iPhone 14 Pro Always-on display battery drain tested

Apple, however, has its own explanation about why it took so long and it has a lot to do with the efficiency of the display and minimizing the power draw of an Always-on display. With a new display technology, the iPhone 14 Pro is able to drop its refresh rate down to just 1Hz, 60 times lower than a traditional screen and that is the magic ingredient that Apple has been waiting on to optimize the power draw.

We measured the battery consumption during two days: one day the phone had the Always-on function enabled, the next day – it was turned off, and both days we started the test with 100% battery level. 

Always-on display battery drain test results:

This is interesting! It turns out that on the iPhone 14 Pro, the Always-on function would drain 6% of your battery for an 8-hour period. Considering that A) most people use their phone throughout the day, so the Always-on display (AOD) function is not a factor, and B) AOD also turns off when the phone is in your pocket, we think 8 hours is a good estimation of an average use of AOD.

Obviously, this is true for the iPhone 14 Pro. The iPhone 14 Pro Max with its larger battery might be able to offset that a little bit. We are yet to test the 14 Pro Max, but if we were to place a bet right now, we would guess that Always-on display on it might drain about 4% of the battery over a similar test period.

One important Always-on Display trick

aka how to dim the AOD so that it uses less battery

One thing that many users and reviewers complain about is the lack of customization options with this new Always-on Display feature on the iPhone 14 Pro series.

As it currently is, you can either have it on the way Apple designed it, or have it completely turned off.

And many, yours truly included, find that the current way Always-on display works is a little too… “on”. It is a constant distraction if you work a desk job, and it has kind of forced me personally to constantly look at the phone and gives me more anxiety than actually helping.

So the work-around is to set a Focus mode (or modes) and do the following:

This drastically dims the colorful wallpaper to nearly complete black, but still shows the time, date, and any widgets of your choosing.

Yes, it’s a cumbersome work-around, but for those who really need a less distracting Always-on display, it’s an option.

Always-on display tips & tricks

Finally, here are some additional tips and tricks for optimizing your battery life while using AOD.

The first and most obvious one is to just turn the phone screen-down when you don’t need the AOD function. The phone will detect that and it will be turned off automatically, so it doesn’t sip power.

And here are the conditions when the Always-on display feature will be automatically disabled:

With all of that in mind, do let us know: what’s your mileage with the new Always-on function? Have you noticed the slight additional battery drain? And do you keep on using it or have you actually disabled it, and why?