Apple iOS 16 will support "clean energy charging" for the iPhone

According to Apple's official press release, Apple will bring the "Clean Energy Charging" option to iPhone users in the United States in an update after iOS 16.

Apple's goal is to reduce the carbon footprint of the iPhone through clean energy charging, optimizing the time the grid takes to charge using clean energy. This is the first time Apple has mentioned clean energy charging.

According to 9To5Mac, iOS 16 has a new daemon (a process that runs in the background) that collects carbon emissions data from local load balancing agencies (such as the U.S. EIA) based on the device's location. Then, iOS also downloads carbon emissions projections from the server. Combined with all this data, the system can control when clean energy charging begins to operate.

As a result, iOS 16 will wait to charge iPhone when the grid is less constrained and more clean energy capacity is available. With recent grid stress in places like Texas and California, this feature seems to have come at the right time.

In addition, there are a number of other features in iOS 16 that are not yet live and will be available in future updates, including iCloud shared photo libraries, live events, and support for the Matter smart home standard.

Apple is no longer including a charging head with iPhone 12 and has announced a number of environmental initiatives with a goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2030.