Apple Watch Owners Complain of Battery Life Issues With Both Series 5 and Older Models With watchOS 6
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rjjacobson
macrumors G3
Apple Watch 4 aluminum 44 mm no problems with latest version of 6.x (not testing beta). In fact I think my battery life is better than watchOS 5.x. After 6 hours today still at 90%.
Westside guy
macrumors 604
People aren't comparing their battery life to Apple's stated life - they're comparing it to their previous watch's battery life, which generally has far exceeded Apple's stated battery life. As I said on that other thread, that's completely understandable but not entirely reasonable.
In any case, I've seen significant improvements with WatchOS 6.0.1
anshuvorty
macrumors 68040
Thanks for beta testing!! I now know not to purchase S5...
DeepIn2U
macrumors G5
Nike+ S4 Aluminum - I’ve noticedslightly yet noticeably more battery drain with even less (Ibarely use man) notifications than my previous S3. Not terrible but still noticeable.
For me the battery killer is the always on display.
^ I echo that sentiment!
S5 THE worst product launch in Apple history not even the G4 Cube or the Trash Can MAC Pro has issues on day one with software!
everythingapplerainbow
macrumors regular
I don't care, it's still 40% when I go to sleep and put it on charge. What I'm annoyed about is the FREAKING App Store PASSWORD REQUEST
jst_testing
macrumors member
I'm glad there's an article on this - after the first WatchOS 6 update, horrible battery life on my S4 44mm LTE. With 6.0.1, battery life has improved a little bit but not to the level of WatchOS 5.
Idle battery drain stands at 5% per hour for me, not sure if that's normal...
Idle battery drain stands at 5% per hour for me, not sure if that's normal...
I've noticed a significant reduction in battery life since upgrading from Series 3 to 5 on launch day. Today, watch on at 6:30am, 1 hour run, 25min Swim, no other use and on 5% at 18:00. Less than 12 hours! Just tried repairing and turned off the noise app, so hoping for better results tomorrow. Spoke to support today and all the diagnostics came back clear. A watch that doesn't last the day is poor, especially when the keynote was bragging about the improved battery life.
I have the new series 5 and during the first two days the battery was empty after view hours. I went for a run with a fully loaded watch and after 30 minutes it hat 50% battery left. But now it is totally fine. I use the watch a lot and can easily use it the whole day without charging.
DeepIn2U
macrumors G5
very true. I’d say watches, traditional that did not have quartz may have had issues as well every few months needing synchronization or tuning at the specialist.
For us smartwatch users maybe the 80’ Casio/etc digital watches have preconditioned us for disposability.
imola.zhp
macrumors 65816
I love how some commenters will include the size of watch and even case material but leave out if the watch has LTE. LTE is the biggest factor in battery life. I've had both, the difference is night and day, I could get a few days out of non LTE and I usually get a full day out of my 4 LTE.
That said, I'm not sure if I'm charging my 4 more because its a year old and the battery had degraded or if its WatchOS6. I'm still getting a full day out of it but usually I could just charge every morning while in the shower for the vast majority of the week and only miss sleeping with the watch on one nigh out of the week. I'm now missing about 2 nights a week.
So to clarify, in the past year I typically would wear the watch from 7:30 am to about 6:45 am and charge for +/- 30 minutes a day and one night per week the watch would be low at bedtime (10pm) and I would let it charge overnight. Now that one night per week has become 2 nights per week, so every 3 days give or take.
That said, I'm not sure if I'm charging my 4 more because its a year old and the battery had degraded or if its WatchOS6. I'm still getting a full day out of it but usually I could just charge every morning while in the shower for the vast majority of the week and only miss sleeping with the watch on one nigh out of the week. I'm now missing about 2 nights a week.
So to clarify, in the past year I typically would wear the watch from 7:30 am to about 6:45 am and charge for +/- 30 minutes a day and one night per week the watch would be low at bedtime (10pm) and I would let it charge overnight. Now that one night per week has become 2 nights per week, so every 3 days give or take.
blcamp
macrumors 6502
Battery life has been horrendous on both my S4 44m Cellular with watchOS 6.0.1 and my iPhone 7 256gb, iOS 13.1.2; and for the iPhone it's not just draining battery, but killing the battery lifespan, which has fallen from 94% to 92% just since the release of iOS 13.1(.0).
