Welcome back to another video about Apple's liquid glass animations battery usage. This time I will do the same test on iOS 26.2 to see if there is any improvements in the animation's efficiency. So without further ado, let's jump in. If you are new here, let me give you a quick summary about this test or feel free to skip to the next chapter if you did watch the previous videos.
The test includes four scenarios that all iPhone users have to do on daily basis. Plus, they heavily rely on the new liquid glass animations, which are checking the notification center, open and close apps, scrolling in first party 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 day. Before starting the test, there is a bit of history to talk about to be able to follow along. iOS 18 was able to finish the test I just explained with 1% battery usage, while iOS 26.0 consumed 13%. And here's the scorecard of both versions. So, you can pause the video or take a screenshot for reference. Then, I did the same test again on iOS 26.1 using the tented and the clear options. Both consumed the same 7% which is a 50% improvement over iOS 26.0. And here's the scorecard comparing both. As far as there is no difference between tinted and the clear in the battery consumption. This time I will do the test using the clear option and replace tinted with the reduced transparency setting under accessibility which is a lot of you requested in the comments of my previous video.
Both will be compared to the old footage of iOS 26.1 set to the clear option. Now, let's prepare for the test. First, I'm using the same 16 Pro Max I used in my previous videos. The phone is running the latest stable version of iOS 26.2 as shown now on the screen. The battery capacity is still 100% as always. The screen brightness is calibrated to match the previous videos with the same wallpaper, clear icons, and the home screen layout to avoid any discrepancies. The starting battery is 80% and by the end of each round, I will measure the battery and temperature. So, let's begin. The first test is to check the notification center 150 times.
I initially had high hopes for iOS 26.2 after seeing the 50% improvement of 26.1 over 26.0. But halfway through, I started to see more battery drain with the newer version when both are set to clear, which is unexpected. So after trying this for 150 times, here is what happened. Starting with the thermals, the temperatures in Celsius from left to right are 37.6 6, 39.7, and 34.9. 26.2 thermals are not only worse, but the clear option consumed 3% battery, while on 26.1 the battery was still at 80%. Which is also the case with the reduced transparency toggle enabled on iOS 26.2. It seems like the latest version is not as efficient as I expected. The second test is to open and close Safari 150 times back to back. Apple did an amazing job in refining the animations with every update. So, let's see how this could impact the battery.
After 150 times, the 16 Pro Max's temperatures from left to right are 40.7, 42.5, and 37.7, which is again worse than 26.1, but all consumed the same 2% battery this time. Before jumping to the next round, if you want to give your iOS 26 a fresh new look, check out my exclusive wallpapers. They work really well with the depth effect and special scene features which makes your lock screen look unique and gorgeous. These wallpapers are available for download through my Patreon's page. You can find the download link in the description. And now let's get back to the video. 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. And it's also worth mentioning that the reduced transparency toggle is making a noticeable difference in the visuals and animations.
So let's see how much is it better in battery usage. After 150 scrolls, the temperatures are 38.4, 39.3, and 37.1. Battery consumption wise, 26.2 2 consumed 2% with the clear option and 1% with the reduced transparency which matches what iOS 26.1 achieved with the more demanding clear option. Now let's do the final round which is unlocking the phone 150 times. I started this round with 73% on iOS 26.2 set to clear while the reduced transparency of 26.2 and the clear option on 26.1 are neck to neck at 77%. After 150 unlocks, the temperatures from left to right are 41.9, 42.1, and 41.7. So, minor differences between all three. In the battery consumption, 26.2 consumed the same 3% in both scenarios. While 26.1 is the worst for the first time, consuming 4%.
And now, let's sum up the numbers, revealing the notification center 150 times, iOS 26.2 was worse in the thermals, reaching 37.6 6 and 39.7°, while 26.1 maxed out at 34.9. Battery wise, 26.2 with the clear option consumed 3% battery, while on 26.1 the battery was still at 80%, which is also the case with the reduced transparency option enabled on iOS 26.2. Opening and closing Safari 150 times consumed 2% battery in all scenarios and the temperatures from left to right were 40.7 42.5 and 37.7. In the third test which includes 150 scrolls in Apple photos 26.2 set to clear was the worst losing 2% battery and only 1% lost with the other two. And the temperatures from left to right are 38.4 39.3 and 37.1. Lastly, in the 150 unlocks comparison, iOS 26.2 did the best, consuming the same 3% with the clear and reduced transparency options, while 26.1 consumed 4%. And here are the temperatures from left to right, 41.9, 42.1, and 41.7. Overall, iOS 26.2 set to clear consumed 10% battery, which is worse than the 7% of 26.1 under the same conditions.
And the win goes to iOS 26.2 two with the reduced transparency option enabled consuming only 6%. Unfortunately, the results are not what we hoped for, but thankfully reduce transparency can compensate you for the worse efficiency of iOS 26.2. On a side note, this test is only focused on the animations. So, it doesn't mean that 26.2 is worse in battery usage as a whole. Maybe Apple improved the battery consumption in other areas and your own experience could be the exact opposite to this test. But either way, still Apple couldn't find a way to reach or beat the 1% usage of iOS 18 in the same test. So that's pretty much it for today. Please let me know in the comments what do you think. But for now, thanks so much for watching and see you in the next.
