Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Here is another data point, my S7 after a year and half of use is at 95% BH, used from 6am to 10pm and charged overnight. Battery charging is set to optimized charging. It rarely goes below 50% before it is charged, even after an hour of workout.
 
But do you charge to 100% all the time and let it sit on the charger?
AW also supports optimized chrging - that is, if you regularly 1, put it on charger at, say, 10PM and 2, take it off at, say, 7AM, it'll only charge to 80% initially and only around 6AM from 80 to 100%.
 
I believe Apple's fast charging introduced in Series7 is what causes faster than normal battery life health degradation, even after using the optimized battery charging option. My Series 4 after 4 years of use was at 95% battery health when I sold it
 
Do you perhaps let the battery run to completely empty often?

I usually charge the battery when it goes down to 40-50%. And never let it go below 30%. Same goes for my iPhone 13 and AW 8. Both were bought on the release date and both still have 100% battery health. Even the iPhone which is now 1,5 years old.

I believe the charging patterns are very important if the goal is to keep the battery in good shape as long as possible.

Charging habits shouldn’t matter. We buy a watch and we use it and charge it. Apple doesn’t tell us how to charge it so we just charge it. And use it. If charging a particular way makes a difference, well, Apple should be ashamed.

In the end, it’s just a product we use and charge. Nothing we do with it (within reason) should make it last longer or shorter.
 
I didn’t realize we could check health so easily. I have a launch S3 SS and battery health is still showing 98% and going strong. I’ve been quite happy and lucky with its longevity. Of course there are new features, but it’s done well for me for fitness, cellular, etc over the years. I’ll continue with it until it dies I think. One thing that was good with the S3 SS models as opposed to the base ones was the extra storage, so didn’t have to deal with all those update problems.
 
My S4 bought on first day battery is at 84%. I charge it every morning to 100% and wear it the rest of the day and night (go on a 3 mile outdoor walk most days). It is normally down to 40-50% in the morning. Debating with myself about getting an S8 when they go on sale.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Clamjuice65
My S4 bought on first day battery is at 84%. I charge it every morning to 100% and wear it the rest of the day and night (go on a 3 mile outdoor walk most days). It is normally down to 40-50% in the morning. Debating with myself about getting an S8 when they go on sale.
Treat yourself to a S8 well worth it
 
My launch day SSG S5 (now with wife) hit 80% today. I have Apple Care + on it. My launch Day Hermes S7 is at 82% now, though I mainly wear my ultra. I may try Apple for a replacement S5, though may have to wait 1%.

The wife is really struggling with it though, she gets about 12 hours now. On the Hermes, I wore it to bed last night and it lost 40% overnight.
 
My 1.5 yr old Series 7 Heremes watch has had a recent precipitous drop in battery capacity. It's now reporting 86% battery health. There are some days that it doesn't make it all the way through, which never used to happen.

I'm trying to hold out until September when the new models will (presumably) be released, but each day I'm more and more tempted to buy a current model Apple Watch Ultra.

Hopefully it doesn't progress much further until the new ones are out. I have AppleCare+ on it, but I don't think they'll replace it until it's further degraded. I guess I can initiate a tech support chat and see if they'll do it anyway.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BigMcGuire
My S5 41mm bought in the launch month is 77% now. I charge it every night to 100%. It’s still usable just because I turned the always on display off.

I‘m quite dissatisfied with the battery degradation of AW, I think it’s the Apple product with the shorter lifespan :confused:
 
My S5 41mm bought in the launch month is 77% now. I charge it every night to 100%. It’s still usable just because I turned the always on display off.

I‘m quite dissatisfied with the battery degradation of AW, I think it’s the Apple product with the shorter lifespan :confused:
S5 is nearly 4yrs old, I would be surprised if an iphone battery was any better after that amount of time, my se2020 is coming up to 3rs and was at 80% before I had the battery changed.
 
S5 is nearly 4yrs old, I would be surprised if an iphone battery was any better after that amount of time, my se2020 is coming up to 3rs and was at 80% before I had the battery changed.
My iPhone Xs bought in the same period was 84% two months ago, when I sold it…
 
I don't have to explain anecdotal. You asked about your watch. There is nothing wrong with your watch battery. Just like the phone, every battery is different as is each day to day usage.
Basically this is what you expect from Apple, live with it. The bar is not that high anymore.
 
Charging habits shouldn’t matter. We buy a watch and we use it and charge it. Apple doesn’t tell us how to charge it so we just charge it. And use it. If charging a particular way makes a difference, well, Apple should be ashamed.

In the end, it’s just a product we use and charge. Nothing we do with it (within reason) should make it last longer or shorter.

That's not how batteries work...
 
  • Like
Reactions: BigMcGuire
Never check the battery health, I charge when needed that’s it!

I know how long a charge will last me and that’s easily a day, not going to waste my time obsessing over something as trivial as my battery losing a bit of capacity over time. It happens just not in the same way for everyone! Too many variables to take in to account.

Use your watch as intended and enjoy it, if you can’t get something else.
 
I've always lucked out big time when it comes to Apple Watch and battery health but probably because I turn off most of the notifications, AOD is off, and I could get the normal AW to last me 1.7 days. My Ultra easily does 70+ hours with my usage. I imagine that it's a bit lighter on the battery this way.

Due to the tiny battery in the AW I never had the desire to use it for anything more than a health monitor, important call notification device, and timepiece.

Batteries degrade, even when you don't use them and let them sit. 80% capacity after a few years is industry standard for now. Some batteries come over provisioned from the factory and may report higher %s especially if their owners are lighter users like me, I guess.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.