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Apple Aiming for 19 Hours of Apple Watch Battery Life With 'Mixed Usage'

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macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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30,846



One of the biggest mysteries about the upcoming Apple Watch is its battery life. Previous rumors have hinted that it will need to be charged once a day, and Apple CEO Tim Cook himself said that users will want to charge it on a daily basis, but concrete battery life information has yet to be revealed.

New details on the Apple Watch's possible battery life have now surfaced from inside sources that spoke to 9to5Mac, revealing information on the battery life Apple was aiming for and what it may actually be able to achieve.

As of 2014, Apple was reportedly aiming for 2.5 to 4 hours of active application use with 19 hours of active/passive use, plus 3 days of pure standby time and four days if the watch was sleeping. That's somewhat in line with early rumors, which suggested Apple was targeting a three to five day battery life for the device. Though Apple was aiming for three to four days of standby time, it may only reach two to three days. Apple is hoping the Apple Watch will last for 19 hours of mixed usage, but it "may not hit that number in the first generation version."

applewatch11.jpg
The Apple Watch is equipped with a tiny but powerful S1 chip, and its performance is similar to that of the A5 processor from the iPhone 4s and the iPad 2. It also has a 60-FPS Retina-class display, which, along with the S1 chip, results in a significant amount of power usage.
Apple has also been stress-testing the Apple Watch's battery life with pre-bundled and third-party applications. Our sources say that Apple is targeting 2.5 hours of "heavy" application use, such as processor-intensive gameplay, or 3.5 hours of standard app use. Interestingly, Apple expects to see better battery life when using the Watch's fitness tracking software, which is targeted for nearly 4 hours of straight exercise tracking on a single charge.

As Apple is positioning the Apple Watch as a timepiece, the company has conducted numerous tests to determine how long it can run purely in time-keeping modes. We're told that the Watch should be able to display its clock face for approximately three hours, including watch ticking animations, if nothing else is done with the device.
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These usage numbers make it sound like the Apple Watch will need to be charged multiple times a day, but it's unlikely that Apple Watch users will use apps and games continuously for hours, allowing the Apple Watch to last for approximately a day before needing to be charged. When not in active use, the Apple Watch goes into a battery-preserving sleep mode.

Apple originally hoped to launch the Apple Watch in late 2014, but delays with software optimization ultimately caused the company to push back the release of the device until 2015, giving it time to eke out as much battery life as possible. Apple is also said to be perfecting the Apple Watch's MagSafe charger, improving its recharging time.

Current rumors suggest the Apple Watch could launch in March of 2015, at the tail end of "early 2015." While complete pricing remains unknown, the entry-level model will sell for $349.

Article Link: Apple Aiming for 19 Hours of Apple Watch Battery Life With 'Mixed Usage'
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2015/01/22/apple-watch-battery-life-19-hours/
O

odedia

macrumors 65816
Nov 24, 2005
1,044
149
4 hours just staring at a watch?! That's ridicilous. I MAYBE use my phone that much on active days. Who has time?
 
W

whawhat

macrumors 6502
Jun 9, 2006
316
46
been a loyal apple user for 25+ years now but this one feels like a miss. who on earth wants to take off a watch twice a day and charge it ALONG w. a phone.
 
S

Sky Captain

macrumors newbie
Jun 25, 2010
2
0
jessejarvi said:
So? I take my watch off at night anyways. No one stays up for more than 19 hours.
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You seem to be completely ignoring people who actually.. kinda do. What I mean by that is what about the frequent traveler. Many journeys across the globe can take upwards of 24 hours between catching flights, the flight itself lay overs etc. Point is, you can find yourself many times in situations where it is not realistic or convenient to pause to tie your arm to the closet power plug you can find to charge your watch, all the while staring at said watch in desperation as you see your boarding time drawing near.

That's just one example. Long bus trips is another.. etc etc.
 
R

robT9

macrumors newbie
May 3, 2010
19
24
Unfortunately, this is what we have to look forward to in a Gen 1 product.

You can always wait until next year to get it...
 
gugy

gugy

macrumors 68040
Jan 31, 2005
3,891
5,309
La Jolla, CA
whawhat said:
been a loyal apple user for 25+ years now but this one feels like a miss. who on earth wants to take off a watch twice a day and charge it ALONG w. a phone.
Click to expand...