The next updates had BETTER address battery life.
The next updates had BETTER address battery life.
steveaburns
macrumors member
Series 5 50% left at end of day which usually includes 1hr workout and about 1 1/2 hrs connected to cellular (phone at home). Have Always On Display ON. Same scenario with Series 3 (which I replaced) used to have 55% battery left at end of day.
First day on Series 5 was pretty bad however, ran out of battery by midday, second day better, and third day was great (50% left at end of day). I was left with the impression that there could be some background processing / setup stuff happening when you first get the watch up and running.
First day on Series 5 was pretty bad however, ran out of battery by midday, second day better, and third day was great (50% left at end of day). I was left with the impression that there could be some background processing / setup stuff happening when you first get the watch up and running.
routine_analyst
macrumors 65816
My Series 5 44mm Ceramic barely lasts me the entire day. I only work out once during the day and during that time I wirelessly play music to bt headphones. The workout could last up to a hour or so and then I'm done. My Series 3 42mm Ceramic lasted me the entire day and then some, all with the same user behavior.
This always on screen is either sucking up all the juice or there's something seriously up with the efficiency of the software of watch os 6. My Series 3 has not been updated to os 6.
This always on screen is either sucking up all the juice or there's something seriously up with the efficiency of the software of watch os 6. My Series 3 has not been updated to os 6.
briko
macrumors regular
Apple Watch - Battery
Find out more about the battery life of Apple Watch. Learn about charge time, power reserve, and other battery metrics, too.
www.apple.com
The user reported they were not using their watch at all during the 5% battery drain, so this is the power consumption on standby.
Apple claims the 18 hour battery life accommodates the following use: 90 time checks, 90 notifications, 45 minutes of app use, and a 60-minute workout with music playback from Apple Watch via Bluetooth, over the course of 18 hours. That is some pretty hefty usage.
Another user quoted in the article claimed a 35 min workout consumed almost 50% of the battery capacity.
Baymowe335
Suspended
What is the point of posting this nonsense?
Apple has DEMONSTRATED the ability to make the best smart watch on the market, almost no argument. The fact this is being reported as news is questionable at best as thereis no rigorous way of proving “poor battery life” for every series 5. There may be complaints, but those are everywhere and anecdotal in nature.
Apple also has a history of supporting their devices, so issues are fixed.
Baymowe335
Suspended
So 2 anecdotal stories refute Apple’s claim which was assuredly tested to make the claim?Apple Watch - Battery
Find out more about the battery life of Apple Watch. Learn about charge time, power reserve, and other battery metrics, too.www.apple.com
The user reported they were not using their watch at all during the 5% battery drain, so this is the power consumption on standby.
Apple claims the 18 hour battery life accommodates the following use: 90 time checks, 90 notifications, 45 minutes of app use, and a 60-minute workout with music playback from Apple Watch via Bluetooth, over the course of 18 hours. That is some pretty hefty usage.
Another user quoted in the article claimed a 35 min workout consumed almost 50% of the battery capacity.
Hornet9988
macrumors newbie
I've got a stainless S3 here... I noticed that the screen wasn't turning off as often when I lower my wrist. Also, somehow the brightness has increased from 2 to 3 (out of 3). I went into settings, raised brightness to 3, then brought it back down to 2 and I was able to see the screen dim back to the normal level. A restart seemed to fix the issue with the screen not turning off. I also had to do this right after OS6 came out, and again when the update dropped this week.
I picked up a series 5 around 10 days ago and certainly saw much faster drain than I saw with my series 4. I was seeing around 15% after wearing the watch for 15 hrs or so. My series 4 would be around 60% with the same usage. Hard resets didn't seem to help but I am getting better performance after updating to 6.0.1 on Monday. After 15 hours yesterday, I had 35% left and after almost four hours this morning, I am sitting at 89%. It seems that 6.0.1 fixed my problem and I am leaving the always all display turned on.