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Battery life on series 4

Hey guys.
I'm in the middle of a purchasing decision between a Fitbit Versa or an AW4 44mm. I won't be able to return either once I've spent the money, so I'm hoping you guys can shed some light on the situation at least from the AW perspective.

Basically what I'm looking for is a fitness tracker with music storage so I don't have to bring my phone to the gym. My requirements for the watch is as follows:
  • Continuous heart rate tracking throughout the day.
  • 1.5-2 hours of gym workout per day (without my phone), listening to downloaded music with Bluetooth headset.
  • Sleep tracking, including mapping of different stages of sleep.
My main concern is the battery life. The advertised 18 hours of the AW is simply unacceptable, since I'm not going to schedule my life around charging a watch. However, a lot of people have seemingly made theirs last for several days, so I'm wondering what kind of battery life I can expect in my case.
 
McClutchkey said:
Hey guys.
I'm in the middle of a purchasing decision between a Fitbit Versa or an AW4 44mm. I won't be able to return either once I've spent the money, so I'm hoping you guys can shed some light on the situation at least from the AW perspective.

Basically what I'm looking for is a fitness tracker with music storage so I don't have to bring my phone to the gym. My requirements for the watch is as follows:
  • Continuous heart rate tracking throughout the day.
  • 1.5-2 hours of gym workout per day (without my phone), listening to downloaded music with Bluetooth headset.
  • Sleep tracking, including mapping of different stages of sleep.
My main concern is the battery life. The advertised 18 hours of the AW is simply unacceptable, since I'm not going to schedule my life around charging a watch. However, a lot of people have seemingly made theirs last for several days, so I'm wondering what kind of battery life I can expect in my case.
Click to expand...
With your use case you will get around 24 hours of usage out of the watch. I think that will be too low in your opinion. But you don't have to be afraid that it's going to be less than 18 hours. That estimation is really on the low side. It's just what Apple guarantees.
 
McClutchkey said:
Hey guys.
I'm in the middle of a purchasing decision between a Fitbit Versa or an AW4 44mm. I won't be able to return either once I've spent the money, so I'm hoping you guys can shed some light on the situation at least from the AW perspective.

Basically what I'm looking for is a fitness tracker with music storage so I don't have to bring my phone to the gym. My requirements for the watch is as follows:
  • Continuous heart rate tracking throughout the day.
  • 1.5-2 hours of gym workout per day (without my phone), listening to downloaded music with Bluetooth headset.
  • Sleep tracking, including mapping of different stages of sleep.
My main concern is the battery life. The advertised 18 hours of the AW is simply unacceptable, since I'm not going to schedule my life around charging a watch. However, a lot of people have seemingly made theirs last for several days, so I'm wondering what kind of battery life I can expect in my case.
Click to expand...
If you want continuous hr tracking throughout the day then you need a fitbit. Apple watch takes a reading at 10 minute intervals.

That said. I was an avid fitbit user and changed when the s3 came out and never looked back. Pop the watch on the charger at night and its good for the morning. So much easier than the fitbit blaze I had where you had to remove it from the frame and clip it into this lame little shell to charge.
 
Mercenary said:
If you want continuous hr tracking throughout the day then you need a fitbit. Apple watch takes a reading at 10 minute intervals.

That said. I was an avid fitbit user and changed when the s3 came out and never looked back. Pop the watch on the charger at night and its good for the morning. So much easier than the fitbit blaze I had where you had to remove it from the frame and clip it into this lame little shell to charge.
Click to expand...

So the real time heart rate that's shown on the watch face is not being tracked? How about when you start a workout, I assume that will be tracked for the duration of the workout?

Since I want to use it for sleep tracking, I will not be charging it at night, and would have to find some other times to charge it. I think the time between waking up and going to work as many has said, is a good idea.
I agree that the AW charger is more elegant, however the functionality of the watch is more of a deciding factor for me.
 
McClutchkey said:
So the real time heart rate that's shown on the watch face is not being tracked? How about when you start a workout, I assume that will be tracked for the duration of the workout?

Since I want to use it for sleep tracking, I will not be charging it at night, and would have to find some other times to charge it. I think the time between waking up and going to work as many has said, is a good idea.
I agree that the AW charger is more elegant, however the functionality of the watch is more of a deciding factor for me.
Click to expand...
Real-time yes but only when you launch the app or do a workout. The fitbit takes a reading every 5 seconds during the day and this increases to 1 seconds during workouts
 
Mercenary said:
Real-time yes but only when you launch the app or do a workout. The fitbit takes a reading every 5 seconds during the day and this increases to 1 seconds during workouts
Click to expand...

Okay. I guess that’s a consequence of the batterylife.
Thanks a lot for your help, I think I’ll choose the versa for now. I really want to like the AW, but it doesn’t fully meet my requirements. Hopefully the next iteration will have better batterylife with more complete heart rate and sleep tracking.
 
McClutchkey said:
Okay. I guess that’s a consequence of the batterylife.
Thanks a lot for your help, I think I’ll choose the versa for now. I really want to like the AW, but it doesn’t fully meet my requirements. Hopefully the next iteration will have better batterylife with more complete heart rate and sleep tracking.
Click to expand...
Coming from fitbit I too was worried about battery life but it really is a non issue.

