Perhaps the biggest Apple news of the week is that the battery percentage icon is finally back in the iPhone status bar with the release of iOS 16 beta 5. Although this change was surprisingly controversial, there is already an app that can bring the same battery percentage. design to your MacBook…
iOS 16 Battery Percentage Icon for your Mac
The design of the new battery percentage icon in iOS 16 shows a full battery icon with the precise percentage inside. The battery icon stays full until your iPhone hits 20%, then it goes back down to make it clear you’re running out of battery.
The design has proven controversial, with some people claiming it’s misleading the battery icon stays full until that 20% threshold. However, given the limited space in the status bar, this is probably the only option, and of course Apple doesn’t require you to enable the option.
But if you’re a fan of the design (and I am), developer Rony Fadel has updated his popular Batteries app for macOS with an option to bring the same design to your MacBook. It works exactly as you’d expect and lets you see your battery percentage right inside the battery icon.
This design actually looks quite nice on macOS. By default, macOS does not show you the battery percentage. Instead, you need to click on the battery icon or enable always-on percentage in System Preferences. When you enable this option, the battery percentage is located next to the battery icon, taking up more space in your menu bar. This isn’t a big deal, but it can be annoying on a MacBook with a notch where menu bar space is limited.
You can download the Batteries for Mac app from Fadel’s website for $8.99. The app is also available through the Setapp subscription service, which bundles over 200 apps for a single monthly subscription.
What do you think of the new battery percentage icon in iOS 16? Do you want Apple to bring it to the Mac as well? Let us know in the comments!
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