Apple admits iPhone 6S & 6S Plus battery is misleading

Apple has admitted to a bug with its smartphone battery meter that could see the iPhone 6S or iPhone 6S Plus displaying a higher charge than the phone actually has.

The error means that the battery meter fails to update the percentage displayed, leading to some iPhones shutting down while still displaying full charge.

According to Apple, the bug appears when users manually change the time on their iPhones or move between time zones, something a user might do if changing the clock for daylight savings or while travelling.

The company told The Guardian that it was working on a fix, but that in the meantime users should first restart their iPhones, then enable the automatic time setting within the “Date & Time” settings.

The iPhone-maker has a history of bugs linked to its time and date settings. For several years a bug with the smartphone’s automatic daylight savings adjustment broke alarms, leaving some users late for work.

Daylight savings was also to blame for a do not disturb bug in 2013, while a bug in the iPhone’s text handling found last year meant anyone could instantly crash the smartphone with an SMS message.

Apple is currently testing a new version of its iOS software that could fix the issue. The iOS 9.3 update, released in public beta to testers, will fix bugs and add a few new features including a night mode that filters out blue light to help users sleep and the ability to pair multiple Apple Watches with a single iPhone.