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In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said an expanded Low Power Mode is still in development for the Apple Watch and on track for release around the same time as the public release of watchOS 9 later this year.

watchOS-9-Feature.jpg

While the Apple Watch already features a Power Reserve mode that displays only the time on the screen to preserve battery life, Gurman said the expanded Low Power Mode would allow for use of apps and other features in a low-power state. Gurman first reported that the feature was in development in April, but Apple did not announce the feature when previewing watchOS 9 at its developers conference WWDC in June.

Gurman believes that Apple could announce the new Low Power Mode at a later date, much like the new Lockdown Mode for iOS 16 was announced after WWDC. watchOS 9 is expected to be released in September alongside the launch of the Apple Watch Series 8, a new Apple Watch SE, and a new rugged/extreme version of the Apple Watch.

Gurman has previously claimed that the Low Power Mode could be a "hardware-exclusive feature," suggesting that it may be limited to the Apple Watch Series 8 and potentially other new models. In his newsletter today, Gurman opined that Low Power Mode may work hand-in-hand with some of the rugged Apple Watch's new features.

Article Link: Apple Watch's Rumored Low Power Mode 'Still in Development' for watchOS 9
 

DHagan4755

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Jul 18, 2002
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watchOS 9 is expected to be released in September alongside the launch of the Apple Watch Series 8, a new Apple Watch SE, and a new rugged/extreme version of the Apple Watch.
When will Apple make this design round like a normal watch? The Apple Watch's square design doesn't appeal to me. At all. Which is why I haven't bought one yet
 

EugW

macrumors G5
Jun 18, 2017
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When will Apple make this design round like a normal watch? The Apple Watch's square design doesn't appeal to me. At all. Which is why I haven't bought one yet
I'm more concerned with the thickness. It's one thicc boy.

I hope Apple would make this feature available to apple watches prior to series 8. I have the series 6 and battery capacity has dropped to 88%. Low Power Mode can come very handy when I'm out and about for the whole day.
Do you have the display always on?

My Series 5 is 86%, but I bought mine (with a heavy discount) after Series 6 was released, so mine is in a similar ballpark to yours. My AoD stays on.

I'm tempted to get the battery replaced if it drops below 80% (which I understand just means getting a new Watch from Apple).
 
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I7guy

macrumors Nehalem
Nov 30, 2013
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Gotta be in it to win it
I love the fact that my Garmin Epix lasts two weeks between charges in normal mode, and can last a month in low power mode.
I don’t have an Apple Watch, people I know who do are on their apple watches as an extension of their iPhones. Can’t get around the small batteries in smart watches, the more they are used the faster they need to be charged.

But this may be the feature that gets me to switch from Fitbit to Apple.
 
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foobarbaz

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Nov 29, 2007
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When will Apple make this design round like a normal watch? The Apple Watch's square design doesn't appeal to me. At all. Which is why I haven't bought one yet
You might as well ask when they will make a round iPhone or iPad.

Just like the phone isn't the primary function of the iPhone, showing an analog watch face isn't the primary function of the Apple Watch. And most other functions, especially stuff that involves text or scrolling, would look worse on a round display. I think the 10k gold watch has shown that it doesn't make sense to compete on fashion. Most people buy the Watch for the functionality.
 

DHagan4755

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Jul 18, 2002
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You might as well ask when they will make a round iPhone or iPad.

Don't be absurd. I'm also not asking for round books or newspapers, either. Samsung, Google and others have made round smartwatches. They're not as good for reasons other than their shape. So round is very doable. And should be done. A round design would make the Apple Watch even more popular IMO.
 
