maximum capacity of the battery is 66%. Should I return it?

[britpoprule]

Hi everyone. I've just bought an iphone 13. Unfortunately once arrived I found out that the maximum capacity of the battery is 66%. What does it mean? Is it bad? Should I return it?
Does it mean that if the brand new battery lasts 10 hours, this one will last 6 hours?
Thank you.

 

[Raz0rEdge]

Where did you buy this from? That's a nearly 3-4 year phone and depending on use, likely due for a battery replacement. Any reputable place that wants to sell this as a refurbished phone would, minimally, replace the battery as that's the only consumable part of the device.

The capacity of the battery determines how much total charge it can hold. But that doesn't indicate how quickly it will discharge.

Generally, once a battery falls below 80% of max capacity, it won't hold enough of a charge and will discharge a lot faster.

You'll find that at 100% charge, the battery will likely discharge within a couple of hours or so.

You should absolutely take it back to the place and have them replace the battery or just return it and purchase something else.

 

[RadDave]

Well, I have to completely agree with Ashwin - return the phone for a refund or have a new battery installed - 'Battery Health' is the percent ratio of the current charging capacity to the original design capacity - assume your battery is at an unacceptable 66% - below is Apple's recommendation of 80% or higher as already stated. Another important parameter is 'Complete Cycles' older models should achieve 500 cycles or more (newer batteries many more).

As an example, I just checked my iPhone 14 (about 2 years old) w/ Coconut Battery (app on my Air laptop) - 112 cycles and still 100% battery health - if you have an Apple laptop, the app is a free download - if able, please report back its results. Dave

What is the recommended battery health for Apple?


Batteries of iPhone 14 models and earlier are designed to retain 80 per cent of their original capacity at 500 complete charge cycles under ideal conditions. Batteries of iPhone 15 models are designed to retain 80 per cent of their original capacity at 1,000 complete charge cycles under ideal conditions.

 

[Rod]

I agree with all the above but if you got the device for a "good" price and it is brand new it is probably worth the investment to have a new battery installed. Do go for a genuine Apple battery if possible, it will cost more but generally worth it.
If however it's a 3-4 year old used device it may not be worth it. A 4 year old iPhone will become pretty much obsolete in another year or so. I got rid of my iPhone 13 Pro Max earlier this year. Traded it in on an iPhone 16e and got more than half the price of the 16e as trade in from Apple. So, that's worth considering although the Pro Max was a very popular model so...if you got what you paid for it without replacing the battery, up to you.