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AppleCare+ replacement battery only if below 50% capacity?!

W

WilliamG

macrumors G4
Original poster
Mar 29, 2008
10,056
3,978
Seattle
Reading the AppleCare+ terms and conditions for Apple Watch, it states the battery will only be replaced if it reads at least 50% depletion when fully charged. That basically means - for many of us - Apple won't replace the battery even if your Watch can't last a day of normal usage.

That seems...crazy to me. I understand that battery technology isn't there yet, but 50% seems awfully stingy.

http://store.apple.com/us/product/ACPLUS_AUTO_WATCH-131840/applecare-for-apple-watch

Thoughts on this?
 
Capacity falloff is non-linear and will reach 50% quite easily. 50% capacity is going to be somewhere around 80% charge on a new battery, to give you an idea.

As with most things people are surprised and shocked about, this is yet another non-issue.
 
zacheryjensen said:
Capacity falloff is non-linear and will reach 50% quite easily. 50% capacity is going to be somewhere around 80% charge on a new battery, to give you an idea.

As with most things people are surprised and shocked about, this is yet another non-issue.
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Have you got some source for this with regards Apple Watch? As with most things that people seem to "know" lots about, this is yet another one where sources have been omitted. :p
 
WilliamG said:
Have you got some source for this with regards Apple Watch? As with most things that people seem to "know" lots about, this is yet another one where sources have been omitted. :p
Click to expand...

These are facts about all Lithium Ion batteries. It's how they work.
 
If you want to read up on batteries take a look here http://batteryuniversity.com/

Also if you look at this page on the site http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_to_prolong_lithium_based_batteries

It says in the table that it takes somewhere between 2,400 - 4,000 discharge cycles to drain a Li-Ion battery down to 58% of its normal capacity, think about it, if you 100% fully discharge your watch once a day then that's in the region of 6.5 - 11 years (depending on how you look after the battery, etc, all detailed on the website).

It say it takes around 600 - 1000 discharge cycles (about 1.65 to 2.75 years if dischaged once daily) to drop to 86% of original capacity.

To be honest, after 2-3 years you'll be looking for a new watch, and your AppleCare+ will have expired after 2 years anyway.
 
H3rman said:
If you want to read up on batteries take a look here http://batteryuniversity.com/

Also if you look at this page on the site http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_to_prolong_lithium_based_batteries

It says in the table that it takes somewhere between 2,400 - 4,000 discharge cycles to drain a Li-Ion battery down to 58% of its normal capacity, think about it, if you 100% fully discharge your watch once a day then that's in the region of 6.5 - 11 years (depending on how you look after the battery, etc, all detailed on the website).

It say it takes around 600 - 1000 discharge cycles (about 1.65 to 2.75 years if dischaged once daily) to drop to 86% of original capacity.

To be honest, after 2-3 years you'll be looking for a new watch, and your AppleCare+ will have expired after 2 years anyway.
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Oh absolutely. I had an iPhone 5 that within a year dropped down to about 65% of its life (I don't exactly remember the circumstances - but Apple did replace it under the 1-year warranty at the time).

I just think it's interesting that this won't happen anymore. I'm not sure if Apple changed the battery guidelines at all since the iPhone 5 release..
 
Does anyone know how much Apple will charge for an out of warranty battery replacement?
 
smacman said:
Does anyone know how much Apple will charge for an out of warranty battery replacement?
Click to expand...

After looking at iFixit's teardown, I don't see how it's possible to even replace the battery without destroying the finish of the Apple Watch, especially the Sport model's aluminum...
 
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