The most important characteristic we’re anticipating with iOS 16 is customizable lock screens, however within the newest beta, Apple has quietly added a characteristic that some customers may discover much more helpful. Or fairly, it’s introduced again a characteristic that by no means ought to have left.

When you’ve got the fifth iOS 16 beta then you definitely’ll discover there’s a toggle to allow battery share on the standing bar, so you’ll be able to see at a look precisely how a lot battery your iPhone has remaining, fairly than counting on a reasonably obscure visible indication.

It is a characteristic Apple used to supply, however the firm eliminated it for telephones with a notch, because the notch encroached on the highest fringe of the show meant there was much less house for added info within the standing bar. So it’s good to see it returning right here.

The implementation isn’t excellent, nevertheless – with the battery share enabled, the precise battery icon reportedly seems full till the battery drops to 20% or beneath, which some customers are discovering complicated. However at the very least you now have the selection.

MacRumors (opens in new tab) reviews that the battery share toggle additionally isn’t out there on the iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 11 or iPhone XR. It’s not clear why that’s, however maybe it’s once more an area subject, as a result of telephones being smaller or the notch taking on extra space.

After all, that is only a beta, so it’s potential that when the completed model of iOS 16 launches this characteristic shall be out there for these telephones too, and possibly it is going to have been tweaked in order that the battery icon nonetheless shows the present battery stage as nicely. There’s additionally an outdoor probability that this characteristic received’t make the reduce in any respect, however we actually hope it does.

Evaluation: an apparent possibility that by no means ought to have been eliminated

A battery share indicator is such a helpful and apparent characteristic to have at a look, and it’s baffling that Apple ever eliminated it. The present battery indicator is healthier than nothing, however it could possibly’t present greater than a obscure indication of battery stage, and also you shouldn’t should swipe to the Management Middle to search out the share each time.

On telephones and not using a notch, such because the iPhone SE (2022), Apple locations the share subsequent to the indicator, so you may get the very best of each worlds and, in fact, there’s no house for this implementation in telephones with a notch.

That’s comprehensible, but when Apple was solely going to supply both a share or an indicator, arguably the previous is extra helpful. Or higher but it may have given individuals the selection, because it basically has on this newest beta. That this took so lengthy to occur is baffling, but it surely’s good to lastly see it, and it may assist make iOS 16 a giant improve over iOS 15.