On August 15, Apple released the iOS 16 Beta 6 developer preview update, mainly focusing on bug fixes and other low-level improvements, but also made small changes to the status bar battery percentage feature previously introduced. As reported by 9to5 Mac, MacRumors, the percentage indicator displayed in the status bar can now be turned off when using battery low power mode, which was not possible in the previous beta.
In iOS 16 Beta 5, activating Low Power Mode automatically turns on the Battery Percentage feature, and even if it is not on, there is no option to turn on Low Power Mode without displaying the battery percentage information. There was a change in iOS 16 Beta 6, and the two switches are no longer associated.
Battery low power mode can now be turned on, while the battery percentage value for the battery icon can be turned off. Battery percentage was a standard feature in the iPhone status bar until the launch of the iPhone X in 2017, but it was removed due to space constraints caused by the notch required by the TrueDepth camera system hardware.
Until the release of iOS 16 Beta 5, the status bar showed a visualization of the battery level, as well as a specific battery percentage needed to swipe to the control center or check the battery widget.
In iOS 16 Beta 5, Apple added the option to turn on the battery percentage in the iPhone status bar of Liu Haiping, with numbers overlaid on the battery icon. This number replaces the typical battery icon that changes over time as the battery is depleted, and as a result, many users have questioned that the battery appears to be full all the time.
Apple iPhone X, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max, iPhone 13, iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max can display the battery percentage in the status bar. But it doesn’t work on iPhone 11, iPhone XR, iPhone 12 mini or iPhone 13 mini models.