Apple watch 3 weak battery life. Is it worth it?

[SoApple]

According to 9to5mac...

“Apple says that when connected to iPhone, the Apple Watch Series 3 should get up to 3 hours of talk time. When connected to LTE, however, that talk time falls to “over 1 hour.” Furthermore... If both GPS and LTE are in use, that estimated life falls to 4 hours.”


For someone who was excited to get the apple watch 3 in order to not have to carry my phone around all the time i’m really dissapointed.
They also didn’t release battery life while listening to apple music on the watch over LTE.

Thoughts?

 

[julesme]

I think we have to withhold judgement until we see the reviews. That said, we know that the new chipset is much more efficient than S2 (we can reasonably assume it's 10 nanometers and Apple has made some impressive claims about better speed and efficiency). This means everything you did on your Series 2 should now run quicker and consume less battery %, whether it's a workout with GPS turned on or simply wearing the device and getting occasional notifications throughout the day.

...and this will be the story of the Apple Watch for the next few years. Every time they add a new feature (this year it's LTE, next year it could be Facetime), the battery life for that specific feature will be less than stellar, and then it will ramp up in subsequent versions.

 

[SoApple]

I think we have to withhold judgement until we see the reviews. That said, we know that the new chipset is much more efficient than S2 (we can reasonably assume it's 10 nanometers and Apple has made some impressive claims about better speed and efficiency). This means everything you did on your Series 2 should now run quicker and consume less battery %, whether it's a workout with GPS turned on or simply wearing the device and getting occasional notifications throughout the day.

...and this will be the story of the Apple Watch for the next few years. Every time they add a new feature (this year it's LTE, next year it could be Facetime), the battery life for that specific feature will be less than stellar, and then it will ramp up in subsequent versions.

Very true. It sucks for people who’ll be forking out >1k for the ceramic gps+LTE version for about 4 hours of battery life if they’re constantly on LTE.

 

[BarracksSi]

This isn't a surprise, is it?

 

[44267547]

According to 9to5mac...

“Apple says that when connected to iPhone, the Apple Watch Series 3 should get up to 3 hours of talk time. When connected to LTE, however, that talk time falls to “over 1 hour.” Furthermore... If both GPS and LTE are in use, that estimated life falls to 4 hours.”


For someone who was excited to get the apple watch 3 in order to not have to carry my phone around all the time i’m really dissapointed.
They also didn’t release battery life while listening to apple music on the watch over LTE.

Thoughts?

According to Macrumors:

"The Series 3 Apple Watch offers 1 hour of battery life when talking to someone on the phone over LTE, or three hours when connected to the iPhone."

 

[ascender]

That's pretty poor battery life but can't say I'm surprised. That was always going to be the case for the first gen of this feature at this point in its life. I'm assuming this is seen as a feature which people will use in an emergency when out running, or for always being in touch when you've forgotten your phone or left it in the car or something. People can still get hold of you and you can make calls, but they're going to be short ones.

What's the battery life on the gps only model now then? I did wonder if that model would start to have a battery life far exceeding what we've seen before, or maybe an always-on screen if they kept the same form factor and didn't have anything else to put in there.

 

[edhchoe]

Phil said 18 hrs.

 

[ascender]

So you'll easily get a day out of it in mixed use - some of the time away from the phone and most of the time still in range of your phone.

 

[silvetti]

This is not a everyday use feature, this is more like being available for an emergency while going on your 1 hour run, or when you are at the swimming pool, things like these. Battery life was expected to not be amazing while using it, and I think if you have choppy signal the watch won't even last 1 hour on talk time.

And for everyone else who doesn't care about that (like me), buy the one without LTE, save yourself the extra cost of the device and the $10 that carriers will charge

 

[edhchoe]

I wonder if i can get two or more LTE AW3 and hook them up to the same phone number. Since i cannot replace the batteries why not replace the watch heads throughout the day?

 

[pika2000]

Is this even a surprise? This is why I was quite surprised that Apple went ahead with an LTE watch, considering the battery tech is not there yet. Worse, Apple advertised streaming Apple music over LTE on it.

The safest way from disappointment is to ignore the LTE version, get the cheaper wifi version and think of it as a faster AW than the series 2.

 

[iamMacPerson]

The safest way from disappointment is to ignore the LTE version, get the cheaper wifi version and think of it as a faster AW than the series 2.

The non-LTE model only comes in the Sport edition though. I’m sure not many are planning to get the Ceramic but I know some like me do want stainless. The answer is simple: don’t activate the LTE. I’m assuming the watch is going to be more like the iPad than the iPhone. Cellular iPads don’t have to be activated with a carrier.

 

[Vermifuge]

I wonder if i can get two or more LTE AW3 and hook them up to the same phone number. Since i cannot replace the batteries why not replace the watch heads throughout the day?

I suppose its possible.However, the sim isn't swappable. You would need a phone plan for EACH watch.

