iOS 15.1.1: Should you install it? Does it wreck battery life?

OK, ever the person who wants to be on the bleeding edge, I've been running iOS 15.1.1 on my iPhone 13 Pro Max since its release last week.

This update was specific for the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 line and was, according to Apple, "improves call drop performance on iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 models."

It doesn't even contain any security fixes.

I wasn't expecting much from this update, after all, I don't do that many calls, so this wouldn't affect me that much. And oddly, I'd not hear anything from readers about a problem with calls.

But it was clearly important enough for Apple to push out an update, and I suspect this was done because of telemetry collected by Apple and carriers.

So, I wasn't expecting much. But I was also curious, especially given that the update was well over 300MB, more than I'd expect for a small update.

And I was pleasantly surprised.

Everything about my iPhone feels better. My iPhone is smoother, more stable, and less glitchy than it's been so far. Battery life is good, the UI is a lot more responsive, and everything feels so much better than before.

Weird.

I can only assume Apple bundled in some fixes designed for a future release.

So, my recommendation is that if you're holding out on installing this update, install it now. Based on my testing, along with what I've been seeing on the Apple Support Forum and social media, it seems to be safe.

Let me know your experiences of iOS 15.1.1.