The problem with fitbit is once they've released a device that's it, they are done with it. Software updates will only ever be absolutely critical fixes. Apple are still releasing updates for the series 0. Fitbit just didn't do that.
 
Mercenary said:
Coming from fitbit I too was worried about battery life but it really is a non issue.

The problem with fitbit is once they've released a device that's it, they are done with it. Software updates will only ever be absolutely critical fixes. Apple are still releasing updates for the series 0. Fitbit just didn't do that.
Click to expand...

The thing about battery life is that it’s so individual. Can I ask about your use?
 
just a quick update using the simple watch face i am still at 100% after 3 hours from full charge, so it looks like the infographic faces were causing the drain for me!
 
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gatd said:
just a quick update using the simple watch face i am still at 100% after 3 hours from full charge, so it looks like the infographic faces were causing the drain for me!
Click to expand...

my fastest drain on S4 was the infographic modular with heart rate at center. took the watch to red within 6 hours, during which time I was active plus mowing lawn for 2 hours or so.

my lawn very hilly and I mow with a walk/behind mower. S4 thought I climbed 12 stairs that day!

overall, battery drains faster on 5.0.1 For a lesser face like the old modular or Hermes timeface only, about 3% per hour minimum.
 
jbizzybeetle said:
my fastest drain on S4 was the infographic modular with heart rate at center. took the watch to red within 6 hours, during which time I was active plus mowing lawn for 2 hours or so.

my lawn very hilly and I mow with a walk/behind mower. S4 thought I climbed 12 stairs that day!

overall, battery drains faster on 5.0.1 For a lesser face like the old modular or Hermes timeface only, about 3% per hour minimum.
Click to expand...



That’s good to know. I’ve been using the very first watch face, infograph modular, almost exclusively. I did always use modular on my S3 prior. I wonder if this is why I’m losing an entire day of battery.


Edit: I just found out you can add the standard modular face to the S4 through the iPhone watch app. I’m going to have to test this!
 
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Latest test. Using a simple watch face does NOT save any battery.

I repeated my test conditions but this time I've had the x-large face all day with zero complications. No savings were noted.

Next test is to actually remove all other faces, not just have them inactive.
 
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14 days after purchase things have nicely settled down.
Raise to speak is switched off but workout detection is off and I have no walkie-talkie contacts.

Usage: 6 hours, 42 minutes
Standby: 2 days, 3 hours.

I'm now on 3%. Not bad at all.
 
Went to bed with 70% battery left and left it on the dining table.

Woke up to a watch with 0% battery.

What can be the reason for this crazy draining of the battery?
 
My S4+LTE has settled in...now it has great battery life, easily the equal of my S3+LTE.

The S4 is such a leap from the S3 it’s really amazing. The screen is just fantastic. The app launch speed is great. Very happy S4 owner...until S5 haha!!
 
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joefrank64k said:
My S4+LTE has settled in...now it has great battery life, easily the equal of my S3+LTE.

The S4 is such a leap from the S3 it’s really amazing. The screen is just fantastic. The app launch speed is great. Very happy S4 owner...until S5 haha!!
Click to expand...

"Settled in" being how long?
 
On my S4 42mm LTE turning off WiFi seems to have made a difference to my battery life with my usage patterns.

Generally speaking I’ll be away from my phone for an hour or two every day, I think in my case turning off WiFi has helped as while I’m away from my phone it won’t be searching for a WiFi signal? Seems to make sense to me and appears to be working but I guess that could be some kind of placebo effect.

I normally end the day on 60% or above
 
TwiceNightly said:
On my S4 42mm LTE turning off WiFi seems to have made a difference to my battery life with my usage patterns.

Generally speaking I’ll be away from my phone for an hour or two every day, I think in my case turning off WiFi has helped as while I’m away from my phone it won’t be searching for a WiFi signal? Seems to make sense to me and appears to be working but I guess that could be some kind of placebo effect.

I normally end the day on 60% or above
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Wifi does use a huge amount more power than the Bluetooth Low Energy connection. But the only time the wifi comes on is when your phone is out of range (which it sounds like you have).
 
After 2 weeks of using the S4, my battery usually drains to around 50% at 22:30 after unplugging it at 6:40 in the morning, which is not enough for two days. However, I charge it a bit before sleep as well as before leaving in the morning. That way I can use it as a sleeptracker during the night.

I wonder if Apple is actively working on a patch to fix that battery life or if it just behaves as intended on this new hardware.
 
k1ckdapro said:
After 2 weeks of using the S4, my battery usually drains to around 50% at 22:30 after unplugging it at 6:40 in the morning, which is not enough for two days. However, I charge it a bit before sleep as well as before leaving in the morning. That way I can use it as a sleeptracker during the night.

I wonder if Apple is actively working on a patch to fix that battery life or if it just behaves as intended on this new hardware.
Click to expand...

I know some here have turned off auto recognize workouts as well as raise to speak to Siri. Have you done that?
 
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