Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Or i buy a second hand S3 which has a physical bigger battery, which too me is more important then the bigger screen or EKG which i will never get as i dont live in the US anyway..

They didn’t say that countries outside of the US won’t get the EKG feature. I think we just have to wait.
[doublepost=1537962222][/doublepost]
Views on this seem very polarised. Those coming from S0 to S2 seem overjoyed that they get more than a days usage. Those coming from S3 are disappointed that despite the clear apple statements during the keynote that they would get longer battery life, most are reporting significant reductions.

Why do Apple need to be so 'cryptic'?

Did they announce longer battery life during the keynote? I think I missed that.
 
On the point of reduced battery size, I do believe the S4 chipset was miniaturised further and offered more power with greater efficiencies so the % drop in battery size may not be the problem. Would I preferred to have 1mm extra thickness and bigger battery.... yeah but I don't know whether we can say we've had a 20% reduction in use due to the change in size. It's more likely they balance out due to the other efficiencies made.

I think until they can offer a battery that will last 3-7days, increasing battery power to allow 10%-20% extra is a moot point when you'll still have to charge at the end of the day to allow full use on the 2nd day.

The lowest % I've been left with is 40% (after 4-5hrs usage and 24hrs standby). Given the variation in efficiency between users I have a feeling there are a few issues with either an app or, the way some complications are working at the moment. I'd imagine some (if not all these issues) could be resolved in future updates. This often happens with iPhone IOS betas.

I remember the keynote said that the new watch would have the same All day batter use and quoting 18hrs. I don't recall seeing them say it would be improved but I guess I may have missed that.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MartyCan
I think until they can offer a battery that will last 3-7days, increasing battery power to allow 10%-20% extra is a moot point when you'll still have to charge at the end of the day to allow full use on the 2nd day.

I think you are right for most cases. But some users reported 2.5 days on a charge with their Series 3. I guess in that case - a full 2 days - would be a valid point.

Some series 4 user also reported that turning off « automatic workout detection » has positively affected their battery life. I will try that too and see how it goes.
 
Last edited:
Views on this seem very polarised. Those coming from S0 to S2 seem overjoyed that they get more than a days usage. Those coming from S3 are disappointed that despite the clear apple statements during the keynote that they would get longer battery life, most are reporting significant reductions.

Why do Apple need to be so 'cryptic'?
We over analyze micro data here. My personal micro data is that I put on my S4 Monday morning about 7 AM and finally put it back on the charger last night after 10 PM when I went to bed so I got 2 full days out of it. No calls or workouts in that stretch but I do get a lot of email and text notifications in a day.

I personally think the battery is fine as is.
 
We over analyze micro data here. My personal micro data is that I put on my S4 Monday morning about 7 AM and finally put it back on the charger last night after 10 PM when I went to bed so I got 2 full days out of it. No calls or workouts in that stretch but I do get a lot of email and text notifications in a day.

I personally think the battery is fine as is.

Mine lasted, in comparison and without any workout, from 7 AM on Monday to 1 PM on Tuesday, so approximately 9 hours less. I wonder if the « now playing » screen could also be causing battery drain, as I listen more or less 1.5 hours a day to audiobooks in my car, streamed from my phone.

Do you use any third party apps and monitor your sleep?
 
Stats for some reason keeps resetting and there’s nothing there now

Off charge at 11am and at 15.15 I’m on 81% left
 
Okay, after just a few days my battery life is getting way better as expected.

I unplugged my Watch at around midnight with 100%.
Tracked my sleep with AutoSleep.
A few notifications came in from Spark and WaterMinder so far.

Now ~16hrs louter I lost ~25% battery life. ~12% was sleep tracking which is still a bit high, but it is getting better and better with every day.

So it normalizes now. When AutoSleep is also back to usual, which means max. 5% battery drain, my Battery will last long enough to be happy and see an improvement from previous generations.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Dormammu
Mine lasted, in comparison and without any workout, from 7 AM on Monday to 1 PM on Tuesday, so approximately 9 hours less. I wonder if the « now playing » screen could also be causing battery drain, as I listen more or less 1.5 hours a day to audiobooks in my car, streamed from my phone.

Do you use any third party apps and monitor your sleep?
I used to use Sleep++ but found it pretty unreliable/awkward because you had to “start” and “stop” the sleep time yourself and I often forgot to. Is there anything better out there yet?
 
Looks more and more like battery life will be the next big reason to buy Series 5. I’m getting awful battery life compared to my Series 3.
 
  • Like
Reactions: SantaFeNM
Maybe I am lucky or don’t have old apps installed. My new S4 is at 87% after starting at 100% this morning at 7am. 45 minute workout included.
 
  • Like
Reactions: misanthrophy
I think you are right for most cases. But some users reported 2.5 days on a charge with their Series 3. I guess in that case - a full 2 days - would be a valid point.

Some series 4 user also reported that turning off « automatic workout detection » has positively affected their battery life. I will try that too and see how it goes.

I've just turned that off as well (today). It worked quite well but, to be honest, it was only reminding me to do it on dog walks, activities I wouldn't normally bother recording anyway. If I go out on a training ride etc, I'd always turn it on so its a feature that doesn't really benefit me that much....

