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AW series 5 vs 6 Battery Life
- Thread starter cfs
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I can’t tell the difference between the two and that’s fine with me because I wasn’t disappointed by the S5 battery life. However, charging on the 6 is so quick now. That alone is worth the upgrade. I’m often 100% in an hour or less. I usually end the day with 35% battery life—sometimes more, sometimes less. Charging used to take around 2hrs.
I hear you on charging. That’s a big deal.
Was asking because (as I mentioned on another thread I started) I gifted a gold Series 6 aluminum GPS. Person wants always on and I saw Series 5 stainless steel at Best Buy for the same price (even though don’t need cellular)
Grabbing stainless steel in gold felt like a no brainer but I wasn’t sure if I was missing something. Blood oxygen and always in altimeter aren’t import for them.
Was asking because (as I mentioned on another thread I started) I gifted a gold Series 6 aluminum GPS. Person wants always on and I saw Series 5 stainless steel at Best Buy for the same price (even though don’t need cellular)
Grabbing stainless steel in gold felt like a no brainer but I wasn’t sure if I was missing something. Blood oxygen and always in altimeter aren’t import for them.
I’ll be honest I don’t care whether my watch has finished charging by 12am or 2am so long as it’s charged by the time I pick it up off the charger when I wake up at 7am.
Well the charging time matters since S6 is the sleep tracking watch. That’s why worked to decrease the charge time. If you aren’t using it for sleep tracking then I’d agree it’s not important. I wear my watch 23hrs a day because I wear it while I sleep.
That’s fair enough. I have no need for sleep tracking at this point so it’s a feature I don’t use on the S5.
All wonderful information.
I never saw Stainless in person and unfortunately there are none on display anywhere. I’m gifting a S6 Rose Gold or S 5 SS Gold. The receiver of the gift wants me to make the choice. 🤦🏻♂️
If you were given $399 for an Apple Watch and had to choose a Series Stainless 5 or Series 6 Aluminum, both for same price of $399, what would you choose?
Needs are:
- AOD
- ECG
At this point I want to just flip a coin. I really wish I could just open that that’s fine Apple Watch without having the restocking.
I never saw Stainless in person and unfortunately there are none on display anywhere. I’m gifting a S6 Rose Gold or S 5 SS Gold. The receiver of the gift wants me to make the choice. 🤦🏻♂️
If you were given $399 for an Apple Watch and had to choose a Series Stainless 5 or Series 6 Aluminum, both for same price of $399, what would you choose?
Needs are:
- AOD
- ECG
At this point I want to just flip a coin. I really wish I could just open that that’s fine Apple Watch without having the restocking.
All wonderful information.
I never saw Stainless in person and unfortunately there are none on display anywhere. I’m gifting a S6 Rose Gold or S 5 SS Gold. The receiver of the gift wants me to make the choice.
If you were given $399 for an Apple Watch and had to choose a Series Stainless 5 or Series 6 Aluminum, both for same price of $399, what would you choose?
Needs are:
- AOD
- ECG
At this point I want to just flip a coin. I really wish I could just open that that’s fine Apple Watch without having the restocking.
Personally I’d go with the S6 for better longevity because it will will be supported longer and be cause it charges faster. It would be different if the S5 cost less, but you’re saying it doesn’t. So, IMO, it doesn’t make any sense to get it over the S6. Both series have your requirements.
I find my S6 is far better than both my S5’s, typically retuning easily 35-40 hours battery without fail, versus the S5’s getting 25-30 hours at most.
All of them are setup the same and they all use AOD.
The fast charge of the S6 added to that makes it the clear winner for me from a battery perspective.
All of them are setup the same and they all use AOD.
The fast charge of the S6 added to that makes it the clear winner for me from a battery perspective.
The quick charging on the 6 is really great if you wear it to sleep. I wear mine not just for sleep tracking but also because I love the Taptic alarm in the morning that wakes me up. My phone goes on the charger at 6:15am every morning, and back on my wrist no later than 7am and it's always fully charged when I pick it up off the charger.
Taptic alarm is everything. I have brittle bone disease and I never had an alarm clock before because being jolted away makes me fracture something. My Mom are some1 else always woke me up gently. Ever since I got my Watch in January 2020 I’ve woken up with my own alarm. The irony is I really don’t need an alarm since I’ve been on lockdown since March. But I like keeping to a schedule so I’m really enjoying having an alarm like other adults.
I charge it when the wind down chime sounds. And on the weekends I just have to remember to do it myself since I don’t have a set bedtime on the weekends.
