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

Well, of course we'd all prefer many days on a charge but expecting that is unrealistic. I could usually get 3-5 days on my Pebble but that uses a battery sipping e-ink display and offers a fraction of the functionality.

That being said, about a day better be enough to get me at least 20 hours with moderate use or I'll pass. I'm usually awake for 16-18 hours a day, though occasionally even longer (i.e. weekend night out with wife/friends) and I don't want to worry that it'll run out of juice.
 
Expected. They can't do any better. Hell, even my pebble dies by around 11 PM (I do have a moving watch face though). So it's impressive this color display will last a full day. Maybe it's because it's only activated when you hold it up. Also, it can work offline, just some features won't be available.
 
natd1993 said:
Rushing a product to market with problems or holding off and getting it right is something that distinguishes the CEO's Tim Cook and Steve Jobs respectively.
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Except the product isn't for sale yet. All Apple said is coming in 2015. Also white iPhone 4 happened on Jobs watch.
 
Fail. Going on a business trip? Don't forget to also pack your watch charger.

Maybe by the second or third iteration, they'll figure out how to squeeze at least 3 days of use out of it or have a charging system that can work for the phone and watch.

Having to charge it once a day would mean that the battery would undergo the same fate as a cell phone battery after a couple years so now you have to upgrade your watch every two years for $350+...well played :apple:
 
Does anyone ever sleep here?

I do not get all the consternation about this. Do you people never sleep? Do you not have a plug next to your bed? Would you sleep with your watch on? I wouldn't. Seems to me, you go to bed plug in your watch (and your phone) and ta-da wake up the next morning with a full on charged watch and phone.

Rinse and repeat..

What am I missing here. Is everyone on Macrumors only sleeping every 24 hours or something?
 
kerrikins said:
No kidding. I saw a comment in another thread saying "what happened to the flexible screen?!?!" People have their expectations and dreams sky high and then are disappointed when Apple doesn't invent a flying pony or something.

I don't know why people are so set on it lasting more than a day. I go to bed, I charge my iPhone, if I was going to buy an iWatch I'd do the same thing. o_O Not so difficult. Now, the worries about just what 'a day' actually means in RL, I understand.
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The problem is, as others have stated above, this makes it useless as a sleep monitor, which is something that a few of us are interested in. A device that can sense your sleep cycles and wake you up at the best time. Other than that, i don't see an issue with charging at night
 
The issue with this Watch is that it's going to be 2016 until we see a rev 2 product released. By then Android Wear devices will be plentiful with so many options. The cheapest Wear currently is $179 and dropping. Sure you have different Apple watches but ultimately their all the same and Apple won't budge on that price anytime soon. And this Apple Watch is either a love it or hate it device. Reading tons if mixed emotions with this one. With Android Wear you can hate one but like the another. It's so hard to please everyone.
And most importantly you don't need a watch like you do a phone.
 
captain cadet said:
The problem with a watch is that it has to be a day or 2 days or so on. No point having a day and a half battery life as who wants a watch dying on them half way thought the day? Its alright with a smart phone
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Actually not. If the AW dies, you use your phone and just stop looking at the watch. A smartphone is much more important than a watch, and should last at least three days (in heaven).
 
I needs to be a SOLID day, bare minimum, to not annoy. MORE than just the 16-hour-plus waking portion of a day (and certainly more than just the "work day" like some smartwatches). To allow for battery life loss over liftetime. (I'd take my watch off in the evening, personally, but serious fitness users will not.)

I'd call 20 hours a BARE minimum to even consider buying. At least 24+ to make it a non-concern (still a single-day device, but one with some cushion).

Of cource, usage patterns will make it vary widely. The Apple Watch has a big disadvantage: it does SO much, and will have such DEVELOPER support, that people will actually USE it for more minutes a day. So it has to have more hours of battery than the "shrug, it's kind of cool" attempts from other companies. Hopefully Apple can overcome that problem.

Given that the 2007 iPhone was first shown barely-working and without a glass screen, and that SOFTWARE is key to battery life, it's highly likely that the Apple Watch's final battery life is not known even by Apple. I'm sure it's a top priority.

One day, multiple days can be achieved maybe. Not possible, from any company today, on a device that does this much while also being so much SMALLER than most attempts. (People say it looks thick in photos: yes, but I think they're imagining it having a face about as big as the giant Android bricks or the Moto Tuna Can. The Apple Watch is smaller than you'd think: the outer metal case is 1.5" or 1.65" the long way. That puts the thickness well into "watch" range.)
 
whatyoudowithit said:
The problem is, as others have stated above, this makes it useless as a sleep monitor, which is something that a few of us are interested in. A device that can sense your sleep cycles and wake you up at the best time. Other than that, i don't see an issue with charging at night
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use your iphone there are a few good apps for that.
 
