One UI 8.5 May Be Worsening Galaxy Z Fold 7 Battery Life

Samsung’s latest One UI 8.5 update appears to be worsening battery life on the Galaxy Z Fold 7. Several owners have complained that the foldable phone is draining battery much faster than before. The company has not acknowledged the issue at the time of writing.

Galaxy Z Fold 7 users appear to be suffering from battery drain

While One UI 8.5 brings a fresh software experience to the Galaxy Z Fold 7, it may also be draining battery quickly for some users. It is common for battery life to fluctuate for a few days after a big software update. The system takes some time to re-optimize apps and other background components. However, the issue does not seem to be temporary. Perhaps software tweaks are the culprit for increased battery consumption.

According to a report from 9to5Google, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 has been draining its battery after recent updates, such as One UI 8.5. The publication’s Ben Schoon said his phone lost around 30% of its battery in just two hours, even with very light use.

The report also points out numerous complaints from other Fold 7 owners who shared similar experiences. Some users say the battery now survives only half as long as before. Others say they need to charge the phone twice in a single day. It is unclear how widespread the issue is, but some are definitely experiencing increased battery drain.

Samsung says the Galaxy Z Fold 7’s 4,400 mAh battery can last all day and let users stream videos, play games, and browse apps for hours on a single charge. The Snapdragon 8 Elite chip improves power efficiency, while mDNIe image processing technology helps lower battery consumption.

In our review, we found the Galaxy Z Fold 7 averaged around six hours of screen-on time with light to medium use on both displays. However, things may have changed now, with many users reporting noticeably worse battery life. Hopefully, the company is aware of the issue and will release a patch to address it soon.