No difference in battery life. About the same. But my Series 5 also got great battery life so this isn’t a slam on the 6.
The variation in results for some with a Series 6 who get great battery life vs others who didn’t is normal. Just like some people with a Series 5 get great battery life while others don’t.
I’m happy with the Series 6 because I like the snappier processor. But I certainly wouldn’t buy one hoping for drastically better battery life.
The variation in results for some with a Series 6 who get great battery life vs others who didn’t is normal. Just like some people with a Series 5 get great battery life while others don’t.
I’m happy with the Series 6 because I like the snappier processor. But I certainly wouldn’t buy one hoping for drastically better battery life.
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My S5 went through a stage like that but is much better now. I wear mine for 15-16 hours a day and have around 40% battery when I go to bed and place it on charge. For me that’s absolutely fine and I’ve no intention of upgrading my watch this year.
My watched did the same when when I first got it. I thought something was wrong with it. I even almost sent it to . I had the box they sent and everything. But then it all worked itself out and I had great battery life ever since. I only upgraded this year so I could give my sister my S5. Now everyone in my family has a watch. There’s only 3 of us in my family.
I’ll only upgrade to S7 if my mom was blood ox. She’ll buy the S7 and give it to me and I’ll give her my S6.
No difference in battery life. About the same.
I’m happy with the Series 6 because I like the snappier processor. But I certainly wouldn’t buy one hoping for drastically better battery life.
I’m happy with the Series 6 because I like the snappier processor. But I certainly wouldn’t buy one hoping for drastically better battery life.
I kept my S2 for three years and gave it to my step mum at the end of that period. That’s the thing with the AW, they lose so much value in such a short space of time, it’s almost not worth selling them on when you can gift them to a family member. I plan to keep my S5 three years to continue that sort of rotation. There wasn’t anything on the S6 that I felt I didn’t have on the S5 in all honesty. The release of OS7 seemed to make the S5 more fluid too I found, not that it wasn’t snappy beforehand though. The watch range is a bit like the iPad for me where it’s a slower evolution on specs and people tend to go a bit longer between upgrades.
I can totally see that. My mom and I got S5s a month a part. She bought her’s as a Christmas gift to herself. I wasn’t sold on the watch because I just didn’t see why I needed one since I can’t work out. But I had to wear hers so I could teach her how to use it. And that’s when I fell in love with it. I bought mine before the ’s Card 6% Daily Cash deal expired.
I think the watchOS 7 improved the S5 a lot too. It was a smoother experience.
I totally get you about upgrades. I kept my iPad mini 4 for 4 years before I upgraded to the 11” iPad Pro when it debuted. I’m gonna upgrade it soon to the 2020 model or 2021 if debuts one next month. I had no plans to upgrade, but my mom has been using the mini but now the home button is going out on it. Touch ID no longer works at all. So she’ll gonna buy the new iPad and then take the 2018 Pro. So the mini has been in service for 5 years. So I got my money’s worth out of it.
Better battery life on gps and continuous heart rate workouts. Not huge, but noticeable. The real game changer is the charging speed, greatly reducing the issue Of poor battery life. Didn’t think it would matter so much, but for my usage, it got me from looking at other brands to having no concerns with AW.
I thought I’d give a little more context to my Series 5 vs 6 comparisons thus far. On days when I’m active, my 44mm cellular Series 6 will end up with 10-20% life left pretty regular at bedtime. Same as my 5. But I’m a heavy watch user. My typical active day is as follows.
6am - Get up and put my fully charged watch on.
10am - 15 minute walk around the block (I work from home) Activity is engaged and I’m streaming podcasts.
3pm - 15 minute walk
5pm - 1 hour workout
8pm - Stream music for an hour while I do misc work around the yard/house. I prefer to stream from my watch because it’s always with me.
11pm - Bedtime, watch goes back on charger (Watch has 10-20% left)
On days when I do nothing but sit around the house, my Series 6 will finish the day at 50-60%. Again, same as my Series 5. And I leave AOD on at all times. I especially love that feature when I’m sitting.
6am - Get up and put my fully charged watch on.
10am - 15 minute walk around the block (I work from home) Activity is engaged and I’m streaming podcasts.
3pm - 15 minute walk
5pm - 1 hour workout
8pm - Stream music for an hour while I do misc work around the yard/house. I prefer to stream from my watch because it’s always with me.
11pm - Bedtime, watch goes back on charger (Watch has 10-20% left)
On days when I do nothing but sit around the house, my Series 6 will finish the day at 50-60%. Again, same as my Series 5. And I leave AOD on at all times. I especially love that feature when I’m sitting.
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