iOS 26.1 Beta Liquid Glass Battery Drain Test: Tinted vs Clear Mode

In the fourth iOS 26.1 beta, Apple added a "Tinted" enactment that reduces the translucency of Liquid Glass for those who similar a much opaque look. I saw immoderate comments wondering whether the mounting mightiness sphere artillery life, truthful I thought I'd bash immoderate testing.

Test Settings

I did 4 abstracted tests utilizing the iPhone 17 Pro Max, and I kept the parameters arsenic akin arsenic possible. Here are the settings I utilized for each test:

1. Liquid Glass acceptable to Clear.


2. Liquid Glass acceptable to Tinted.


3. Liquid Glass acceptable to Tinted with Reduce Transparency and Increase Contrast on.


4. Liquid Glass with Reduce Transparency, Increase Contrast, and Reduce Motion turned on.

For each test, I utilized Light mode and not Dark mode, I turned disconnected True Tone and Night Shift, and acceptable my iPhone to 50% brightness. The show was besides acceptable not to crook off. My artillery wellness is inactive 100%, and ambient somesthesia during investigating was 68 to 72 degrees.

I near my notifications turned connected due to the fact that I get a reasonably adjacent organisation of notifications passim the time and I wanted to mimic however I'd usage my ‌iPhone‌. My Home Screen was acceptable to the modular icons.

How I Tested

I did the nonstop aforesaid bid of actions for each test, timed to the second.

• 30 minutes of scrolling TikTok.


• 30 minutes of YouTube videos.


• 30 minutes of scrolling Instagram/watching reels.


• 30 minutes of Safari connected the MacRumors website. Scrolling and tapping to a fistful of antithetic pages.


• 30 minutes of the Maps app. I routed myself to the aforesaid location, but I didn't really go. It was much of a trial to person the Liquid Glass interface up for a coagulated 30 infinitesimal period.

During each of the 5 segments, I swiped to entree notifications connected the Lock Screen 4 times, and swiped to unfastened Control Center 4 times. I opened up notifications and Control Center 20 times full for each test, past swiped backmost to adjacent them. These were timed to astir 3.5 infinitesimal intervals.

When I swapped from 1 app to another, I swiped up to adjacent it and exit to the ‌Home Screen‌, swiped down to bring up search, typed successful the app name, and tapped to unfastened it.

Every trial was 2.5 hours, with a fewer other seconds betwixt each conception to power apps. Tests were divided implicit 2 days, 1 astatine astir 3:00 p.m., and 1 astatine 5:30 p.m.

I lone complaint my ‌iPhone‌ to 80%, truthful betwixt each 2.5 hr period, I charged my ‌iPhone‌ backmost to 80% earlier starting the adjacent test. The lone wildcard factors were notifications and the contented that was connected TikTok and Instagram arsenic I scrolled.

Test Results

The results weren't what I expected. I went into this trial reasoning that turning connected Reduce Transparency and Reduce Motion would person an effect, but it didn't. I didn't find a enactment of settings that changed the artillery that my ‌iPhone‌ used.

• Round 1 - This was the "Clear" round, and my baseline. I started astatine 80% and ended close astatine 70%.


• Round 2 - Tinted mode. I started astatine 80% and ended astatine 69%.


• Round 3 - Tinted mode, Reduce Transparency, and Increase Contrast. I started astatine 80% and I ended astatine 69%.


• Round 4 - Tinted mode, Reduce Transparency, Increase Contrast, and Reduce Motion. I started astatine 80% and ended astatine 70%.

I did extremity up with 1% little artillery with the 2 mediate tests, but determination wasn't capable of a deviation to gully immoderate conclusion. I can't spot fractions of a percent with artillery measurements, truthful it's imaginable that the 2 70% tests were adjacent to 69% and I had insignificant differences due to the fact that of the tiny variations successful contented betwixt tests.

Test Results Expanded

I wanted to see the percent totals for each conception of investigating due to the fact that determination were immoderate insignificant differences.

• Round 1 - TikTok ended astatine 79%, YouTube ended astatine 77%, Instagram ended astatine 74%, Safari ended astatine 72%, Maps ended astatine 70%.


• Round 2 - TikTok ended astatine 78%, YouTube ended astatine 75%, Instagram ended astatine 72%, Safari ended astatine 70%, Maps ended astatine 69%.


• Round 3 - TikTok ended astatine 78%, YouTube ended astatine 76%, Instagram ended astatine 73%, Safari ended astatine 70%, Maps ended astatine 69%.


• Round 4 - TikTok ended astatine 79%, Instagram ended astatine 77%, YouTube ended astatine 74%, Safari ended astatine 72%, and Maps ended astatine 70%. In this round, I accidentally swapped Instagram and YouTube, but restarting would person changed the clip of time of the trial truthful I conscionable did those 2 apps swapped.

Caveats

I wanted my trial to mimic however I mightiness regularly usage my phone, but it was lone a 2.5 hr period. It's imaginable that a afloat 16 hours of swiping successful and retired of apps and features that usage Liquid Glass could person much of an aggregate artillery redeeming effect. I'm guessing it would lone beryllium a tiny percent of wide artillery usage though, and mostly inconsequential.

The apps that I utilized don't each person Liquid Glass-heavy interfaces. TikTok and Instagram, for example, hardly usage Liquid Glass astatine all. Heavy usage of apps that person much Liquid Glass elements could alteration the results, but determination aren't galore apps that I walk a batch of clip connected that usage Liquid Glass similar that.

I usage an ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌ Max. I americium funny if determination would beryllium a quality successful artillery beingness connected an older ‌iPhone‌ that mightiness conflict much to render Liquid Glass effects.

If anyone with an older ‌iPhone‌ wants to bash akin testing, I'd beryllium blessed to revisit this with different nonfiction that includes much investigating from MacRumors readers. I americium besides capable to bash much investigating if anyone has suggestions connected what I mightiness beryllium capable to alteration to really trim artillery consumption.

Conclusion

On the iPhone 17 models, I don't deliberation determination are Liquid Glass-related settings to alteration that volition marque a meaningful quality successful artillery consumption.

There seems to beryllium nary crushed to crook connected thing similar Tinted mode oregon Reduce Transparency unless you privation the opacity for ocular penchant reasons.

Low Power Mode, Adaptive Power Mode, Dark Mode, and turning down surface brightness look to inactive beryllium the astir effectual ways to eke retired much artillery life.
This article, "iOS 26.1 Beta Liquid Glass Battery Drain Test: Tinted vs Clear Mode" archetypal appeared connected MacRumors.com

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