iPad Pro 10.5 inch battery issue - anyone else had this?

Michael_R_Grant

My iPad Pro 10.5 inch from 2017 is exhibiting some really weird battery issues when it's going full tilt with the likes of AUM. The battery is dropping quickly, to the point where it only lasts a couple of hours if not less. But then, after it switches off at 0%, it can be restarted and the battery percentage reads 48% or so. Then it drops again really quickly.

Battery usage of apps like Safari or Music is certainly more draining than it used to be at launch, but nothing like to the extent of using multiple music apps, as these really seem to hammer it and cause the battery to drop like a stone. The fact that the iPad Pro 'thinks' it's at zero, so turns off completely when in reality it actually has charge left, is very strange and I was wondering if anyone else has had this.

Am I just looking at a battery replacement once Apple Stores reopen (I'm in the UK), do you think? Or could there be something else going on?

Telefunky

Seems a common issue after IOS14 updates, you may dig deeper with your favourite search engine...

craftycurate

@Michael_R_Grant said:
My iPad Pro 10.5 inch from 2017 is exhibiting some really weird battery issues when it's going full tilt with the likes of AUM. The battery is dropping quickly, to the point where it only lasts a couple of hours if not less. But then, after it switches off at 0%, it can be restarted and the battery percentage reads 48% or so. Then it drops again really quickly.

Battery usage of apps like Safari or Music is certainly more draining than it used to be at launch, but nothing like to the extent of using multiple music apps, as these really seem to hammer it and cause the battery to drop like a stone. The fact that the iPad Pro 'thinks' it's at zero, so turns off completely when in reality it actually has charge left, is very strange and I was wondering if anyone else has had this.

Am I just looking at a battery replacement once Apple Stores reopen (I'm in the UK), do you think? Or could there be something else going on?

This happens with certain apps and has done since iOS 12 or earlier. I have it occasionally and always with the same apps and I also have a 10.5" iPad Pro (2nd gen)

I could literally watch the battery counting down, more than 1% per 30 sec when I observe this issue. Remove the app or sometimes hide the GUI and the battery drain rate often returns to normal.

I think I've tracked it down to the display of the app's GUI rather than the CPU required to process sound. Apps which are heavy on audio processing power tend to cause dropouts as AUM CPU tops 100% but not the rapid battery drain.

Apps which cause battery drain may not necessarily be those which are most demanding in their audio processing. It may be worse if the app forces iOS to redraw at 120Hz but I still observe it with my refresh limited to 60Hz.

But after doing quite a bit of A/B testing ie comparing battery drain with the app open or removed from the set this is the pattern I keep seeing over 2or 3 years of encountering this issue.

ChrisG

Yep the battery on the 10.5” Pro is awful. Recently the performance has also taken a nosedive on mine. I guess the 10.5” Pro is the equivalent of the iPhone 6

R_2

@craftycurate said:
I think I've tracked it down to the display of the app's GUI rather than the CPU required to process sound. Apps which are heavy on audio processing power tend to cause dropouts as AUM CPU tops 100% but not the rapid battery drain.

Yes, this is also my experience observing Gadget’s battery drain behavior.

supadom

Nothing drastic here compared with pro 11 2020. Some apps will suck the battery no matter what iPad. Also killing apps when not in use may help as it happened to me before that background audio would suck it to zero in a day or so.

Michael_R_Grant

I watched an episode of a show on Amazon Prime at lunchtime, and after 45 minutes my battery had dropped by 9%. The contrast between that and AUM drain is so massive! But I don't want to 'blame' AUM, as I'm sure it's either a hardware or iOS issue.

Hmtx

Do you use Mac? The free app CoconutBattery can provide some basic diagnostics on battery health that could at least tell you if your battery is reaching end-of-life. I’ve found a music session can be unusually taxing on a worn battery even when other apps don’t drain it as quickly.

ChrisG

I can’t even open AU's like sugar bytes plugins inside AUM, their UI's absolutely kills the cpu. I wonder how AUM utilize the different cores, in Cubasis 3 the multicore setting helps dramatically when playing the tracks, but it kills the performance when everything is stopped and you’re fiddling around with a single instrument. 🤷‍♂️

craftycurate

@ChrisG said:
I can’t even open AU's like sugar bytes plugins inside AUM, their UI's absolutely kills the cpu. I wonder how AUM utilize the different cores, in Cubasis 3 the multicore setting helps dramatically when playing the tracks, but it kills the performance when everything is stopped and you’re fiddling around with a single instrument. 🤷‍♂️

Have you tried constraining the screen refresh to 60Hz if you’re on an iPad Pro?

I had this issue with Aparillo after it was released but not since it had a couple of updates, and since I forced 60Hz.

Also helps with Sugar Bytes apps to scale down the GUI a bit.

ChrisG

@craftycurate said:

@ChrisG said:
I can’t even open AU's like sugar bytes plugins inside AUM, their UI's absolutely kills the cpu. I wonder how AUM utilize the different cores, in Cubasis 3 the multicore setting helps dramatically when playing the tracks, but it kills the performance when everything is stopped and you’re fiddling around with a single instrument. 🤷‍♂️

Have you tried constraining the screen refresh to 60Hz if you’re on an iPad Pro?

