Apple Watch Series 4 Models Have Nearly 20% Less Battery Capacity Despite Same 'Up to 18 Hours' Battery Life

[MacRumors]

Earlier this week, iFixit completed a teardown of an Apple Watch Series 4 that said the 44mm model has roughly four percent more battery capacity, but that was compared to a 38mm-sized Apple Watch Series 3 model.

An eagle-eyed MacRumors reader has since pointed us towards Apple's Product Information Sheet, which contains battery capacities measured in watt-hours for several products, including Apple Watch Series 4 models. Apple appears to disclose this information for legal and safety reasons.

Based on Apple's document, Apple Watch Series 4 models actually have less battery capacity than the equivalent Series 3 models:Apple Watch Series 3 (42mm): 1.34 watt-hours
Apple Watch Series 4 (44mm): 1.12 watt-hours
Apple Watch Series 3 (38mm): 1.07 watt-hours
Apple Watch Series 4 (40mm): 0.86 watt-hoursMore specifically, the new 44mm Series 4 models have approximately 16.5 percent less battery capacity than the previous large-size 42mm Series 3 models. Likewise, 40mm Series 4 models have approximately 19.7 percent less battery capacity than the previous small-size 38mm Series 3 models.

Despite having smaller batteries, Apple says Series 4 models get the same all-day battery life of up to 18 hours that Series 3 models are rated for. We reached out to Apple in hopes of an explanation, but we have yet to receive a response.

What we do know is that Apple Watch Series 4 models use a new display technology named LTPO that improves power efficiency. The new Apple S4 system-in-a-package also has more efficient cores, so they presumably consume less power as well. Other components could be more efficient too.

In general, however, battery life is simply hard to predict. Different customers have different use cases. One user could be an athlete who is constantly working out with the Apple Watch, while another could be a more casual wearer who taps on a few notifications once in a while and not much else.

All in all, we wanted to clear up some confusion surrounding the Apple Watch Series 4 batteries. They pack less juice, not more, but seemingly without compromising battery life. Over time, we'll see if that's truly the case.

Article Link: Apple Watch Series 4 Models Have Nearly 20% Less Battery Capacity Despite Same 'Up to 18 Hours' Battery Life

 

[stu.h]

I used to get through a day with my S3 cellular with around 80% battery left, will see how I get on with the S4 Cellular.

 

[johnnyjibbs]

Cue the usual complaints about Apple not packing a bigger battery so that we could get multiple day battery life...

It’s better for the planet though....

 

[bbednarz]

Oh these comments are going to be fun.

 

[SVTmaniac]

I’ll be the first, why not keep the same size battery and increase the usage time even more? Never makes sense to me.

 

[benshive]

They improved energy efficiency and were able to shrink the battery a bit in order to make the watch thinner while maintaining the same battery life is what I suspect. My Series 4 easily lasts all day.

 

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

Not hard to figure out. More efficient processor means same battery life even with a slightly smaller battery.

 

[MrGimper]

To be honest, I'm sure people would have preferred a slightly larger battery vs the 1mm reduction in thickness.

 

[jvanus]

The biggest problem with my S0 is battery life. Why not keep the extra thickness and increase battery size?

If a phone's battery is too small; you can use it while its plugged in. A watch needs to last all day, and continue to last all day after a few years when the battery has degraded.

 

[bugout]

It’s noticeably less. I used to get 2 days out of my s3 LTE. Now it’s at 20% at the end of 1 day.

 

[Jakewilk]

Less battery capacity seems to be the trend for this year’s updates.

 

[Fortimir]

APPLE IS DOOMED.

 

[macduke]

My wife's 40mm was at 100% charge Saturday morning. She put it on the charger with around 39% left on Sunday night. No exercise recorded because we went on a short trip. Watch is set to maximum brightness. Seems fine to me. My Series 0 was dead by Saturday around 6pm. My Series 4 can't arrive soon enough!

 

[powaking]

Um 18 hours? I just wore my watch for 23 hours (and yes that includes using Sleep++ to track my sleeping) and my watch still had 65% battery left. I've been wearing my watch since 7 eastern and right now I have 88% left. I don't see why anyone couldn't get through a day easily with the series 4.

 

[Dormammu]

So far for me today...

87%

Usage: 1h 2m
Standby 7h 40m

 

[Fortimir]

The biggest problem with my S0 is battery life. Why not keep the extra thickness and increase battery size?

