Apple Watch Battery Life Currently 'About a Day', but May Improve for 2015 Launch

[flur]

Can't upvote this enough. Even if you're blind to the newer models around you Apple will push an OS update that makes it unusable in three years at most. But I bet they'll recycle your gold for free!

I'm expecting there will be a trade-in program for the "edition" watches, possibly for all the watches.

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I saw no mention in the first 7 pages of posts here.
The biggest UI limitation of this thing...

It's a right-handed device...

Please tell me I missed it somewhere.

Not sure if anyone's responded to you yet, but yeah, they have confirmed that you can flip the orientation to wear it on the other wrist. No worries there.

 

[samcraig]

I'm expecting there will be a trade-in program for the "edition" watches, possibly for all the watches.

Expect away

 

[iBook_Clamshell]

2 to 3 days would be acceptable.


1 day is just to short for a watch. Better add a wind up feature

 

[Liquorpuki]

But it provided functionality that you just could not get with anything else on the market - it was a true revolution.

Biggest revolution with the iPhone was the app store. Instead of going to Best Buy and buying a $20 app to install to your phone through your computer, you could download a $1 app over the air and end up with $100 worth of apps on your phone that would make it a pain in the ass to leave the Apple ecosystem

The new LG G Watch R has

-3G build in
-GPS build in
-has a really fast processor
-is not thicker than the Watch
-same battery life as the Watch
-WORKS ON ITS OWN

http://mashable.com/2014/09/08/lg-g-watch-r-hands-on/

Image

There's no 3G on that LG watch. You're quoting Gear S specs

 

[X-X]

There's no 3G on that LG watch.

I stand corrected, you are absolutely right.

 

[flur]

I think most of the people here are too young to remember or are forgetting when watches first came out they had to be wound by hand, by the crown, multiple times throughout the day. Just a little here and there, sounds familiar

Unless you are a vampire, you're also in the group that doesn't remember the invention of the watch.

 

[Zaqfalcon]

Does the watch face remain visible all the time or does the screen go to sleep?

If it remains visible then I can understand how this may zap battery life but if it does not stay on then the device is pointless as a watch. I wouldn't want to have to tap the screen just to see the time; that is the beauty of a wristwatch.

 

[samcraig]

Does the watch face remain visible all the time or does the screen go to sleep?

If it remains visible then I can understand how this may zap battery life but if it does not stay on then the device is pointless as a watch. I wouldn't want to have to tap the screen just to see the time; that is the beauty of a wristwatch.

From what I understand, it turns on as you lift you hand to look at it

 

[Playgear]

Battery life is not the biggest problem with the Apple Watch.

The biggest issue I see is that, for most functions, it must be tethered to your iPhone to work. Whats the point of being able to use Maps, Messages, etc when you could just pull your phone out of your pocket and get a better experience on a bigger screen? It has no GPS chip so you can't even use it to track your hiking/running route like most GPS watches.

Clearly, it's been designed with untethered use in mind. But current GPS chips and cellular radios couldn't fit in to the Watch without unacceptable battery drain.

Buying this version of the Apple Watch will be a bit like buying the first generation iPad: There's some cool technology there, and a lot of potential - but you know that in a year or so there'll be a second generation that's thinner, has better battery life, and has built-in cellular data and GPS.

As an Australian living in NSW where there are a whole bunch of laws regarding using your phone for certain things while driving, I cannot wait to have GPS on my wrist. Subtle tactic feedback for certain turns, having the map available at a glance... It sounds awesome really.

 

[flur]

Are you aware that there seems to be a large population of people who use devices to track their sleeping habits as part of their health regimen?

And there's no rule that they can't have a watch AND a fitness band...like they do now.

It seems there's a lot of folks here expecting this device to be everything to all people - a standalone device that can replace your phone, a fitness band that doesn't have to be charged but twice a month, a slim-profile fashion accessory, a gps. The technology doesn't exist right now to please all those needs at the same time.

So, it what it is. IMO it's great that Apple is making a device like this, and once it's out, we're sure to see improvements in future releases, just like we do with laptops and phones and tablets. No one is making anyone buy this device. If it's not for you, don't buy it. Maybe the next one will be more your speed, or the one after that, or 5 watches down the road.

 

[samcraig]

And there's no rule that they can't have a watch AND a fitness band...like they do now.

It seems there's a lot of folks here expecting this device to be everything to all people - a standalone device that can replace your phone, a fitness band that doesn't have to be charged but twice a month, a slim-profile fashion accessory, a gps. The technology doesn't exist right now to please all those needs at the same time.

So, it what it is. IMO it's great that Apple is making a device like this, and once it's out, we're sure to see improvements in future releases, just like we do with laptops and phones and tablets. No one is making anyone buy this device. If it's not for you, don't buy it. Maybe the next one will be more your speed, or the one after that, or 5 watches down the road.