Not just that but it is not waterproof. Big miss there. Any quality watch you can jump in the pool or go to the beach, etc without the need to worry about water breaking or damaging it.
 
bobob

bobob

macrumors 68040
Jan 11, 2008
3,437
2,520
Anyone expecting Apple to transcend the laws of physics has a problem bigger than a watch will solve.

19 hours is exceptional! Combine this with a battery that is so small that it will likely take an hour or less to fully recharge, and you've got a state of the art wearable computer. Pop it on the charger while you have your morning shower and forget about it till the next morning.
 
nav92

nav92

macrumors member
Feb 25, 2013
69
64
Would avoid any first gen Apple Product. Second gen Apple Watch will apparently eradicate many major bugs and problems.
 
SMIDG3T

SMIDG3T

Suspended
Apr 29, 2012
3,859
2,316
England
That's fine by me. I'll be charging mine up overnight just like I do with my iPhone so no issues here. Cannot wait!

----------
bobob said:
Anyone expecting Apple to transcend the laws of physics has a problem bigger than a watch will solve.

19 hours is exceptional! Combine this with a battery that is so small that it will likely take an hour or less to fully recharge, and you've got a state of the art wearable computer. Pop it on the charger while you have your morning shower and forget about it till the next morning.
Click to expand...

Yep, we'll get these people that'll still get grumpy but the fact is, as you said, 19 hours is great for such a small battery.
 
longofest

longofest

Editor emeritus
Jul 10, 2003
2,924
1,682
Falls Church, VA
I remember a lot of folks complained about the battery drop-off between the A4 and A5 (iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S). Maybe in a watch we can afford to have a Cortex A8-class CPU rather than a dual-core Cortex A9-class for the sake of battery life?

Also, I wonder if the refresh rate is adaptive. When there is static content on the screen, there's no reason to be pumping out 60fps.
 
mw360

mw360

macrumors 68020
Aug 15, 2010
2,032
2,395
There's no point in having a 25 hour battery, or for that matter a 36 hour battery.
 
LordVic

LordVic

Cancelled
Sep 7, 2011
5,938
12,458
bobob said:
Anyone expecting Apple to transcend the laws of physics has a problem bigger than a watch will solve.

19 hours is exceptional! Combine this with a battery that is so small that it will likely take an hour or less to fully recharge, and you've got a state of the art wearable computer. Pop it on the charger while you have your morning shower and forget about it till the next morning.
Click to expand...

19 hours is not exceptional. At all. And the time it takes to charge is irrelevant if you're not in a place you can charge it.

Unlike your phone, it will require its own dock to charge. That means if you're stuck in an airport for 20 hours, your watch isn't getting charged. it means that this product is going to be a non-starter for many people who know they are frequently away from home base for more than a day.

The same does apply for other smartwatches too who have the same < 1 day battery life.

I was just recently on a european trip. My flight from Amsterdam to Copenhagen got cancelled. My phone battery died. I was stuck in the airport then running around amsterdam for an additional day with no hotel or home to plug anything in. My watch though, kept me going with the time. I never had to think about it. thats the purpose of a good quality watch. that and fashion.

neither the Apple watch is going to hit. This is going to put it into the same category as every other 1 day smart watch maker. Your average geek will wear it. but thats about it.
 
macguru212

macguru212

macrumors demi-god
Apr 17, 2009
1,217
16,067
AZ/NYC/Tokyo
Sky Captain said:
You seem to be completely ignoring people who actually.. kinda do. What I mean by that is what about the frequent traveler. Many journeys across the globe can take upwards of 24 hours between catching flights, the flight itself lay overs etc. Point is, you can find yourself many times in situations where it is not realistic or convenient to pause to tie your arm to the closet power plug you can find to charge your watch, all the while staring at said watch in desperation as you see your boarding time drawing near.

That's just one example. Long bus trips is another.. etc etc.
Click to expand...

Every long flight and long bus ride I've ever been on had USB or at least 110v:eek:
Even airports have power to plug into.
 
G

geoffreyspencer

macrumors newbie
Oct 28, 2014
8
11
Better to use wireless charging if the Apple Watch is tracking your sleep time and how well you sleep. Put the wireless charging transmitter near the bed and let it charge the Apple Watch while I sleep.
 
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