Battery percentage finally returns to iOS 16 and it’s hideous

Photo by Victoria Song / The Verge

The long-awaited return of battery percentage to the status bar is coming with the release of the newest version of Apple's mobile operating system. It is unattractive and unreadable.

The left of the battery icon was where the battery percentage used to be. It was removed by Apple because there wasn't enough room to fit it in. You have to go to Control Center to find out the percentage. The figure appeared within the battery icon in the latest version of the software.

It is not enabled by default if you have updated to the latest version. If you want to turn it on, you have to go to the battery menu in the settings. It appears that the option is not available on the iPhone 11 and 12. Future releases might change this, but they are the breaks for now.

You would see that on a phone in 2011. It looks like the number on a sports jersey from a distance. That is my own aesthetic taste. The new battery percentage figure has a lot of problems.

The number has to be charged at all times for it to be readable. Even if you don't have a lot of battery left, the icon still looks full. It has caused my brain to short circuit after a few hours of use. There is a full battery icon. That makes it hard for us to see the things we've become used to.

The battery icon is meant to show how much juice you have left. The battery and tiny numbers are hard to see. If you already have poor vision, that's even worse. If you use a light background, it can be hard to read the status bar. Not every person will have this issue. It won't bother you if you have a good vision. I have severe vision problems and have a few screens that lock with light background. I can't say how many times I mistook the 50 percent battery figure for 5G.

Screenshot: Victoria Song / The Verge

This is compared to the deplete battery icon. It's easy to figure out a rough ballpark with the numberless icon. It is an easy design that does not need any explanation. The battery icon still changes colors when you enable low power mode or plug in your phone. The icon is turned yellow by the former and green by the latter. Charging makes the battery icon and numbers larger and more readable. This could be done for the regular mode as well.

It feels like Apple made us do this. Regardless of whether the changes it makes are what the people want, the company is known for its strict control over product design. The headphone jack has been replaced by a new one. The battery percentage in the status bar was not needed by Apple. We were given a satisfactory solution by it. The battery percentage in the top right corner of our phones was restored by Apple.

I'll probably turn the battery percentage off again. In most situations, the deplete battery icon works. When my battery is dangerously close to zero, I will cry as I go to Control Center.