Why You Should Replace Your Old iPhone’s Battery Right Now

Photo: Kevin Khoo (Shutterstock)

These days, smartphones are so good you can hold onto them for years without upgrading. While companies like Apple try to make their newest gadgets look much better than your old model, a fresh battery is often all you need to give your old iPhone new life. If your iPhone’s battery is due for a swap, however, you should do it now.

As reported by 9to5Mac, Apple is set to raise the price of its iPhone battery replacements by $20, a relatively significant increase compared to previous prices. Up until now, a battery swap was a no-brainer. The extra cost, especially for more recent iPhones, might not make the fix as instantly appealing.

Don’t get me wrong: Fixing the battery is still way cheaper than buying a brand new iPhone. (The activation fee alone is likely close to the price of a battery replacement.) But more expensive is more expensive, and it’ll cost you $20 more to bring your old battery into Apple after the price increase than it would before.

Lucky for you, the change hasn’t taken effect yet. Apple isn’t planning on raising its battery repair prices until March. As long as you bring in your iPhone in January or February, Apple will offer you the existing price points.

Here’s how much it costs to fix your iPhone’s battery

Speaking of which, here’s what those repairs have cost up until March. The following iPhones cost $69 for a battery repair:

The following iPhones cost $49 for the same repair:

After March, those prices will raise to $89 and $69, respectively. The iPhone 14 line isn’t affected by this price hike, although Apple already charges $99 for an iPhone 14 battery replacement. While that’s steep, at least steeper than the rest, the iPhone 14 is less than four months old, so nobody should be needing a battery replacement yet anyway.

Those prices are the same whether you bring your iPhone to an Apple Store, mail it to Apple, or choose an Apple authorized retailer. But Apple isn’t your only option—you can obviously shop around at non-authorized stores to see if you can get a better price, but you can also cut the post-March cost in half by replacing the battery yourself. For example, iFixit offers a complete kit for replacing an iPhone 12 battery for $44.99. If you’re not afraid to open up your own iPhone, this could be a more affordable (and more fun) approach.

When should you replace your iPhone’s battery?

Now, you shouldn’t put your iPhone through Apple surgery if it doesn’t need it. If your battery is healthy, there’s no point in trying for a replacement to save the $20. As a rule of thumb, batteries are healthy enough to run your iPhone properly until they fall below 80% battery health. At that point, at a full charge, the battery holds less than 80% the charge it did when it was new, and you might start to see issues with performance and unexpected shutdowns. If you’re at this point, you’ll want to go to the Apple Store ASAP to take advantage of the lower prices.

To check your iPhone’s battery health, go to Settings > Battery > Battery Health & Charging, then look at the number next to “Maximum Capacity.”

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