Apple admits that using iPhone keyboard tactility can affect battery life

iOS 16 includes a new haptic feature for the iPhone keyboard, but Apple says using vibration feedback while typing could affect your battery life.

Apple has explained that iOS 16’s keyboard haptics may reduce your battery life. So it is off by default. If you’re a heavy typist and text a lot on any given day, using the keyboard haptics can affect your iPhone’s battery life.

If you’re not satisfied with your iPhone’s battery life, try turning off keyboard haptics to see if there are any noticeable changes.

Apple has updated its support documentation to confirm this. The company didn’t detail the loss of battery life when using the feature, nor did it indicate in any way whether the battery drain was minor or severe.

Taptic Engine needs battery support

Using any function will consume some battery life. While Android phones use basic vibration motors to generate vibrations, your iPhone has a custom piece of hardware called a Taptic Engine that generates a series of subtle vibrations.

With keyboard haptics turned on, the iPhone’s haptic engine will work more often than before and consume more power than before.

You don’t often see Apple confirming that using this or that feature may affect battery life. Apparently, Apple believes and has data to confirm that people may experience a change in runtime when the keyboard haptics are turned on.

Maybe it’s the keyboard’s haptic feedback turned off by default in iOS 16. If Apple really thought the tradeoff between functionality and battery life was worthwhile, it would make keyboard haptics the default experience out of the box in iOS 16.

How to Turn On iPhone Keyboard Vibration

To manually activate keyboard haptics,

Settings → Sounds & Haptics → Keyboard Feedback and turn on the option labeled Haptics. You must also be in:

Settings → Accessibility → Turn on Vibration on touch, otherwise you won’t feel vibration when typing on the keyboard.