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

[k995]

And the watch will be fine if you glance at it 5 times to check the time and see a few alerts.

If you want to play wo w fr on it for 24 hours straight you are screwed. You must have an iPhone to use the watch in the first place so this limitation is not nearly as extreme as some are pretending..

Always suprised how some people always seem to defend whatever some brands are selling.

IF this is the actual battery life lots of people are going to have to remind and remember daily to charge it, or not be able to use it when it dies on them.

Aka the 400$ watch is going to be more a liability and give you more work then what it actually saves you for having it.

Lets not forget the whole purpose of this watch is to make things EASIER when you already have an iphone, not harder .

 

[Sharkey311]

I'll be using it for sleep tracking since I suffer with insomnia. I'd imagine that I'll be able to use it through the night, wake up and charge it, have my morning routine, and put it on my wrist once I leave for the day, use it until I get home, plug it in during my night routine and when I go to sleep, put it back on.

 

[petvas]

There's no point in having a 25 hour battery, or for that matter a 36 hour battery.

Of course there is. The better the battery, the more I can use my watch during the day and the possibility that my watch will run out of battery during the day is small.

 

[Jon-Erich]

Where's Steve Jobs when you need him?

The devices released during his time were also criticized for their battery life....and the fact that couldn't replace a battery.

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.

I get the impression that these watches are supposed to be luxury products. I don't think anybody would want to jump in a pool with something like that even if they could.

 

[Sym0]

As a current smart watch user (Pebble Steel here) the only thing I use my watch for is telling the time, and occasionally looking at a text message when the phone is not handy, about 10% of the time.

Otherwise it just shows the time on a variety of neat faces, and I like my ticking second hand so this wears down the battery about 10-15% faster.

I get 5-7 days per charge in this fashion. I never think about it actually, it is really just like every other watch and it looks really nice and is salt/fresh water proof to 5 ATM.

The Apple Watch is great, and I'll enjoy seeing them come out of hiding and as the next gen comes around will watch this space closely but this version is not going to get my money while the Pebble is everything I need right now, and vastly superior at doing so.

BTW my first apple device was the original iPad and I got it after I had a Kindle so I will be there one day.

 

[mw360]

Of course there is. The better the battery, the more I can use my watch during the day and the possibility that my watch will run out of battery during the day is small.

That's not how product design works. You can't leave the goals, like battery life, completely open ended. At what point do you stop growing the battery, case and cost?

You have to pick a sensible target, and make the design fit to that. If you can't make it to a week or month then 19 hours is a sensible target. 25 hours is pointless because extra hours will rarely be used, but will be carried around in weight every single day on every single wrist.

 

[MacrumoursUser]

Unacceptable and pathetic.

 

[petvas]

That's not how product design works. You can't leave the goals, like battery life, completely open ended. At what point do you stop growing the battery, case and cost?

You have to pick a sensible target, and make the design fit to that. If you can't make it to a week or month then 19 hours is a sensible target. 25 hours is pointless because extra hours will rarely be used, but will be carried around in weight every single day on every single wrist.

You probably misunderstood me. As far as product design concerns, you are probably right, but for consumers, knowing that their device can last longer is certainly great. For example the iPhone 6 Plus. I charge it every night, but actually I don't need to. With my usage it would last at least a day and a half, but I don't want to charge it in midday, so I charge it at night. It is great though to know that whatever I do with it on a single day, its battery will not die. This is exactly the case with the Apple Watch too. Knowing that I could theoretically use it for 25 hours, would change my usage patterns..

 

[artuuur]

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.

Please tell me this post was a joke

 

[s2mikey]

Just read an article on Engadget that stated that the iWatch will last about 2.5 hours under heavy use. Zoinks. Not good.

Best of luck with that.

 

[Abazigal]

Just read an article on Engadget that stated that the iWatch will last about 2.5 hours under heavy use. Zoinks. Not good.



Best of luck with that.

My iPhone lasts less than a morning under heavy use (if it can be called that - taking photos and uploading them to my blog). Seems 4g and photography really kills the battery.

I am interested to see what they mean by "heavy use". I assume something like using maps in your Apple Watch to guide you to your location should be light-moderate use? Not to mention the screen will be left on for an extended period of time.

 

[grahamperrin]

Would Steve Have Released This Watch? (orientation)

… this project was in the works while he was still alive.

… Steve killed / tabled tons of projects that were "in the works" …

Would Steve Have Released This Watch? – A reminder, and an additional thought

… out of control on this one.

… dead for a long time.

Beaming beardy burly Burl in a béret does tick all the boxes for the looks of a designer-developer. Put Burl reincarnate in a key role at Apple … I'd positively encourage him to go out of control. The amaretto voice of Ives, singing the words of Siri. Why not?

