Many of us rely on our phones to check the time. Unless you're lucky enough to own an Apple or Samsung Watch that combines tech with traditional on-wrist timekeeping.
However, the battery life of these electronic devices only lasts so long.
Thankfully, Apple is introducing a partial fix in iOS 18 to fix this bane of our lives.
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According to Reddit users (via MacRumors), iOS 18 allows your iPhone to display the time in small text at the top-left corner of the screen, even when the battery is nearly dead.
By 'nearly' we mean there's a tiny bit of battery remaining despite the phone being off. If the battery was completely depleted, you wouldn't be able to see the time.
This is part of Apple's previously rolled-out Power Reserve feature. It works by keeping the phone still findable and usable in its last drip of power.
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You won't be able to perform any of the phone's usual functions like calls or open apps or anything, it's merely a minimalistic feature for a last-chance need, like a payment to get you home.
A great second wind option if you didn't plan your battery to align with your day plans.
Oddly though, the new roll-out will only work on the iPhone 15 series. If you have an iPhone 14 or older, you won't be able to access this clock feature even with iOS 18 installed.
It's a bit of a strange decision to exclude a lot of popular iPhone models. But it could just be a case of Apple holding back the feature for arbitrary reasons, or perhaps this is just the beta version. This means that the clock will be more widely available in Power Reserve once iOS 18 is finished.
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It's also worth noting that adding the clock to Power Reserve might slightly increase battery drain, although the difference is pretty insignificant.
So, your iPhone might run out of battery a bit faster if this is turned on.
Remember that Power Reserve is not the same as Low Power Mode which saves battery life when the phone is on and can be activated manually.
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Meanwhile, Power Reserve turns on automatically when the battery is almost dead.
To check the cards, passes and digital keys available for use with Power Reserve, press the side button or the Home button when your iPhone requires a charge.