max's temperature to 40.8°. 8° C, while the same action on iOS 18.5 on the same phone was only 27.8. It's a 13° difference, which is insane. What's even more alarming is the battery usage. iOS 26 lost 4% battery, going down from 80% to 76, while iOS 18 didn't lose any battery just yet. It's still at 80%. So overall, the iPhone lost four times more battery and generated extra 13° of heat under the same conditions. The numbers are about the same when compared to developer beta 2, but with a slightly more heat.
So far, the stable version didn't make any difference. The second test is to open and close Safari 150 times back to back. Apple updated the open and close animation in developer beta 6, which made its way to the stable version. That's different from the one I compared in my previous video. So, let's see if the results will remain the same or things will it change. After the 150 times, the 16 Pro Max's temperature, the jump to 40.9°, which is slightly hotter than the 40.4 of developer beta 2. This number should only be seen when I play a heavy game. But iOS 26 can reach this number by just opening and the closing apps, which is too much. In contrast, the 16 Pro Max remained much cooler with iOS 18 to max out at 28.1°, and that's at 12.8° gap. What's even more shocking is the 16 Pro Max is still at the same 80% battery we started with on iOS 18, while on the newer version, it went down from 76 to 74. So, it lost two more% in the second test. And that's exactly the same when compared to developer beta 2. So far, iOS 26 consumes six times more battery than iOS 18 under the same conditions.
The third test is to do some scrolling in Apple photos, which is one of the best examples of Apple's liquid glass in firstpart apps. I will do 150 scrolls. A pair of an up and down swipe will be counted as one scroll. It's also worth noting that on developer beta 2, the 16 Pro Max started to be extremely laggy 5 minutes after starting this test, which didn't happen with the stable version.
So, we can consider this as an improvement. But when it comes to the numbers, the temperature maxed out at 43.4°, which is 3° hotter than developer beta 2, and a lot more than the 29.6° of iOS 18, which is a 13.8° gap. Plus, the 16 Pro Max is still holding its 80% battery without losing a single percentage point on iOS 18 just yet. While on iOS 26, the battery went down from the 74% of the previous test to 71%, which is a 3% loss, which is the same as developer beta 2. That means that since we started this comparison, iOS 26 consumed 9 times more battery than iOS 18 under the same conditions. Now, let's do the final test. But first, let me tell you about my wallpaper packs. If you like any of the wallpapers you see now on the screen, they are available for sale on my Patreon page.
Whether you use iOS 26 or iOS 18, they look great either way, and you will find the download link in the description. And now, let's go back to the comparison for the last test to unlock the phone 150 times on both versions. I started with 71% battery on iOS 26 and 80% on iOS 18. At this point, I lost hope that the stable version of iOS 26 will make any difference. It delivered the same numbers of developer beta 2, but with more heat. I didn't expect Apple's liquid glass to have that much of an impact on the battery, but this is something all iPhone users have to live with from now on.
It doesn't mean that I don't like iOS 26 design. It actually looks gorgeous, but this is the trade-off. Anyway, after 150 unlocks, the temperature was at 43.6°, which is again worse than the 40.4 4° of developer beta 2 and the 30.6° of iOS 18. And the battery went down from 71 to 67, losing 4% more in this test alone, while iOS 18 lost its first percentage point after running all four tests to be at 79%. Now, let's sum up the numbers. Revealing the notification center 150 times, iOS 26 consumed 4% battery and raised the 16 Pro Max's temperature to 40.8°C. 8° C, while iOS 18 remained at the same 80% with a maximum temperature of 27.8°. Opening and the closing Safari, 150 times consumed 2% battery, and the temperature was at 40.9° on iOS 26 versus 0% loss in battery and a much lower temperature of 28.1 on iOS 18.
In the third test, which includes 150 scrolls in Apple Photos, iOS 26 consumed 3% battery and reached the temperature of 43.4°, while iOS 18 didn't lose any percentage points at this stage since the beginning, and the temperature was at 29.6°. Lastly, in the 150 unlocks comparison, iOS 26 lost another 4% battery and reached the temperature of 43.6°, 6°. While on iOS 18, the iPhone lost 1% after running all tests and ended the comparison with 30.6° Celsius.
So, in total, the 16 Pro Max lost 13% battery with iOS 26 versus 1% on iOS 18, which is a 13 times more battery usage just because of Apple's liquid glass. Not to mention that iOS 26 reached 43.6° while the maximum temperature of iOS 18 was 30.6. 6, which is a massive difference. So, this is the real deal. Now, I compared the stable version of iOS 18 to the stable version of iOS 26. We might see improvements over time, but it's also possible that things will remain the same. But either way, iOS 26 will have a big impact on your battery. Even if Apple cut this number by half, we are talking about 13 times more battery usage in four scenarios that no one can go around. By this, I'm done with the comparison. And please let me know in the comments what do you think..