I've also turned the location for watch faces today.... another one I don't really need. We'll see if there is any significant difference tomorrow.

At the moment, the watch is at 57% with 21hrs standby and 3 hours use.
 
Last edited:
Found what was causing my battery drain. Watch App > My Watch > Workout > Detect Gym Equipment reverted to being "On" by default, despite restoring from a backup on my Series 2 with that turned off. Turned it off last night and my battery has been fine since then.

I don't need my watch's bluetooth constantly searching for equipment that my gym doesn't own, and you can still tap the watch to the gym equipment to start it. I remember Apple turning it off by default in watchOS 4, so no idea why they decided to enable it by default for me on watchOS 5
 
  • Like
Reactions: NikkiAngel
2 hours 57 min usage
9 hours 46 mins standby
Worked out for an hour on LTE listening to music through Bluetooth device.

Battery is @ 19%. Unacceptable. Does the battery need to break in? Do I need to re-pair the watch? Return for a new one?
 
  • Like
Reactions: SantaFeNM
I have turned off today:
auto workout detection stop and start, detect gym equipment, and raise to talk.
Lets see if any of that helps.
 
Sounds perfect ! What do you mean by old apps? Any third party apps installed?
Yea - was just noting that I didn’t install any app not upgraded to OS5.

I’m at 82% right now after 7 1/2 hours. But I also didn’t use LTE and only did a strength training workout using SmartGym in the watch.
 
2 hours 57 min usage
9 hours 46 mins standby
Worked out for an hour on LTE listening to music through Bluetooth device.

Battery is @ 19%. Unacceptable. Does the battery need to break in? Do I need to re-pair the watch? Return for a new one?

My battery wasn’t as bad the first few days. Is it possible that LTE drains the battery that quickly? If so, what’s the point of it? With that type of battery life it’s useless.

I guess I can do without LTE but it would be nice to be able to use it here and there without worrying about battery dying. I’m gonna charge it back up to 109%, not use LTE and see what happens.
 
My battery wasn’t as bad the first few days. Is it possible that LTE drains the battery that quickly? If so, what’s the point of it? With that type of battery life it’s useless.

I guess I can do without LTE but it would be nice to be able to use it here and there without worrying about battery dying. I’m gonna charge it back up to 109%, not use LTE and see what happens.

My apple watch 3 with LTE had much better battery life then the apple watch 4 with lte.
 
  • Like
Reactions: SantaFeNM
My battery is pretty inconsistent. I charged it last night to 100% woke up and it was at 97% after 3 hours it was at 83%. I didn't even use it besides having it on my wrist. It drains a lot even if I'm not using it, is this normal?
 
  • Like
Reactions: SantaFeNM
Looks more and more like battery life will be the next big reason to buy Series 5. I’m getting awful battery life compared to my Series 3.
Don’t tell me that! I lost my series 3 GPS only to the Atlantic ocean and have been looking at getting a series 4 instead. If it only lasts a day I’ll probably go for a series 3 refurb. I loved that watch.
 
Last edited:
I've been wearing my watch since 5:30am ET (is 4:30pm ET) - normal usage and 45m workout and am at 70%. My battery problem may have been partially caused by playing with this much more than I did my version 3. I think that the battery life is a bit lower but not as bad as I'd first suspected.
 
Don’t tell me that! I lost my series 3 GPS only to the Atlantic ocean and have been looking at getting a series 4 instead. If only lasts a day I’ll probably go for a series 3 refurb. I loved that watch.

Before making any decisions, you seriously need to wait until WatchOS5 has been refined. There are bound to be teething problems with a new watch with a new OS.

Secondly, not everyone is experiencing disastrous battery performance. I have no doubt others may have better performance than me but it lasts a full day plus for me. I just placed mine on charge at 53%, more than 3.5hrs usage and 23hrs standby. There are a lot of variables that can influence performance. It maybe better to pick one up and see how it goes and, if necessary, return it within 14 days if you're not happy.
 
  • Like
Reactions: QuarterSwede
Views on this seem very polarised. Those coming from S0 to S2 seem overjoyed that they get more than a days usage. Those coming from S3 are disappointed that despite the clear apple statements during the keynote that they would get longer battery life, most are reporting significant reductions.

Why do Apple need to be so 'cryptic'?

Or the ppl that didn’t upgrade their S3 LTE and are suffering a weak battery since iOS 5 came out.
 
Today was my first "normal" day with the watch (S4 Aluminum LTE 44mm). Yesterday Verizon's network was all wonky, and the days before, I was playing with my watch all the time b/c it was new.
Today, it was like it used to be with my S2. I got up. Did some mild exercising this morning (pushups, stretching, etc), then went to work where I was busy enough all day to not play with my "new toy" of a watch.
Got home after a normal drive home and I'm at 81%.
The 81% is after 10 hours standby and 2 hrs 10 minutes of usage. That's not bad IMO. It's not linear, or that would translate to 50 hours standby and almost 6 hours of usage for the life of the battery... ha.
 
  • Like
Reactions: QuarterSwede
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.