Despite years of advancements in iOS, Apple has yet to introduce a feature that estimates the time required for an iPhone to fully charge, although there have been hints and even a name for it: Battery Intelligence. Frustrated by this omission, Reddit user u/AlxR25 has developed a clever solution using the Shortcuts app. The custom shortcut provides a notification estimating the remaining charging time whenever the iPhone is plugged in.
The shortcut estimates how long it will take for your iPhone to fully charge. It uses calculations based on the current battery percentage and an estimated charging rate. The original poster (AlxR25) used an average charging rate, but others have modified it to be more accurate by considering different charging speeds at different battery levels (e.g., 0-50% vs. 50-100%).
You can find various versions of the shortcut at the end of the post, with iCloud links provided. Be cautious when downloading shortcuts from unknown sources.
The accuracy of the shortcut depends on several things, such as the charger’s wattage, battery health, temperature, and background activity. Some users have tried to improve accuracy by factoring in different charging speeds for different battery percentage ranges.
The shortcut might not be accurate if you’re using a slow charger, wireless charging, or if your battery has degraded significantly.
Many users have customized the shortcut to:
- Display the estimated time on the lock screen
- Use commas instead of decimal points (important for some regional settings)
- Adjust the calculations for specific charging habits (e.g., only charging to 80%)
- Add a timer that starts when the charger is connected.
However, there seem to be some limitations like the shortcut cannot dynamically detect the wattage of the charger being used. Moreover, it cannot detect if Optimized Battery Charging is enabled or if a charging limit (like 80%) is set in newer iOS versions.
Here are links to the shortcuts; again, please be cautious when downloading shortcuts from unknown sources. Download these at your own risk.
Original Shortcut by AlxR25
Revision by Alarming\_Cod8848 (Considers Slower Charging Over 50%)
Another version by Alarming\_Cod8848
Macley6969’s Comma instead of dot notation, message on the lock screen
jmkinn3y’s Grammatical fixes, notification disappears automatically
While these solutions are decent, we’re still waiting for Battery intelligence. When will Battery Intelligence drop? Here’s what we know about the release date.
Overall, let’s agree that this is a certified “Fine. I’ll do it myself” moment.
