The rumored iPhone 17 Air appears to be Apple’s sleekest and lightest phone yet — everything fans of the iPhone mini had dreamed of, minus the early retirement. But if Apple has learned anything from the mini’s short-lived run, it’s that a unique and stunning form factor won’t save a phone with underwhelming battery life.
That’s where iOS 26 steps in. Announced at WWDC 2025 on June 9, iOS 26 includes a new “adaptive power” feature that aims to stretch every bit of your battery without forcing you into the more aggressive limitations of Low Power Mode. It’s an AI-infused battery life boost that could be exactly what the iPhone 17 Air needs to avoid the mini's fate.
Whether it’s enough to future-proof Apple’s next ultra-portable iPhone remains to be seen, but it’s a promising sign that Apple isn’t about to repeat the same mistake twice.
Here's a look at which phones are getting "adaptive power" mode and a closer examination of the potential battery life for the iPhone 17 Air without this feature, which highlights why Apple may have deemed it necessary for iOS 26.
Which phones are getting "Adaptive power" mode in iOS 26?
- iPhone 15 Pro
- iPhone 15 Pro Max
- iPhone 16e
- iPhone 16
- iPhone 16 Plus
- iPhone 16 Pro
- iPhone 16 Pro Max
A MacRumors report confirmed that the feature will only run on the iPhones listed above. The reason for the limitation is presumably that this feature is powered by AI, so, like Apple Intelligence, your phone must have at least the Apple A17 Pro processor.
Think of "adaptive power" mode as a more thoughtful version of low power mode. Rather than restricting all background activities, it makes more subtle adjustments, such as lowering the screen brightness and slowing down certain activities to reduce power consumption.
That latter part is where AI comes in; it needs to monitor your battery data to see which apps it can slow down to deliver maximum impact without adversely affecting your phone usage.
If you are on an older iPhone, don't worry, you are still getting a lot of the iOS 26 features, support for the new OS goes all the way back to the iPhone 11. However, if you want the latest AI features, you'll need to make the leap to an iPhone 15 Pro or newer phone, or wait for the iPhone 17 this fall.
Potential iPhone 17 Air battery life
While iPhones have solid battery life, they've been outperformed by the top Android flagships for the last couple of generations, so this feature could potentially tip the scales back in their favor.
However, the biggest potential winner is the rumored iPhone 17 Air. Battery life could be a real concern for the thinnest iPhone ever.
Comparing it to the similarly slim Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge, our testing revealed a loss of 4 hours and 30 minutes of battery life compared to its 6.7-inch display sibling, the Galaxy S25+. In that case, it was a drop from 16 hours and 55 minutes to 12 hours and 25 minutes. That was with a move from a 4,900 mAh battery in the S25+ to a 3,900 mAh battery in the S25 Edge.
Apple is rumored to be making an even more drastic drop; the iPhone 16 Plus features a 4,674 mAh battery, and the 17 Air may dip to just a 2,800 mAh battery. The iPhone 16 Plus delivered 16 hours and 30 minutes in our testing. If the 1,874 mAh cut to its battery yielded a similar drop in the iPhone 17 Air, it could dip below 10 hours. That's comparable to the short-lived mini iPhones, which was their biggest flaw.
"Adaptive power" could be the key to preventing the Air from befalling a similar fate.
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