Apple Watch Ultra 3 - Battery Info

[BigMcGuire]

I am using an LLM to pull battery information from my Analytics file on my iPhone for my Apple Watch Ultra 3. The idea of this came to me late last year when I was searching how to get Apple Watch Battery information (like coconutBattery for Macs/iPhones).

On my iPhone I go to Settings --> Privacy & Security --> Analytics & Improvements --> Analytics Data --> Scroll down to find the latest Analytics-2026-04-14-170006.0002.ips.ca.synced. (The numbers will change as time changes). It should be 300-700kb. Note - There is a shorter named Analytics file (same date) that is 20MB+ that I do not use.

I've been doing this regularly since December 31st 2025 - I got my Apple Watch Ultra 3 as a birthday present from my wife in September 2025.

Batteries are a huge hobby of mine - figured this might interest someone:

I've significantly decreased my watch's battery usage from January to April by not using Carrot Weather as a middle complication for my Modular Ultra watch face. I use Apple Weather for that now - but miss my custom 5 day forecast complication. I still use Carrot Weather on my iPhone/iPad. I also think the later Watch OS versions are more efficient.

I can easily get 4 days of battery use out of my Apple Watch Ultra 3. I was doing about the same with my Apple Watch Ultra 2.

From the LLM - My average battery usage per day since I started this:
On lighter days (minimal movement): closer to 15–18%.
On busier days (more walking/exercise/cellular use, like your Iowa trip): 22–28%.

From the LLM - Weighted Ra explanation:
"Weighted Ra (also called Chemical Weighted Ra or just Ra in the logs) is a measure of the battery's internal resistance (in micro-ohms or similar units). Ra stands for Resistance. Apple’s battery management system tracks it as a “weighted” (chemically adjusted) value to better reflect real-world health and performance. Lower Ra is better — it means the battery can deliver power more efficiently with less heat/loss. As lithium-ion batteries age, internal resistance naturally rises (higher Ra = slightly worse efficiency, more heat, and eventual capacity loss)."

I am planning on running this now every 2 months and updating this over the life of my watch - which I hope to keep for 2-3-4 years.

Hope you have a great day.

 

[jz0309]

I am using an LLM to pull battery information from my Analytics file on my iPhone for my Apple Watch Ultra 3. The idea of this came to me late last year when I was searching how to get Apple Watch Battery information (like coconutBattery for Macs/iPhones).

On my iPhone I go to Settings --> Privacy & Security --> Analytics & Improvements --> Analytics Data --> Scroll down to find the latest Analytics-2026-04-14-170006.0002.ips.ca.synced. (The numbers will change as time changes). It should be 300-700kb. Note - There is a shorter named Analytics file (same date) that is 20MB+ that I do not use.

I've been doing this regularly since December 31st 2025 - I got my Apple Watch Ultra 3 as a birthday present from my wife in September 2025.

Batteries are a huge hobby of mine - figured this might interest someone:

View attachment 2622538

I've significantly decreased my watch's battery usage from January to April by not using Carrot Weather as a middle complication for my Modular Ultra watch face. I use Apple Weather for that now - but miss my custom 5 day forecast complication. I still use Carrot Weather on my iPhone/iPad. I also think the later Watch OS versions are more efficient.

I can easily get 4 days of battery use out of my Apple Watch Ultra 3. I was doing about the same with my Apple Watch Ultra 2.

From the LLM - My average battery usage per day since I started this:
On lighter days (minimal movement): closer to 15–18%.
On busier days (more walking/exercise/cellular use, like your Iowa trip): 22–28%.

From the LLM - Weighted Ra explanation:
"Weighted Ra (also called Chemical Weighted Ra or just Ra in the logs) is a measure of the battery's internal resistance (in micro-ohms or similar units). Ra stands for Resistance. Apple’s battery management system tracks it as a “weighted” (chemically adjusted) value to better reflect real-world health and performance. Lower Ra is better — it means the battery can deliver power more efficiently with less heat/loss. As lithium-ion batteries age, internal resistance naturally rises (higher Ra = slightly worse efficiency, more heat, and eventual capacity loss)."

I am planning on running this now every 2 months and updating this over the life of my watch - which I hope to keep for 2-3-4 years.

Hope you have a great day.

interesting and thanks for sharing.
another data point would be your charging pattern -how do you charge your U3?

 

[BigMcGuire]

interesting and thanks for sharing.
another data point would be your charging pattern -how do you charge your U3?

Excellent question for information that I forgot to add... Thank you!