You don't think apple is marketing like this as the only watch you'd need?

 

[elmaco]

I don't mean C) as a joke but as a simple, practical and immediate solution (assuming seamless transition/data updates between the two). As long as you can accept the then doubled price and it satisfies your needs: why not?

Why not three watches, Apple Watch, Apple Watch Sports and Apple Watch Edition?

Then you can pick watch depending on what you are going to do.

 

[HiRez]

Why? What if it did die? or what if it kept enough power to maintain time and date but not the pairing features - would that be enough?

And what of your phone, if that's providing the services to the watch and say you lost functionality of maps due to power you wouldn't actually be without maps, would you?

I think some are looking for a phone replacement and not a watch.

I think it should be able to stand on its own, yes. At the very least as a watch. This reserve power thing, I don't know, maybe. But Apple probably would have mentioned that as a feature and they didn't. Furthermore, I assume the screen is one of the larger power draws, and to see the time, you still need to see the screen. And there are other things that shouldn't require a phone you still want to work all day. For example, alarms and timers. What about the example Apple gave of airline notifications and check-ins? That would really be a sucky thing to go away when your battery dies when you're on your flights from Tokyo to Kansas City.

So no, for me this thing absolutely must last all day, always. Not "maybe", not "usually", not "in most cases", not "a typical day". I understand and accept that may not be the case for everyone. But I don't think I'm the only one who feels that way.

 

[captain kaos]

This is my issue: Apple says night time charging is what will happen. So how will the sleep pattern tracking work if its on your bedside table charging?

Say you charging the phone during the say to be abel to use it at night, then you have a gap in your day of tracking (the phone will think you haven't moved for that time). Even if you do charge during the day to get night use, is there a sleep mode, so the watch isn't vibrating during the night to make you stand up and move?

Im hoping such apps as sleep cycle will make a watch version that could get the sleep tracking and alarm im looking for, but it still doesn't get around the charging of the battery issue.

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I was GREATLY looking forward the this being my alarm clock for me and/or my wife. A silent pulse that didn't wake the other one up.

Big bummer.

Me to, that was what i was really wanting for this watch.

 

[Michael CM1]

Folks, my Fitbit Flex gets five days of battery life. It's a little nub that counts steps, connects to your phone via Bluetooth, I think has a gyroscope, and only has five tiny LEDs for a display. It cost $99.

So I'd love to know how people expect the Watch to get 2-3 days.

 

[whiteboytrash]

I think it should be able to stand on its own, yes. At the very least as a watch. This reserve power thing, I don't know, maybe. But Apple probably would have mentioned that as a feature and they didn't. Furthermore, I assume the screen is one of the larger power draws, and to see the time, you still need to see the screen. And there are other things that shouldn't require a phone you still want to work all day. For example, alarms and timers. What about the example Apple gave of airline notifications and check-ins? That would really be a sucky thing to go away when your battery dies when you're on your flights from Tokyo to Kansas City.

They don't have power outlets in airports and on planes?

 

[captain kaos]

I see a lot of potential to the watch once it get some things done like waterproof, better battery, life without the iPhone next to it and a a bit thinner and more elegant.

I was really looking for a band sort of device more than a watch. I don't really want to ditch my Omega.

yep, i agree. I have a nice titanium casio oceanus i got last year. I looked at the fitbit, etc for an activity, sleep tracker and alarm. I use the sleep cycle app on my phone as my alarm (wakes you in the right part of your sleep cycle), and this is what i was hoping for in an apple band, not a watch. Yes, i could possibly go for an apple watch (maybe you can use it on your other wrist and call it your activity tracker), but a 7-7pm (working day) battery life is not going to work as a sleep tracker.

 

[whiteboytrash]

Are you aware that there seems to be a large population of people who use devices to track their sleeping habits as part of their health regimen?

I am, I'm one of them. But I don't use a watch to do it. Witherings just released "Aura", which is the gold standard for such items.

The Apple Watch will never be everything to everyone. Just like the iPhone wasn't when it first came out. Blackberry users held on for a long time and Blackberry was a way better email device than iPhone was for a long time.

What I see here is various people cherrypicking "elements" that the Apple Watch may not do and saying - "See there you go, bad watch, dead on arrival".

The question to really ask is; what do you need from a watch? and doesn't it have it?

 

[captain kaos]

Why the FSCK do you need it for more than 1 day? You take off your watch every single night before sleep. What kind of idiot sleeps with their watch?

Erm, im an idiot then. I must be the only person in the world.

 

[whiteboytrash]

What it actually is, is a screen extension for the iPhone for $400.

It is nothing on its own.

For the most part it is providing you information from your phone to a visible element on your wrist. Its also providing haptic feedback via pulses to your wrist.

Why do this?

