14 DAY TRIAL // Apple rolled out iOS 15.4 in March with much fanfare, pretty much because this particular update included the highly anticipated support for Face ID with a mask.
In other words, thanks to this update, you can now use Face ID even when wearing a mask, and iPhone 12 and newer are even allowed to make payments without additional verifications.
However, the update came with one pretty significant problem: a battery drain that wreaked havoc on some devices for no clear reason.
On my iPhone 12, for example, the update to iOS 15.4 affected the battery life in such a way that I sometimes had to recharge the device two times every day. In some cases, my iPhone’s battery life dropped from 100 percent to 30 percent in just a couple of hours, without any heavy usage.
The battery information screen wasn’t revealing any information as to what may be the culprit for the whole thing, and rebooting the device and closing the running apps obviously didn’t produce any improvements.
New update now available
While Apple has so far remained tight-lipped on the problems that might be caused by its update, the company has confirmed in the release notes of a new update that iOS 15.4 indeed generated a bigger than expected battery drain.
iOS 15.4.1 is therefore available for download right now, with Apple claiming that “battery may drain more quickly than expected after updating to iOS 15.4.” So if you’ve previously experienced battery drains, make sure you update your iPhones as soon as possible.
I can confirm that battery life seems normal after the update to iOS 15.4.1, and I’m seeing reports from other users who also noticed the battery drain problem is gone.
This new update also improves the experience with Braille devices that previously became unresponsive when navigating text or displaying an alert, while Made for iPhone hearing devices should no longer lose the connection with some third-party apps.