It’s been two days since Apple shocked the world by adding the battery indicator back to the iPhone’s status bar in the latest iOS beta, and people are just starting to make sense again. In iOS 16 this fall, the most recent iPhones will be able to restore battery percentage to the status bar, just as it was before the iPhone X’s notch ruined our fun and forced everyone to swipe down to see the Control Center as an animal.
But despite all the praise for Apple’s long-awaited decision, some people aren’t happy with the way Apple has implemented its new feature. Instead of an icon that changes when your phone dies, the monochrome battery icon is full until it dips below 21 percent, with the number inside changing to show how much juice you have left. The Verge called it ‘horrible’, 9to5Mac called it ‘bad’ and tens from Twitter comments just hate it.
So a Mac and iOS developer wanted to make his own and it’s pretty good. We didn’t like the indicator before, but after seeing Brian Michel’s version of it, it’s pretty clear how much better it can be. It’s a simple tweak, but it certainly makes it easier to quickly see how much battery you have left.
Michel’s icon combines the best of both worlds: the percentage and the visual indicator. His method changes color and shows that the battery drains during use and full when charged. It’s very slick and would be a big change in the next beta.
But for now, if you don’t like Apple’s method, you can disable it in Settings by going to . to go Battery and turning the Battery percentage switch.