The same reason people have been wearing watches for hundreds of years. Its one part of the body that can wear a device that provides them information because they can raise their wrist to the their line of sight and read the information.

So why do it to an Apple Watch?

Because your phone is in your pocket, handbag etc. and you can't see it instantaneously like you can a watch.

The question would be next - why would it need to be on its own? Are you suggesting it should be sync'ed with iTunes every night?

For the life of me I cannot see the argument you're presenting. You're saying it "should be on its own" and "its for apple to work that out" - but why?

 

[Teste]

Apple Watch 2 will or 3 or 4 will not render your watch obsolete, it will probably have newer and/or advanced capabilities that yours do not, but the core use that is serve as a watch, and a smart one with a calendar, payments, notification, everything, will keep rolling indefinitely.

Nope.

The iWatch doesn't work without the iPhone; that's how it access the internet, and does almost everything else. When iOS gets updated, and people update their iPhones, the iWatch will update too since it's in synch with the iPhone.

Try using the original iPhone you described with iOS 8. Oh wait, you can't Guess what's going to happen when the original iWatch tries to run the newer, made for faster devices iOS. It will slow to a crawl, and you will be (unfortunatelly, Apple would say ) pushed to buy a new device.

The iWatch is not only trash; it's short-lived trash.

The question would be next - why would it need to be on its own? Are you suggesting it should be sync'ed with iTunes every night?

For the life of me I cannot see the argument you're presenting.

I think the innability to strive for something good, settling for less instead, is the difference between random poster X and Steve Jobs. Sometimes it feels like that, if people here were in charge, the iPad would be an iPhone accessory. I mean, why would it need to be on its own? Should the iPad be sync'ed with iTunes every night?

 

[CloaknDagger]

Apple have found that out. That if they made the watch with GPS/3G/LTE/M8etc. it would be 5 meters thick and need a battery the size of your arm.

Regardless, like when the iPhone it first came out. You could already make calls, you could browse the internet, look at photos etc. The desktop and other phones provided that functionality already.

But what you got was a new interface which made all of those experiences much better.

Similar to the watch. Its providing you better experiences for the parts where the iphone falls down - the fact that its in your pocket most of the day. The watch allows you to "glance" at your watch for "short" information rather than take out your phone. It can be remote control for music, apple TV etc. Siri, make calls etc. That's helpful.

Its not trying to replace the phone. It would be a phone if it was trying to be a phone.

Well...forget the watch concept. Think Nike fuel Band concept. The wrist band itself provides lots of room. That's 360 degrees (minus the screen) available to embed a battery. The battery could stretch almost around your entire wrist.

 

[whiteboytrash]

Nope.

The iWatch doesn't work without the iPhone; that's how it access the internet, and does almost everything else. When iOS gets updated, and people update their iPhones, the iWatch will update too since it's in synch with the iPhone.

Try using the original iPhone you described with iOS 8. Oh wait, you can't Guess what's going to happen when the original iWatch tries to run the newer, made for faster devices iOS. It will slow to a crawl, and you will be (unfortunatelly, Apple would say ) pushed to buy a new device.

The iWatch is not only trash; it's short-lived trash.

Huh?

If the phone is receiving Bluetooth information from the phone why would it need to upgrade to full spec iOS8 and beyond?

It would mealy use it own iOS and receive push updates from the phone.

Why would you try to overcomplicate something so simple?

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Well...forget the watch concept. Think Nike fuel Band concept. The wrist band itself provides lots of room. That's 360 degrees (minus the screen) available to embed a battery. The battery could stretch almost around your entire wrist.

True but the Nike Fuel band doesn't have a screen, its only has a LED display that basically has on/off lights. The band is "hard" and doesn't flex.

Was that your expectation from Apple Watch? On/Off lights and inflexible band.

 

[consoleboi]

I love how everyone now says one day charge is not bad but slams the other competitors ...lol

 

[whiteboytrash]

I think the innability to strive for something good, settling for less instead, is the difference between random poster X and Steve Jobs. Sometimes it feels like that, if people here were in charge, the iPad would be an iPhone accessory. I mean, why would it need to be on its own? Should the iPad be sync'ed with iTunes every night?

I don't mind if people don't want to buy the Apple Watch. What I can't understand is why people parade into a forum and state "its dead on arrival, apple fail" and provide no explanation to why its dead on arrival.

Whilst I don't work inside Apple you can be sure they tried several iterations of the watch concept before moving to build stage. I think they soon they would have worked out that by putting every form of communications component into the device would kill its battery. But to that point; why would you need it to have WI-FI, GPS, 3G/LTE? You already have that on your phone. So just link it - why? Because your watch is always on you and sure enough since 2007 everyone fairly much has a smartphone on them during all their waking hours.



The Watch can be a watch independently but its feature set comes from the phone.

Making the watch independent from the phone just makes it a phone.