Can someone please explain the "battery life" complaints?

[Andy in Embsay]

I'm wearing a Garmin Fenix 3 at the moment, and that does email, text, google maps notifications etc, plus GPS for running/cycling, activity/sleep tracker etc - and I can easily get 7 days out of a charge with moderate numbers of exercise sessions (GPS is heavy on battery). However it ain't an Apple Watch, so will be relegated to an exercise watch (and possible skiing watch as it controls my Virb camera - although it'd be great if someone wrote an app for that) after Friday, as the AW does soooo much more.

I'll be charging mine during the day, I expect, as I also need it for alarms and like to check the time when I'm in bed - although I guess my use pattern may change and I'll get used to charging it by the bed - however the vibrate (but no tone) alarm on my Fenix is good as it wakes me but not the mrs.

 

[GoingDark]

That's something I hadn't thought of and a great point.
When do you typically charge your pebble?

I charge my Pebble about twice a week, typically in the morning when I wake up - I'll throw it on the charger while I do my morning routine (shower, shave, breakfast, get dressed etc) which takes about an hour.
I never leave it to drain all the way (which would 6-7 days) and I never charge it up all the way (which would take 2-3 hours). I'm sure that's bad for the battery but I don't particularly care. It's the easiest and most unobtrusive way to do it in my experience.

People keep comparing the Apple Watch to the iPhone, saying "well you charge your phone every night, what's the big deal about charging the watch every night?"
The difference is that I have iPhone chargers everywhere - at home, in the car, at work, at my girlfriend's place - and I just don't see that playing out the same way for the Watch charger.

 

[supermanfan]

Agreed - I can use my phone while I am charging it (car, work, etc).

Sleep monitoring and silent alarm to wake me are the key features the Apple Watch I will miss.

I charge my Pebble about twice a week, typically in the morning when I wake up - I'll throw it on the charger while I do my morning routine (shower, shave, breakfast, get dressed etc) which takes about an hour.
I never leave it to drain all the way (which would 6-7 days) and I never charge it up all the way (which would take 2-3 hours). I'm sure that's bad for the battery but I don't particularly care. It's the easiest and most unobtrusive way to do it in my experience.

People keep comparing the Apple Watch to the iPhone, saying "well you charge your phone every night, what's the big deal about charging the watch every night?"
The difference is that I have iPhone chargers everywhere - at home, in the car, at work, at my girlfriend's place - and I just don't see that playing out the same way for the Watch charger.

 

[Cashmonee]

It's not the daily charging that's the problem, it's that normal use allows you one day. If you venture into heavy use, then you run the risk of not having enough charge to make it through the day. For example, there is a lovely hiking app that I saw some screenshots for, but it is totally useless to me since most of the hikes I do would kill the battery before the hike is over, and forget backpacking with it. It just limits what can be done, and all for features that I find frivolous, and designed to sell the look of the watch over the function.

 

[Cuyler]

Most people will probably be content to charge their Apple watch overnight. However, for those that can't live without wearing a watch 24 hours a day, the simple solution is to buy 2 watches — always keep one charging while you wear the other. Or get a less expensive device to track your sleep through the night while the Apple Watch charges.

It would be nice for the watch to hold a longer charge. But even if it lasted for days, you still have to keep track of the battery level and then take it off for some period of time to charge. When a device requires daily charging, it at least becomes part of routine.

I'm curious.. how long does it take to charge an Apple Watch? A short charging time might aliviate some people's concerns.

 

[supermanfan]

Most people will probably be content to charge their Apple watch overnight. However, for those that can't live without wearing a watch 24 hours a day, the simple solution is to buy 2 watches — always keep one charging while you wear the other. Or get a less expensive device to track your sleep through the night while the Apple Watch charges.

It would be nice for the watch to hold a longer charge. But even if it lasted for days, you still have to keep track of the battery level and then take it off for some period of time to charge. When a device requires daily charging, it at least becomes part of routine.

I'm curious.. how long does it take to charge an Apple Watch? A short charging time might aliviate some people's concerns.

My gut reaction to this suggestion was "bad answer", but after thinking about it for a few seconds I am starting warm up to it.

Sure I would love my Apple Watch to perform like my Pebble in terms of battery life. I certainly won't be buying a second Apple Watch (kinda doubt Apple has contemplated pairing multiple watches to a phone anyway), but I could keep my Pebble or buy something cheap for night time use.

 

[Cuyler]

My gut reaction to this suggestion was "bad answer", but after thinking about it for a few seconds I am starting warm up to it.

Sure I would love my Apple Watch to perform like my Pebble in terms of battery life. I certainly won't be buying a second Apple Watch (kinda doubt Apple has contemplated pairing multiple watches to a phone anyway), but I could keep my Pebble or buy something cheap for night time use.

That's right.. not having access to any watches myself, I wouldn't know how well multiple devices linked to a phone works. However, I believe you can walk around with either the phone or a watch or both at the same time and it's smart enough to count your steps only once. In my mind, I figured they should be able to handle a 2nd watch as well, but maybe it doesn't even allow you to pair a second watch to a phone.

I wouldn't order 2 Apple watches myself just to swap them when the battery gets low, but when the next generation comes out, a lot of people will get a 2nd one. If you already have a Pebble, I'd use that.

 

[Mr.C]

That's right.. not having access to any watches myself, I wouldn't know how well multiple devices linked to a phone works. However, I believe you can walk around with either the phone or a watch or both at the same time and it's smart enough to count your steps only once. In my mind, I figured they should be able to handle a 2nd watch as well, but maybe it doesn't even allow you to pair a second watch to a phone.

I wouldn't order 2 Apple watches myself just to swap them when the battery gets low, but when the next generation comes out, a lot of people will get a 2nd one. If you already have a Pebble, I'd use that.

That's what I'm contemplating in doing. Wear my Pebble at night when I only need to check the time and need an alarm in the morning to wake me up. Wear my Watch during the day when will be using the additional functionality.