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

After getting back from a short week-long holiday, my Pebble still works. It's one less device to worry about. Already I've got to pack my phone charger (acceptable), 3DS charger (also acceptable). Beyond that I didn't have to worry about my Pebble, Fuelband, electric shaver and electric toothbrush. I charge them before I go and that's it.

Definitely not buying a watch that lasts for 19 hours. I'm more than happy to wait until some new battery tech, or more efficient display tech comes along.
 
Apple fighting for 19 hours of light use, wow. I think I'll wait a generation or 2 before jumping in and enjoy the watches I have
 
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.
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Just turn it off during the flights. It's not like you'll be too pre-occupied to look at your phone, unless you are the pilot.
 
I still genuinely don't get the desire for a 'smart' watch?

The iPhone brilliant, the iPad brilliant, but I will be surprised if the iwatch became even a fraction as successful. It just doesnt add anything new other than the hassle of another device to charge very day, more faff to answer a text when you can just get your phone out your pocket and a design which is no where near as stylish as a designer analogue watch.

I bet the actual function of telling the time (which doesn't seem to be mentioned much) is low on the priority list too! Haha.

Can't wait for it to be released though to see how popular or unpopular it will be if anyone will actually wear it.
 
iHateMacs said:
Just turn it off during the flights. It's not like you'll be too pre-occupied to look at your phone, unless you are the pilot.
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LOL...what a horrible solution you offer. Better yet, leave the watch home if you are going to take a long flight, right?

The solution for the terrible battery time of the iWatch: Don't use it!!! :eek:


"You are not holding your iPhone right...and you are also not using your iWatch right. The right way to use your watch is to switch it off" :confused:
 
Elvergun said:
LOL...what a horrible solution you offer. Better yet, leave the watch home if you are going to take a long flight, right?

The solution for the terrible battery time of the iWatch: Don't use it!!! :eek:


"You are not holding your iPhone right...and you are also not using your iWatch right. The right way to use your watch is to switch it off" :confused:
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The watch lasts days if you don't use it, or use it lightly, so not sure what the issue is?

Unless your playing games on your watch all flight long... Or your flight lasts 3 days, why would there be an issue. You'Re not going to get/reply to notifications on your phones for 4 hours mid flight are you?
 
I seem to remember we had Digital watches in the 70's with a blank face until you pressed a button to see the time and a low battery life. They may not have been a Smart watch but they were smart enough to know they could not be successful with it.
 
Keirasplace said:
The watch lasts days if you don't use it, or use it lightly, so not sure what the issue is?
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Heck, the watch lasts days if you don't use it, and it might even last a couple of weeks if it is switched off and left at home.

Problem solved.

Those who can't follow these simple instructions (those who refuse to use their iWatch right) should remember to carry the watch charger -- or their Seiko -- with them at all times.:eek:
 
Look if you have the money and you want a fun gadget get this but this will be much like the version 1.0 iPhone with no 3G and no app store... a neat future looking idea that doesn't start to be a world beater until version 2.0

I hope they do well but I think I'll sit this one out for 2.0
 
ToniqR said:
I still genuinely don't get the desire for a 'smart' watch?
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I didn't find a need for a smart watch either until I got a good pair of headphones. Since they didn't have an inline remote for controlling music on my iPhone I picked up a Pebble to pause+skip through music. Since then I've found it absolutely invaluable.

- My phone may be anywhere in my house but if it's within range of my Pebble I'll get call notifications on that instead of missing the call.
- Text message+social media notifications are equally useful. I don't have to pick up my phone to see the message any more.
- When I go hiking I can now just use my Pebble as a compass, before that I'd have to get my phone out (and failing that a real compass).

It basically means I can just bury my phone in my pocket and just look at my watch when I get notifications. That's the big thing for me, it just makes stuff easier to the point I couldn't go without out now. Equally I think there isn't anything I need in a smartwatch that the Pebble doesn't already do.
 
Dagless said:
I didn't find a need for a smart watch either until I got a good pair of headphones. Since they didn't have an inline remote for controlling music on my iPhone I picked up a Pebble to pause+skip through music. Since then I've found it absolutely invaluable.

- My phone may be anywhere in my house but if it's within range of my Pebble I'll get call notifications on that instead of missing the call.
- Text message+social media notifications are equally useful. I don't have to pick up my phone to see the message any more.
- When I go hiking I can now just use my Pebble as a compass, before that I'd have to get my phone out (and failing that a real compass).

It basically means I can just bury my phone in my pocket and just look at my watch when I get notifications. That's the big thing for me, it just makes stuff easier to the point I couldn't go without out now. Equally I think there isn't anything I need in a smartwatch that the Pebble doesn't already do.
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I just read a Pebble review on cnet...

...this is part of the review:


The Bad: Older technology compared to competition; onboard storage limited to eight apps at a time; still requires charging twice a week; lacks heart-rate monitor or more advanced fitness features.



Twice a week is bad. I wonder what they will say about the iWatch.
 
Elvergun said:
I just read a Pebble review on cnet...

...this is part of the review:


The Bad: Older technology compared to competition; onboard storage limited to eight apps at a time; still requires charging twice a week; lacks heart-rate monitor or more advanced fitness features.



Twice a week is bad. I wonder what they will say about the iWatch.
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I only have to charge mine once a week. Though I use mine mostly just for notifications and music control, and have chosen a watch face that only refreshes* once a minute.

*Though the Pebble's screen isn't bistable like true ePaper, it does have "pixel memory", and so only needs a signal from the processor when refreshing. Watch faces that don't display seconds or any kind of fancy animations don't need to refresh as often, and thus can save battery life.
 