Rogifan said:
Except the product isn't for sale yet. All Apple said is coming in 2015. Also white iPhone 4 happened on Jobs watch.
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It's ironic, some people are saying that Apple 'rushed' to market with this, others are bashing them for not getting there first. No matter what they do, people are unhappy.
 
yalag said:
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?
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If you ever forget to charge it for whatever reason and you don't have a second charger where you're going you will either be taking a charger to work or you're leaving your watch at home.
 
IJ Reilly said:
Insert unreasonable expectations here: _________________
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My current pebble:
1) needs charge once in a week
2) works with apple and android
3) water resistant up to 50m (so I could shower and swim)
4) doesn't cost a fortune

From my next watch I expect at least first 3 points, and I don't think that this is unreasonable.
 
Don't get me wrong, I love the idea of the iWatch and the interior engineering seems remarkable. However, I personally just don't like the design. It's a little too techy for my taste.

1 day battery is a deal-brekaer for me at $350. We all know that that 1-day of life qiickly becomes 1/2 a day or even 1/4 day after a year or so. No thanks.
 
I'm pretty pro technology. but these watches will never gain tract. especially in their current state. i think it will move units like apple tv.

Personally, i'm picking up a regular i6 but will be skipping these watches. Reminds me of google glass. Going to need a decade or two before proper implementation.
 
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cababah said:
Fail. Going on a business trip? Don't forget to also pack your watch charger.
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I'd expect at least a combined lightning / watch charger: Plug one end into the wall or a computer, and two cables at the other end into phone and watch.
 
Rogifan said:
Except the product isn't for sale yet. All Apple said is coming in 2015. Also white iPhone 4 happened on Jobs watch.
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Heck, MobileMe happened on Jobs' watch.

Seriously though, "about a day" needs to mean "even if you use the crap out of it, a charge will last a day, minimum". You can't have a goddamn watch that goes beddy-bye at, like, 6 PM because you happened to use it a little too liberally in the morning.
 
A different way to charge...

One way to alleviate the annoyance of nightly charging for the Apple Watch is this: Design the watch for "proximity charging" where the watch can be charged by placing it NEAR (not on top of or attached to) a charging pad. Then, build the charging pad into all Mac keyboards.

This way, when I'm wearing my Apple Watch and using my iMac/MB/MBP/MP, it'll charge as needed without any inconvenience to me. This means it'll stay charged/get charged as I use my Mac throughout the day and that hopefully would circumvent the need to charge it every night. Of course, I'm not working during the weekends that much, so I'd expect I would need to charge it via the charging magnet Saturday and Sunday night.

Technically, I don't know if this would be possible...but it'd be pretty convenient.
 
4Apples said:
Yeap this is one of the reasons why I'll wait for the 2nd generation.. if i get one;)
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That's usually good advice and the 1st gen Apple Watch appears to be a great example why people say it. Of course, if you're rich, you can buy 7 Apple Watches, one for each day of the week and have your personal assistant charge them for you.
 
Zxxv said:
I wondered why they didn't put the battery in the strap
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Honestly I really thought Apple were going to do this.
The strap is such a wasted space, it's crying out for the strap to be the battery, there is so much of it.

I suspect this will come in time as it's just a dead area that could be used so well.

The bracelet watches many were hoping for of course are able to consider using the whole of the device for the battery and electronics. Not just the box under the screen area.
 
yaxomoxay said:
use your iphone there are a few good apps for that.
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I am married. The iPhone apps that do this suggest you sleep with your phone under you (which seems retarded and unsafe but I would do it). All of the reviews I have read from married individuals say the phone apps don't work b/c they pick up movements from the other person. Watch could sense your movements better and monitor pulse. Again, it's nit-picking but that is my issue with having to have it off of you at night.
 
skinned66 said:
If you ever forget to charge it for whatever reason and you don't have a second charger where you're going you will either be taking a charger to work or you're leaving your watch at home.
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Since it is meant to be used with an iPhone, you would always have the phone. So you lose the convenience, but you are not stuck. There would be the possibility that the watch goes into a low power mode if the battery is close to the end, so the last 5% battery give you reduced functionality (time) for quite a while.

dampfnudel said:
That's usually good advice and the 1st gen Apple Watch appears to be a great example why people say it. Of course, if you're rich, you can buy 7 Apple Watches, one for each day of the week and have your personal assistant charge them for you.
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And if the personal assistant forgets to charge them, you can throw your iPhone 6+ at them. Up to now you had to have a Samsung phone for that because the iPhone 5 wasn't heavy enough :-(
 
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