iOS 26 makes iPhone hot, battery drains 'rapidly', Apple says it's okay

iOS 26 has now been released for iPhone users, and in a new support document, Apple has explained the importance of software updates and clarified their potential impact on battery life and device performance.

Users are complaining that iOS 26 causes widespread battery drain and overheating.

According to Apple, it's true that iPhone battery life and performance are affected after the update, but for most users, this issue won't last long.

In the "Impact on performance and battery," Apple explains: "Immediately after an update is complete, especially a major one, you may notice a temporary impact on battery life and thermal performance. This is normal, as your device needs time to complete the setup process in the background, including indexing data and files for searching, downloading new resources, and updating apps."

The new features are exciting and help you get the most out of your Apple products, although some may require more device resources. Depending on individual usage patterns, some users may notice a minor impact on performance and/or battery life...

Essentially, Apple is stating two things:

- It's perfectly normal for iPhones to drain battery faster and heat up temporarily after a major software update.

- There is also a possibility of long-term effects on performance and/or battery life if users frequently use new features that "require a lot of device resources".

Apple explains that the battery drain and overheating issues will resolve themselves on their own after a few days.

This doesn't come as a surprise to those familiar with iPhone software updates, but this is the first time Apple has officially explained the reason behind it in detail.

The key point here is that after installing iOS 26 or any other major update, there will be an initial period where background tasks run intensely, putting strain on your device. This will stabilize and return to normal after a day or two.

However, there's still a possibility that battery life will be consistently affected if you use many of the new, particularly resource-intensive features. As Apple has stated, this entirely depends on "individual usage patterns," but it's a possibility.