I have optimized charging turned on so I only charge to 80%. When I do trips, hikes, and long side jobs where I have to be on my feet for 12 hours - I will charge to 100% temporarily for that day - then wait for it to go under 80% to charge it again.

I charge only while I'm showering (~10 mins) - which is usually daily and is more than enough time to take it to 80%. I wear my watch 24/7 otherwise.

I use the latest charging cable connected to a 50+w USB C port (so it charges really fast when it wants to).

 

[jz0309]

Excellent question for information that I forgot to add... Thank you!

I have optimized charging turned on so I only charge to 80%. When I do trips, hikes, and long side jobs where I have to be on my feet for 12 hours - I will charge to 100% temporarily for that day - then wait for it to go under 80% to charge it again.

I charge only while I'm showering (~10 mins) - which is usually daily and is more than enough time to take it to 80%. I wear my watch 24/7 otherwise.

I use the latest charging cable connected to a 50+w USB C port (so it charges really fast when it wants to).

So I am assuming that the battery health is 100%, right?

I've got my U2 replaced under AC+ last November, I put it in the charger every other night and wear my S7 for sleep tracking that night, I always charge to 100%. So I wear it continuously for about 38 or so hrs and typically it is at mid 30s % charge, that includes around 90 min or workout every day.
I charge on the original S0 charger, don't need any fast charging.

Now the data is interesting, but I just treat my devices as tools and the battery is a consumable. Having said that, an Ulatra battery should easily last 4 years or more before dropping below 80% health, and that is probably the longest I'd keep the same AW model, so battery should not really become an issue, for me, with my usage pattern.

Please keep sharing.

 

[BigMcGuire]

So I am assuming that the battery health is 100%, right?

I've got my U2 replaced under AC+ last November, I put it in the charger every other night and wear my S7 for sleep tracking that night, I always charge to 100%. So I wear it continuously for about 38 or so hrs and typically it is at mid 30s % charge, that includes around 90 min or workout every day.
I charge on the original S0 charger, don't need any fast charging.

Now the data is interesting, but I just treat my devices as tools and the battery is a consumable. Having said that, an Ulatra battery should easily last 4 years or more before dropping below 80% health, and that is probably the longest I'd keep the same AW model, so battery should not really become an issue, for me, with my usage pattern.

Please keep sharing.

Yeah, according to the LLM, my Ultra 3 has 101% health. I was really hoping it would be more like 104% but ... the fact that the health values haven't moved an inch since I've done this makes me wonder if Apple has some code in there taking an average (because normally health values fluctuate).

My 2 year old Ultra 2 was 100% health up until the last month I had it and traded it in for the Ultra 3 (September 2025). Sadly I didn't do any analytics on the Ultra 2. 🙂

1000% agreed - these are utilities that should be making our lives easier. I would never recommend going out of my way to reduce usage on a device for its longevity. I take the approach that I like to control my electronic devices so I have things turned off that I don't like and use. I also love watching battery life. I have coconutBattery watching my iPhones, Macs, and iPads and have since the days of the iPhone 11. 😛

And I have AppleCare+ so if I need to, I can just replace the battery when it is time.

Thank you for the kind words. Will do.

 

[jz0309]

Yeah, according to the LLM, my Ultra 3 has 101% health. I was really hoping it would be more like 104% but ... the fact that the health values haven't moved an inch since I've done this makes me wonder if Apple has some code in there taking an average (because normally health values fluctuate).

My 2 year old Ultra 2 was 100% health up until the last month I had it and traded it in for the Ultra 3 (September 2025). Sadly I didn't do any analytics on the Ultra 2. 🙂

1000% agreed - these are utilities that should be making our lives easier. I would never recommend going out of my way to reduce usage on a device for its longevity. I take the approach that I like to control my electronic devices so I have things turned off that I don't like and use. I also love watching battery life. I have coconutBattery watching my iPhones, Macs, and iPads and have since the days of the iPhone 11. 😛

And I have AppleCare+ so if I need to, I can just replace the battery when it is time.

Thank you for the kind words. Will do.

I do check battery health on my devices occasionally, just for AW there is no coconut to do so and the Apple values are, what they are, not the most precise...
I got a Neo on launch and better health is better now than at launch, like 102% or so.
I got a 17Pm at launch and health is still over 100% and I charge that one overnight to 100% daily on an original MagSafe.

It does baffle my mind when there are posts I the various forums about obsession about health and how to prolong it, seemingly, and that folks become slaves of battery health... but, we are all different and that is a good thing.

Keep it up with the data gathering!