When will Apple make this design round like a normal watch? The Apple Watch's square design doesn't appeal to me. At all. Which is why I haven't bought one yet
I think you'll be waiting a long time... I know some want it, but a square display is so much better to display content

I'm more concerned with the thickness. It's one thicc boy.
I'm more concerned with battery life. Sure it's a little bit thick, but for me that doesn't affect my day to day use at all. You know what would affect my use? Being able to wear it 24/7 and charge it twice a week.
 

twolf2919

macrumors 6502
Aug 26, 2014
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I'd love a low-power mode. Apple's current power-reserve is just too simplistic - and can't be undone without restarting the watch. I often go on weekend trips and would love not to have to bring the watch charger. On these trips, I don't need the watch's navigation or its ability to let me stop/start music on my HomePods or laptop. Just the stuff that's on my modular watch face would be enough. Don't even need notification, really - have my phone with me all the time anyway.
 

azentropy

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Jul 19, 2002
4,012
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You might as well ask when they will make a round iPhone or iPad.

Just like the phone isn't the primary function of the iPhone, showing an analog watch face isn't the primary function of the Apple Watch. And most other functions, especially stuff that involves text or scrolling, would look worse on a round display. I think the 10k gold watch has shown that it doesn't make sense to compete on fashion. Most people buy the Watch for the functionality.
I somewhat disagree. While yes some functions are definitely "better" with a rectangle screen than round it doesn't mean they are "good". After owning 4 different Apple Watches over the years (0,1,4,5) I pretty much determined the only functions it is really good at is fitness tracking, notifications, Apple Pay and some Siri commands - all of which would work perfectly well with a round watch. For anything else I end up picking up my iPhone anyway.
 

t0rqx

macrumors 68000
Nov 27, 2021
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So if the rumours are true and the S6 chip is rebranded in the Apple Watch 8. Apple is pulling another ‘exclusive’ for Apple Watch 8. I wonder how they gonna damage control this again.
 

EugW

macrumors G5
Jun 18, 2017
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I'm more concerned with battery life. Sure it's a little bit thick, but for me that doesn't affect my day to day use at all. You know what would affect my use? Being able to wear it 24/7 and charge it twice a week.
Sure, more battery life would be great, but that's a different discussion. I was commenting on a post specifically about the shape of the watch.
 
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MrMacintoshIII

macrumors 6502a
Oct 11, 2019
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I somewhat disagree. While yes some functions are definitely "better" with a rectangle screen than round it doesn't mean they are "good". After owning 4 different Apple Watches over the years (0,1,4,5) I pretty much determined the only functions it is really good at is fitness tracking, notifications, Apple Pay and some Siri commands - all of which would work perfectly well with a round watch. For anything else I end up picking up my iPhone anyway.
I mean… you “determining” that, doesn’t make those functions the only functions Apple Watch is good at. Maybe that’s all it’s good at for you, but mine is an extension of myself.

This low power mode is exciting news and I could not care less about roundness.

I love upgrading yearly, it’s like back in the day when iPhone upgrades were exciting every year.

And no, often features like this cannot be applied even to a Series as recent as 7. Apple goes out of their way to engineer the hardware to work with the software. And let’s be honest, if you want Low Power Mode, pay for it?

Why is that such a hard concept for people? Why do people want the next greatest thing, but for free? You loved your Series 5, 6, or 7 when you bought it right? Or did you buy an already old Series for cheap, were happy with your discount, and are still complaining that a new feature isn’t coming to your old watch?

As a Stainless Series 7 user, as long as the Series 8 has a better screen, or better battery, it’s an automatic upgrade. Actually about the only thing I wouldn’t upgrade for is solely an added health feature. I prefer to buy for the non-health related upgrades. They’re nice, but I’m here more for the more creative and techy aspects of the watch.

Would also be an instant buy if the watch got thinner. It will truly start to be beautiful when it slims down…
 

jz0309

Contributor
Sep 25, 2018
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SoCal
never had an issue in almost 7 years for AW not lasting through the day, my current S7 with AOD on is at ~ 30% at the end of day, and my typical day includes 80+ minutes of workout ...
From day 1 battery life was advertised at 18hrs, maybe they'll increase it to 20 ...
 
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BootsWalking

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Feb 1, 2014
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The Apple Watch needs either battery tech to improve or for its processors to become even more power efficient. As it stands now Watch OS imposes too many power-related restrictions to make it useful as an all-day, actively used device.
 
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