Apple plans to have your iPhone predict far in advance if you're going to run out of charge today, and warn you in time to do something about it. Just as every iPhone runs out of battery power, so every iPhone has always had the ability to warn when that power is getting low. It's more complicated than the little icon and notifications would make it seem, but still it is a familiar experience of using an iPhone. And Apple wants to improve it. "Smart advice to charge notification," is a newly-granted patent that is not concerned with prolonging battery life through some chemistry or physics. Instead, it's about accepting the fact we'll run out of battery power, and trying to minimize the inconvenience.