Today, Apple was finally able to make good on its promise, delivering some of the missing features it withheld during the initial release of iOS 16. While iOS 16.1 brings iCloud Shared Photo Library, third-party support for Live Activities, Apple Fitness Plus, and many other features, there are also smaller details that can often be overlooked, like the addition of Clean Energy Charging. We did have some details about this feature, but now, we know how it will work, thanks to a support page detailing the ins and outs.
Clean Energy Charging is quite intelligent, with the iPhone detecting your local energy situation as soon as it is plugged in. The feature works in tandem with Optimized Battery Charging to learn your habits. The Clean Energy Charging feature will only engage in times when the phone knows that you’ll be keeping your phone plugged in and charging for a long period of time. This could be at work, home, or any location where the phone is left charging for an extended amount of time. Perhaps the most comforting thing is that the feature will not engage when you are somewhere new, which means you won’t be left with a nasty surprise when you’re traveling and charging on the go. Apple does state that since it does need your location for this feature, it will retrieve location data when necessary.
Once it learns your pattern, the iPhone will then retrieve a carbon emission forecast from the local grid, so it can understand when it’s okay to charge, topping up your phone using cleaner energy. While it might be a small thing, it could have quite a bit of impact, especially when you consider how many iPhones are eligible to upgrade to iOS 16. A couple of small things to note is that the feature will be on by default with iOS 16.1, but you can choose to turn it off by going into the Settings menu, navigating to Battery, then Battery Health, and finally turning off Clean Energy Charging. The other thing is that currently, the feature is only available to those in the United States. So, if you’re in another region, you won’t have access. Apple has not stated whether it will roll out Clean Energy Charging to other countries.
Apple announced iOS 16 back in June during WWDC22, touting various features like a new custom Lock Screen, enhancements to Focus mode, numerous UI changes, an upgrade to Messages, Apple Maps improvements, and more. With its latest update, iOS 16 is now more complete. Thankfully, the firm has delivered with iOS 16.1, and if you’re curious about Clean Energy Charging or any other of the other aforementioned features, you should download the update on your iPhone. Just make sure that you have a compatible iPhone.
Source: Apple Support