 

[Aniseedvan]

It seems like it shouldn't be a watch at all, just a fitness tracking device. It sure doesn't have the battery power to be used like an actual watch.

I wouldn't say at 4 hours it has the battery for a fitness tracker for me either! Again I guess this is a percentages thing. Most people won't be using it for more than 4 hours in fitness mode. I'm one of the minority who does go for long walks...


To the arguments about 19 hour days, try having small children and working. My daughter was a dreadful sleeper, had to most nights drive her down the M1 to get her back off to sleep at 3am, then up with the eldest as a toddler at 6, full days work, rinse and repeat.

 

[Southern Dad]

My Pebble is able to last five days on a charge. I know some choose to not sleep with a watch on but that eliminates several of its functions. If you have to charge it at night, how will you be able to use it as a sleep tracker or silent alarm?

 

[BigHonkingDeal]

Folks here will just tell you to conserve battery by no longer using your watch to check the time. Or increase the pace of your glances. Or ask your colleague on the train to check his Cartier.

You can always use your iPhone for the time

 

[bobob]

Based on the maximum available volume for a battery inside the Apple Watch, I estimate it will have a capacity of ~350mAh.

I'm basing my estimate of recharge time for the Apple Watch on the fact that the the iPhone 6 with a 1810 mAh battery takes 2.28 hours to recharge.

This is why I believe recharging time will be under an hour. Does anyone else have any technical reasons why it won't? eg: Is inductive charging inherently slow?

 

[brendu]

That's not a "game", I mean with 2D or 3D graphics...

That's just a normal App, with normal interface elements... you know what a "game" means for a technical standpoint.

Don't try to be "smarter" than other people.

I wasn't trying to be smarter. It is a game just like Sodoku is a game. The article specifically called the app a "game". The watch will have games. It doesn't have to run crysis to have games. You weren't clear in stating you meant console quality games. I bet you a coke there will be multiple apps labeled as "games" available for the apple watch at launch.

 

[soaddk]

...... 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.

I bet you that the exact same sentence was said when Apple released the first iPhone: "Who needs internet on the go? Your average geek will buy it. But that's about it".

And today EVERYONE has a fricking iPhone. I'm sorry, but I think Apple knows what they are doing...

 

[BruceEBonus]

Let's get it released. Take the hit when it flops. Move on. Learn from it. Good.

 

[Doomtomb]

Ok these battery life numbers suck. Make it solar powered, thermal powered, kinetic powered. Something to recharge the battery on the go. That's innovation you lazy Apples

 

[MacrumoursUser]

I'm sorry, but I think Apple knows what they are doing...

It's a slippery slope.

 

[Tanegashima]

Ok these battery life numbers suck. Make it solar powered, thermal powered, kinetic powered. Something to recharge the battery on the go. That's innovation you lazy Apples

Yes, they suck and are baseless.

Go tell that to the people who developed the rumors

 

[shk718]

Oh yet apple uses these marketing gimmicks to attract their loyal religious customers into buying their products? Apple is nothing but a marketing company. They're good at marketing, nothing else. They like to make people think they need their products when in reality they don't. Everything they sell is overhyped and glorified. They know they can get away with it because their loyal customers will buy anything they sell.

Apple customers are the one's getting a hard on over retina displays, not android users. We actually know about technology.

you are correct i do get "hyped" over Apple's marketing:

I got hyped over their marketing of the first GUI
I got hyped over their marketing for their aggressive implementation of WIFI
I got hyped over their marketing for no viruses
I got hyped over their marketing for a cell phone that changed the industry
I got hyped over their marketing for the 1st 64 bit processor in a phone
(the first tablet that worked the first music player that worked ...............)

 

[Vegasman]

Sounds great for me. 19 hours is plenty. I'm usually up for 16-17 hours, typically working, in transit, etc. so I doubt I'll need much longer, its not like I'll be looking at it all day. I'd prefer charging it every night, especially if it only takes an hour or so to charge. I could do it while I'm showering before i go to bed, and have it waiting for me in the morning.

However, monitoring your sleep is one of the interesting things gadgets with these types do sensors are capable of doing.

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Yep, pointless product. Why would I want to use a tiny screen strapped to my arm when I have a 5" phone in my pocket? If you bought a Rolex 10 years ago, chances are it still looks nice today. The Apple Watch will look cheap in a year.

They should've made Apple Glasses instead.

I didn't think I would say this when I first got it, but getting email notifications on my Band is super convenient.

 

[PlainviewX]

The price of the charge cords better be relatively cheap since you'll need to have them in a few places. $49.99 a pop won't cut it. They needs to be sub-$20