iOS has added an additional layer of throttling performance, Adaptive Power Mode and still retains Low Power Mode.
This new mode in iOS 26 uses subtle, temporary software throttling such as reduced brightness and slower nonessential processing. It does not disable, power down, or restrict hardware components directly; all device sensors and radios continue operating normally even when Adaptive Power is active.
Low Power mode reduces power consumption by lowering display brightness and refresh rate, temporarily pausing iCloud syncing and background tasks, and disabling 5G on some models except for streaming/downloads. However, sensors (camera, Face ID, ambient light, gyroscope), Wi‑Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, and other radios remain active and functional. Even the camera can be used at normal resolution and frame rates, though animations may be limited.
Specifically, low power mode does the following,
Background App Refresh – Disabled entirely while on battery. Apps may still receive push notifications, push emails etc.
Email Fetch – Disabled; emails must be checked manually. Emails will be pushed, however.
Automatic Downloads – Paused for all content types.
iCloud Photos Sync – Temporarily paused until the device returns to normal mode. Does not restrict syncing of third party aps.
Display Brightness – Reduced slightly, even if manual brightness is set high.
Auto-Lock Timer – Forced to 30 seconds regardless of normal settings.
Visual Effects – Certain animations and motion/blur effects disabled to reduce GPU use. GPU cores are not disabled however.
Display Refresh Rate – Limited to 60 Hz on ProMotion iPhones (15 Pro and newer).
5G Connectivity – Disabled on most models except when video streaming or large downloads are active on iPhone 12–13; switches to LTE.
Background iCloud Tasks – Deferred (updates, syncs, and uploads are temporarily stopped).