I had this issue with Aparillo after it was released but not since it had a couple of updates, and since I forced 60Hz.

Also helps with Sugar Bytes apps to scale down the GUI a bit.

I’ve had the force 60hz option ON for quite a while now. Can’t say I’ve noticed much of a difference though:/.

craftycurate

@Michael_R_Grant said:
My iPad Pro 10.5 inch from 2017 is exhibiting some really weird battery issues when it's going full tilt with the likes of AUM. The battery is dropping quickly, to the point where it only lasts a couple of hours if not less. But then, after it switches off at 0%, it can be restarted and the battery percentage reads 48% or so. Then it drops again really quickly.

Hi Michael ... this is also quite typical of what I've observed. Those rapid drain apps seem to confuse the iOS battery level indicator. Recently, I had my battery drop to 46% from full charge after 30 minutes of using one of my drain apps in AUM.

After exiting the app, I continued using the iPad quite intensely, though not for music or anything graphically intense, and the battery indicator remained at 46% for at least 30 minutes. It was as if the battery indicator had overestimated the battery drain while the draining app was open, but that when the app closed, it seemed to level out.

I've also observed that if I restart the iPad after one of these battery drain periods, the battery indicator seems to have increased a bit, but not from 0 back to 46% tbh.

As far as I can tell, there likely isn't anything wrong with your iPad battery - it's a combination of how iOS and your apps are behaving together and is not a sign of any hardware issues I don't think. Just my two cents worth.

Michael_R_Grant

@craftycurate said:

@Michael_R_Grant said:
My iPad Pro 10.5 inch from 2017 is exhibiting some really weird battery issues when it's going full tilt with the likes of AUM. The battery is dropping quickly, to the point where it only lasts a couple of hours if not less. But then, after it switches off at 0%, it can be restarted and the battery percentage reads 48% or so. Then it drops again really quickly.

Hi Michael ... this is also quite typical of what I've observed. Those rapid drain apps seem to confuse the iOS battery level indicator. Recently, I had my battery drop to 46% from full charge after 30 minutes of using one of my drain apps in AUM.

After exiting the app, I continued using the iPad quite intensely, though not for music or anything graphically intense, and the battery indicator remained at 46% for at least 30 minutes. It was as if the battery indicator had overestimated the battery drain while the draining app was open, but that when the app closed, it seemed to level out.

I've also observed that if I restart the iPad after one of these battery drain periods, the battery indicator seems to have increased a bit, but not from 0 back to 46% tbh.

As far as I can tell, there likely isn't anything wrong with your iPad battery - it's a combination of how iOS and your apps are behaving together and is not a sign of any hardware issues I don't think. Just my two cents worth.

Thanks for this, and for all the other responses, everyone!

Do you have the 10.5 inch Pro as well, @craftycurate ?

craftycurate

@craftycurate said:

@Michael_R_Grant said:
My iPad Pro 10.5 inch from 2017 is exhibiting some really weird battery issues when it's going full tilt with the likes of AUM. The battery is dropping quickly, to the point where it only lasts a couple of hours if not less. But then, after it switches off at 0%, it can be restarted and the battery percentage reads 48% or so. Then it drops again really quickly.

Hi Michael ... this is also quite typical of what I've observed. Those rapid drain apps seem to confuse the iOS battery level indicator. Recently, I had my battery drop to 46% from full charge after 30 minutes of using one of my drain apps in AUM.

After exiting the app, I continued using the iPad quite intensely, though not for music or anything graphically intense, and the battery indicator remained at 46% for at least 30 minutes. It was as if the battery indicator had overestimated the battery drain while the draining app was open, but that when the app closed, it seemed to level out.

I've also observed that if I restart the iPad after one of these battery drain periods, the battery indicator seems to have increased a bit, but not from 0 back to 46% tbh.

As far as I can > @Michael_R_Grant said:

@craftycurate said:

@Michael_R_Grant said:
My iPad Pro 10.5 inch from 2017 is exhibiting some really weird battery issues when it's going full tilt with the likes of AUM. The battery is dropping quickly, to the point where it only lasts a couple of hours if not less. But then, after it switches off at 0%, it can be restarted and the battery percentage reads 48% or so. Then it drops again really quickly.

Hi Michael ... this is also quite typical of what I've observed. Those rapid drain apps seem to confuse the iOS battery level indicator. Recently, I had my battery drop to 46% from full charge after 30 minutes of using one of my drain apps in AUM.

After exiting the app, I continued using the iPad quite intensely, though not for music or anything graphically intense, and the battery indicator remained at 46% for at least 30 minutes. It was as if the battery indicator had overestimated the battery drain while the draining app was open, but that when the app closed, it seemed to level out.

I've also observed that if I restart the iPad after one of these battery drain periods, the battery indicator seems to have increased a bit, but not from 0 back to 46% tbh.

As far as I can tell, there likely isn't anything wrong with your iPad battery - it's a combination of how iOS and your apps are behaving together and is not a sign of any hardware issues I don't think. Just my two cents worth.

Thanks for this, and for all the other responses, everyone!

Do you have the 10.5 inch Pro as well, @craftycurate ?

Yes, the 2nd Generation one.