iOS 17.2.1 Release Notes Mention Battery Drain Fix in Some Countries

Apple on Tuesday released iOS 17.2.1 for the iPhone, and the update supposedly improves battery life in at least some countries.

iOS 17
In the U.S. and most other countries, the iOS 17.2.1 release notes only mention "important bug fixes," and do not provide any specific details. In China and Japan, however, the notes also indicate that the update "addresses an issue that can cause the battery to drain faster under certain conditions," based on a computer translation of the text.

The release notes discrepancy was highlighted in a social media post on X by Brandon Butch, who runs an iOS-focused YouTube channel. We have reached out to Apple for clarification, and we'll update this story if we receive a response.


Following the release of iOS 17.2.1, Apple continues to beta test a larger iOS 17.3 update, which will likely be released in January or February. iOS 17.3 adds a new "Stolen Device Protection" security option, and reintroduces collaborative Apple Music playlists, a feature that was originally intended to launch with iOS 17.2 last week.

Related Roundups: iOS 17, iPadOS 17
Related Forums: iOS 17, iPadOS 17

Top Rated Comments

B4U Avatar
1 week ago
Actually, just confirmed with Traditional Chinese that the release notes mentioning battery is available here in the US if we change the iPhone language without changing the region.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tipoo Avatar
1 week ago

that is interesting. I understand that iOS comes in many different languages, from a UI perspective, but battery drain issues in certain countries? are some features only available in certain countries?
Could be a complex interplay with different cellular bands or something along those lines

Or it just never picked up media steam in the west which is when Apple publically says things are fixed
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
appleCakes Avatar
1 week ago
I have a feeling this was in the English release notes too and they took it out, but translations were overlooked.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CarAnalogy Avatar
1 week ago

I only speak Japanese, and I can confirm that my battery life has doubled after 17.2.1
“You speak English?”

”No, just that one sentence, and this one explaining it.”
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
YourBoss Avatar
1 week ago
It seems that in Japan people are not too lazy to type texts.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tipoo Avatar
1 week ago
It's my Watch on 10.2 that's back to full on drain city

Sigh. Apple software QA is never improving is it.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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