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Elvergun said:
Twice a week is bad. I wonder what they will say about the iWatch.
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I imagine they'll love the iWatch ;)
I don't need to charge mine twice a week either. Even with active use (using it as a remote for music) I get a week. If I just use it for notifications+watch it lasts around 10 days.
 
Dagless said:
I imagine they'll love the iWatch ;)
I don't need to charge mine twice a week either. Even with active use (using it as a remote for music) I get a week. If I just use it for notifications+watch it lasts around 10 days.
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I wasn't hoping for once a week, or even twice a week, from the iWatch, but I was at least expecting once a day (with moderate use...not the four hours they are estimating).

Real innovation would have been incorporating solar or kinetic technologies (in addition to the battery) so that the watch could last longer than 4 to 19 hours. Sure, the iWatch does a whole lot more than the Pebble...but whats the point if you can't do any of those things because the battery ran out.

When I'm unable to charge my iPhone I worry about battery time and I end up using it only for essential needs (no browsing or games) -- I don't want to also worry about my watch. If both my iPhone's and iWatch's batteries run out I won't even be able to tell what time it is. No thanks. I'll look into Pebble or keep using my automatic watches.
 
Elvergun said:
Heck, the watch lasts days if you don't use it, and it might even last a couple of weeks if it is switched off and left at home.

Problem solved.

Those who can't follow these simple instructions (those who refuse to use their iWatch right) should remember to carry the watch charger -- or their Seiko -- with them at all times.:eek:
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Right ... Witty, I didn't of your non wit before I actually wrote this... Please desist from attempting humor in the future before you hurt your funny bone!

Using it as a watch for several days is still using it. You were talking about just this kind of use.

So, I'm guessing by your pseudo snark, I should throw the phone away because I only use it 2-3 times a day and the rest of the time its on standby waiting for a call for 2-3 days. That's obviously not worthy of a any phone (sic)
 
Gym usage

So I wonder if this will handle a 2 hour workout with HR running and the screen on like my current Mio Fuse does.. My guess is I'd need to charge it just before I leave home, which would be annoying.
 
Keirasplace said:
Right ... Witty, I didn't of your non wit before I actually wrote this... Please desist from attempting humor in the future before you hurt your funny bone!
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Too late...my funny bone has been damaged already. It hurts real bad. :(

Keirasplace said:
Using it as a watch for several days is still using it. You were talking about just this kind of use.
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Well, I have automatic watches I can use as a watch for several days. I need a smart watch so it can do what my normal watches are not able to do. But I need a smart watch that will not die after four hours of doing what my normal watches are not able to do...and then be incapable of doing what my normal watches are always able to do.


Keirasplace said:
So, I'm guessing by your pseudo snark, I should throw the phone away because I only use it 2-3 times a day and the rest of the time its on standby waiting for a call for 2-3 days. That's obviously not worthy of a any phone (sic)
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Nah...keep the iPhone and throw away the iWatch.
 
Mtmspa said:
So you get up between 5 and 7, but up at 6:30and 7:30? Either you are drunk, a samsuck user or sporting serious wood every morning.
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Two out of three ;)!

I didn't leave out an "up" there, I left out "hours of sleep". Sorry for the confusion!:cool:

EDIT: obviously didn't read my own ****. I accidentally inserted an "up" where I did not intend! Wow. Serious miss for me. :eek:
 
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While I would love for it to have a better battery, I can live with this. That's about how much use I put my phone through on a daily basis (including listening to music and podcasts), and I can't imagine spending more time on a watch than I do on a phone.

Then again, who knows what my actual use pattern will be with this? But again, I can't imagine needing more battery than what they're able to eke out of it on this generation.

I feel bad for anyone getting this expecting it to be a reliable workout companion, though: you'll basically have to budget in an early recharge any day you have a serious workout, because using the exercise functions (as opposed to the general fitness tracking) will burn up too much power.
 
DC Wallaby said:
While I would love for it to have a better battery, I can live with this. That's about how much use I put my phone through on a daily basis (including listening to music and podcasts), and I can't imagine spending more time on a watch than I do on a phone.

Then again, who knows what my actual use pattern will be with this? But again, I can't imagine needing more battery than what they're able to eke out of it on this generation.

I feel bad for anyone getting this expecting it to be a reliable workout companion, though: you'll basically have to budget in an early recharge any day you have a serious workout, because using the exercise functions (as opposed to the general fitness tracking) will burn up too much power.
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How long are you're workouts? I used to train in track at the national level and I rarely exceeded 2h (and that included long technical training).

If you're training for ultra-marathons, yes I guess this watch would not be for you ;-).

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dave2010 said:
So I wonder if this will handle a 2 hour workout with HR running and the screen on like my current Mio Fuse does.. My guess is I'd need to charge it just before I leave home, which would be annoying.
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The screen is not on till you look at it; so you should very easily get through a 2h training unless you train in the evening or night.
 
Keirasplace said:
How long are you're workouts? I used to train in track at the national level and I rarely exceeded 2h (and that included long technical training).

If you're training for ultra-marathons, yes I guess this watch would not be for you ;-).
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Not my workouts, I just mean people who work out for extended periods of time. And even if your workouts are 2 hours long ... you're going to eat through half of the Watch's battery and need to recharge it well before the end of the day. That's my point.

Again, it's not going to be an issue for me. But I can see why some people would be leery of it. And you know what? Not all products are for everyone. Maybe in a generation or two Apple will iron out these issues.
 
2.5 hours battery life is a joke. Fun to see the fanboy comments claiming this is good numbers. You guys must be smoking some heavy duty crystal meth if you think those numbers are anywhere near acceptable. This is a freaking joke guys.
 
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