I always thought my S0 42mm had acceptable battery life, but my wife's S0 38mm was pretty abysmal. And despite being about the same thickness has the S0, the S4 has quite a bit more volume, so I don't think that's the issue.

I don't see why anyone couldn't get through a day easily with the series 4.

Like the article said, different people have different uses. If you work out several hours a day, for example, things could be very different.

 

[EddieWouldGO]

Mine is great, all day use and still ending up with 65-75% charge at end of day. Whatever magic they are working is fine with me.

​

 

[DononyG2]

Earlier this week, iFixit completed a teardown of an Apple Watch Series 4 that said the 44mm model has roughly four percent more battery capacity, but that was compared to a 38mm-sized Apple Watch Series 3 model.

An eagle-eyed MacRumors reader has since pointed us towards Apple's Product Information Sheet, which contains battery capacities measured in watt-hours for several products, including Apple Watch Series 4 models. Apple appears to disclose this information for legal and safety reasons.

Based on Apple's document, Apple Watch Series 4 models actually have less battery capacity than the equivalent Series 3 models:Apple Watch Series 3 (42mm): 1.34 watt-hours
Apple Watch Series 4 (44mm): 1.12 watt-hours
Apple Watch Series 3 (38mm): 1.07 watt-hours
Apple Watch Series 4 (40mm): 0.86 watt-hoursMore specifically, the new 44mm Series 4 models have approximately 16.5 percent less battery capacity than the previous large-size 42mm Series 3 models. Likewise, 40mm Series 4 models have approximately 19.7 percent less battery capacity than the previous small-size 38mm Series 3 models.

Despite having smaller batteries, Apple says Series 4 models get the same all-day battery life of up to 18 hours that Series 3 models are rated for. We reached out to Apple in hopes of an explanation, but we have yet to receive a response.

What we do know is that Apple Watch Series 4 models use a new display technology named LTPO that improves power efficiency. The new Apple S4 system-in-a-package also has more efficient cores, so they presumably consume less power as well. Other components could be more efficient too.

In general, however, battery life is simply hard to predict. Different customers have different use cases. One user could be an athlete who is constantly working out with the Apple Watch, while another could be a more casual wearer who taps on a few notifications once in a while and not much else.

All in all, we wanted to clear up some confusion surrounding the Apple Watch Series 4 batteries. They pack less juice, not more, but seemingly without compromising battery life. Over time, we'll see if that's truly the case.

Article Link: Apple Watch Series 4 Models Have Nearly 20% Less Battery Capacity Despite Same 'Up to 18 Hours' Battery Life

 

[Graphikos]

To be honest, I'm sure people would have preferred a slightly larger battery vs the 1mm reduction in thickness.

I guess speak for yourself. The battery life for my S4 LTE 44mm so far has been perfectly adequate. It's 2 pm and I'm still at 93%. My S0 would be dead in about 4 hours from now, but it's old so hardly worth comparing against.

For me, I'll take a smaller package with this kind of battery life.

 

[AZMecha]

I'd like to see which watch face along with complication that need app background refresh calculate & also the new walkie-talkie feature.

Theater mode is enabled, as its 1PM PST I'm at 76% from 100% this morning..

 

[RichTF]

My series 4 seems to last about the same as my series 3 did. If I do a normal day at work and then use it to track a gym session, it hits about 50% by bedtime. If I skip the gym then it’s way higher.

In both the series 3 and series 4, I can easily get through two days between charges without doing anything to conserve the battery, so no problems whatsoever lasting a full day.

 

[scottct1]

I have been getting over 2 days on my 44MM Series 4. Which is a little better than my series 2.

 

[nitramluap]

I'm seeing the same battery life (once the initial tidying/caching/etc post-install was done).

I'm happy that the smaller Apple Watch has a bigger battery though. My wife's smaller 38mm never lasted as long as mine. Now it will. That's great.

I can still do 6 hour trail runs with mine and it always goes on the charger at night. No big deal.

 

[timmyh]

I’m seeing less battery life in the S4 than the S3, but I suspect that’s because I’ve interacted with the watch more than usual in the brief spell I’ve owned one.

I’ll need more time to gauge it.

 

[tgwaste]

I am getting a FULL DAY LESS usage with series 4. It really sucks to lose a whole day of power for an “upgrade”