Always on display On Vs Off, Battery comparison

[bryn0076]

Hey there... It’s my first day with an always-on display. Does anyone have experience of battery life with the always on display on vs off ?

 

[NashMan2]

Some folks are having battery issues, in general, with the new update.

 

[danmart]

The watch always uses more battery in the first few days, and sometimes the early OS releases are not as power efficient. We had the same discussions when the S5 came out. 🙂

I know the S6 has a brighter screen, but AOD has made no real-world difference to my Watch’s ability to get through the day, and I fully expect this to hold for the S6, too.

 

[Beards]

The display itself uses little battery... What kills it is apps hitting the processor and notifications.

 

[danmart]

What kills it is apps hitting the processor and notifications.

I agree. The option to have all apps background refresh in WatchOS 6 was the biggest change to power usage. If @bryn0076 is already set up on WatchOS 6 then hopefully this should be a smooth transition.

 

[deeddawg]

As above, newly setup watches tend to use more battery the first few days, and major x.0.0 releases seem to tend to have issues too (I like to wait for the x.0.1 release 🙂 )

One clarification - per the specs, the screen brightness is identical from S5 to S6 - both 1000nits.

The difference reportedly is that the AOD of the S6 has a higher brightness range up to 2.5 of the S5. My understanding is that this comes into play only when in a bright environment (outdoors/sunny) where the S5 AOD would max out yet still be difficult to read. I think (hope) the AOD remains at normal levels in darker environments.

 

[danmart]

I think (hope) the AOD remains at normal levels in darker environments.

Most early reports (including videos showing this) say it is brighter when ‘quiescent’. Presumably it will still dim-down when in a darker environment, though.

 

[bryn0076]

I think (hope) the AOD remains at normal levels in darker environments.

Based on my experience, AOD is quite dim at home with my evening light set-up.

 

[deeddawg]

Based on my experience, AOD is quite dim at home with my evening light set-up.

Good to hear.

As to your question, with my S5 and AOD on, I've typically had all day battery even with a 50 minute run while streaming music over LTE / bluetooth headphones. As in taking the watch off the charger when I wake up, putting it back on the charger at bedtime.

Also be aware it seems new watches and new x.0.0 WatchOS releases tend to be battery hogs the first few days. Saw the same thing when the S5 was released - and I think I remember same when the S4 was released. Whether the x.0.1 patch addressed things or whether folks watches settled down, battery life complaints subsided after the first couple weeks.