iPad battery health degrading quickly

The fact that your cycle count more than doubled since February certainly suggests a hard-working battery. As that corresponds to when you started the new game, that could be a clue.

My A16, bought last April for generally light use, today has 100% health at 63 cycles. The iPad 5th it replaced showed 315 cycles at 89% and it ran fine. Your results compared to my older iPad are within what pundits call "the expected range."

I am quite familiar with heat effects on Mac computers but not so much on iPads. I know Macs can clock back the processor in the presence of abnormally high internal heat, but that should help, no hurt, the battery stats. You can certainly try "old standby" heat management measures while gaming:

— remove any folios or cases that cover the back panel.

— The A16 has vent holes in its "short" sides. Make sure those are not blocked by cases, covers, or your hands.

— close all other apps when playing graphics-intense games or multi-player games.

— play with the iPad on its charger if feasible.

Also, keep this in mind: "Health" is inexact and non-linear. Inexact in that it is calculated from an AVERAGE initial capacity for all batteries of the model, not the ACTUAL initial capacity of your battery. We all know what "average" means:

Non-linear in that the rate of health decay a) varies over time, and b) seems faster between 100 and 90% than when under 90%. I have an older Mac whose original 13 year-old battery has shown shifts in "health" of as much as 9 points yet still offers usable runtime between charges.

I offer an observation based on my 25 years in these forums: People reporting the best success and satisfaction with their battery life and performance are those who do not obsess about their batteries.

Cheers!

Allan

• As for degrading faster than average, yes it appears yours is degrading faster than average.
• As for the battery being defective, no a defective battery according to Apple is one that drops below 80% Battery Health in the first year and they will then replace it for free.

Something that will cause a battery to degrade faster than average is if you let the battery completely discharge, which may be a possibility since you said it has went unused since August. You always want to have a charge on your battery and when going for long periods without use, make sure you have powered it off, not just turning the screen off.

seraa16 wrote:

My A16 has the same problem but I don’t even heavy use it I only use it for movies and papers

Rechargeable batteries are a consumable item that will slowly decline over time - every recharge reducing the total battery capacity by a tiny amount. This effect is cumulative; eventually, the battery will need to be replaced.

In more detail...

"Battery health" is influenced by many factors.

An iPad battery is nominally rated to retain 80% of its original capacity (when new) after 1000 full recharge cycles. Any combination of charging that together sums to 100% equates to one full charge cycle (e.g., 50% + 20% + 20% + 10% = 100% = 1 full charge cycle). Simple arithmetic would therefore suggest that battery health will decline at about 1% for each 50 charge cycles - but this alone does not take into account that the rate of decline is non-linear.

Other factors can influence overall battery health. High ambient temperatures can permanently reduce the battery's ability to retain full charge - as can maintaining the battery at 100% charge for very long periods of time that leads to chemical aging of the battery. Limiting the battery charge to ~80% of maximum is intended to reduce the chemical aging effect. That said, independent studies have demonstrated that restricting charging to only 80% of maximum has little if any impact upon the overall longevity of the iPad's battery.

Information about iPad’s battery management can be found here:

About iPad and iPhone Charge Management Feature – Apple Support

For reassurance, if you have any concerns for your iPad or its Battery Health, you would be well advised to seek assistance directly from Apple Support - and request a remote diagnostic test of your iPad. You can contact the Support Team using the Support link at top-right or bottom-left of this page.

Alternatively, you can initiate and manage your support cases from Apple devices using the excellent Apple Support App. If not already installed, the App can be downloaded from the App Store:

https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-support/id1130498044

You might also visit the Genius Bar at your local Apple Store or Apple Authorised Service Provider (AASP) - where the technicians will be able to hands-on test and assess your iPad.

Genius Bar Reservation and Apple Support Options - Apple

Heat can have an effect on the Battery Health, but if the iPad gets too hot then you will see the Temperature Indicator on the screen preventing any further action until it has cooled down. More commonly the Battery Health declines quicker when the battery has been allowed to completely discharge where it has to power itself off.

seraa16 wrote:

My A16 has the same problem but I don’t even heavy use it I only use it for movies and papers

Movies are heavy-duty use. They demand a lot from the device's CPU and GPU. The processes of decompressing and decoding video files also creates a lot of heat.

Thanks but i think you misunderstood it, I've been using it heavily for playing rpg games mainly Wuthering Waves since August.

Thanks <3

My A16 has the same problem but I don’t even heavy use it I only use it for movies and papers