 

[44267547]

Aside from making phone calls with the LTE version, I imagine the battery life is going to be also based on user settings and how often they are using their watch the routinely throughou the day. That's also something to consider as well.

 

[SoApple]

Phil said 18 hrs.

18 hours of regular usage... excluding GPS & LTE.
[doublepost=1505310910][/doublepost]

Is this even a surprise? This is why I was quite surprised that Apple went ahead with an LTE watch, considering the battery tech is not there yet. Worse, Apple advertised streaming Apple music over LTE on it.

The safest way from disappointment is to ignore the LTE version, get the cheaper wifi version and think of it as a faster AW than the series 2.

I am surprised actually! It’s a neat feature but given the poor battery life, launched too soon.
I don’t think the talk time is a big deal. I don’t see myself talking on my watch for an hour. It’s the 4 hour battery life on GPS & LTE that is dissapointing.

 

[GIZBUG]

According to 9to5mac...

“Apple says that when connected to iPhone, the Apple Watch Series 3 should get up to 3 hours of talk time. When connected to LTE, however, that talk time falls to “over 1 hour.” Furthermore... If both GPS and LTE are in use, that estimated life falls to 4 hours.”


For someone who was excited to get the apple watch 3 in order to not have to carry my phone around all the time i’m really dissapointed.
They also didn’t release battery life while listening to apple music on the watch over LTE.

Thoughts?

Still can’t get multiple days out of the battery? No thanks, stick with my series 0 until they improve things more

 

[ericg301]

has anyone actually held up their watch to their face for a call? you wouldnt want to do that for more than a few minutes at a time.

 

[BarracksSi]

I still don't see why you guys are surprised, given that there hasn't been any major breakthroughs in new production-ready battery technology.

It's like saying that you're surprised we can't use a new Toyota to drive to Mars.

 

[parseckadet]

has anyone actually held up their watch to their face for a call? you wouldnt want to do that for more than a few minutes at a time.

Then don't hold it up to your face. It works great if, after you answer the call, you just go back to what you were doing. I've done that several times when my wife calls with my series 0 and she can't tell I'm talking to her one the watch.

 

[iamMacPerson]

Having made calls on my S0, it's convenient in an emergency, but this isn't something you are going to want to do every day for hours at a time. I see cellular being nice in a pinch, but this is still not a true phone replacement. Considering how fatiguing it is to hold the watch up to talk, I doubt it will be any time soon.

 

[Vermifuge]

has anyone actually held up their watch to their face for a call? you wouldnt want to do that for more than a few minutes at a time.

Having made calls on my S0, it's convenient in an emergency, but this isn't something you are going to want to do every day for hours at a time. I see cellular being nice in a pinch, but this is still not a true phone replacement. Considering how fatiguing it is to hold the watch up to talk, I doubt it will be any time soon.

AirPods... Granted i take calls on my S0 fairly often and you don't have it up to your face so long as you are in a fairly quiet environment. In other cases just use AirPods or whatever your favorite wireless solution is. If you're (the general you) someone who can't stand wireless.. it's time to get over it...

Then don't hold it up to your face. It works great if, after you answer the call, you just go back to what you were doing. I've done that several times when my wife calls with my series 0 and she can't tell I'm talking to her one the watch.

I am in constant disbelief of the ways people use their phones and other electronics. I had a friend who would contort their body into weird positions because they thought the phone would hang up when it touched their ear. these actions actually were causing unexposed behavior because of the proximity sensors..

 

[richard371]

So 4 hours lte and gps if you go on a hike or run. Add audio streaming maybe even less. That’s pretty useless if you ask me. Seems like the lte is only good for emergencies and at 10 a month no thanks.

 

[SoApple]

So 4 hours lte and gps if you go on a hike or run. Add audio streaming maybe even less. That’s pretty useless if you ask me. Seems like the lte is only good for emergencies and at 10 a month no thanks.

Like I said before, i’d love to leave my phone at home but I need it for work. I’ll never leave it at home unless I forget it.
I usually run errands or go out for a run for maybe an hour or two at a time. 4 hours might be enough but definitely not fantastic.

 

[edhchoe]

Like I said before, i’d love to leave my phone at home but I need it for work. I’ll never leave it at home unless I forget it.
I usually run errands or go out for a run for maybe an hour or two at a time. 4 hours might be enough but definitely not fantastic.

When you come back from a run you will have to charge then.. thats not good.

 

[matrix07]

According to 9to5mac...

“Apple says that when connected to iPhone, the Apple Watch Series 3 should get up to 3 hours of talk time. When connected to LTE, however, that talk time falls to “over 1 hour.” Furthermore... If both GPS and LTE are in use, that estimated life falls to 4 hours.”


For someone who was excited to get the apple watch 3 in order to not have to carry my phone around all the time i’m really dissapointed.
They also didn’t release battery life while listening to apple music on the watch over LTE.

Thoughts?

You got only 5 hours for Series 2 with GPS so you have one hours less with added LTE (supposedly listening to Apple Music), not a big deal.

4 hours is enough for a marathon.