Charging Ultra 3

[FellaMeLad]

At Christmas I treated myself to an Ultra 3 and I'm loving it so far! With my previous Series 7, I had to charge it every evening as the battery would be down to around 15% by the time I went to bed. In contrast, the Ultra 3 is still showing around 80% at the same time of night. Awesome!

Question: Is there a problem with me 'overcharging' the Ultra 3 by leaving it on the charger overnight when it's already on 80%? Or should I let the battery drain down to ~20% or so before I start charging it up again?

My colleague says that batteries have to have to go through 'cycles' of full charge ---> empty ---> full charge to maintain their health - so just thought I'd ask. (I'm not a fan of wearing the Watch at night, but it's something that I might have to start doing to avoid battery issues).

Bonus question: Does the Ultra 3 have any Apple Intelligence / AI functionality? If not, is any expected with the new Siri and AI features coming in the next few months?

 

[jz0309]

At Christmas I treated myself to an Ultra 3 and I'm loving it so far! With my previous Series 7, I had to charge it every evening as the battery would be down to around 15% by the time I went to bed. In contrast, the Ultra 3 is still showing around 80% at the same time of night. Awesome!

Question: Is there a problem with me 'overcharging' the Ultra 3 by leaving it on the charger overnight when it's already on 80%? Or should I let the battery drain down to ~20% or so before I start charging it up again?

My colleague says that batteries have to have to go through 'cycles' of full charge ---> empty ---> full charge to maintain their health - so just thought I'd ask. (I'm not a fan of wearing the Watch at night, but it's something that I might have to start doing to avoid battery issues).

Bonus question: Does the Ultra 3 have any Apple Intelligence / AI functionality? If not, is any expected with the new Siri and AI features coming in the next few months?

Charging us a "can of worms" topic, I've been charging my Ultra(s) since I had the very first one overnight to 100%, all the time without impact to battery health, but, there are different opinions out here.
My suggestion: do whatever you want ...

The Ultra battery is going to last way longer than the regular AW, expect at least 4-6 years.
Now if battery health is a huge concern, get AC+

As for Apple Intelligence, nothing and whatever might or not get added in the future is speculation at this point...

 

[FellaMeLad]

Charging us a "can of worms" topic, I've been charging my Ultra(s) since I had the very first one overnight to 100%, all the time without impact to battery health, but, there are different opinions out here.
My suggestion: do whatever you want ...

The Ultra battery is going to last way longer than the regular AW, expect at least 4-6 years.
Now if battery health is a huge concern, get AC+

As for Apple Intelligence, nothing and whatever might or not get added in the future is speculation at this point...

That's awesome - thanks for the feedback. I was just a little wary because the battery on my iPhone 14 Pro is toast - I have to charge it multiple times to make it through the day, and the battery health section in Settings shows a maximum capacity of 68% Pah!! I'm not sure why it's that bad, as I'm not even a heavy phone user. Just (bad) luck of the draw I guess...

But yeah, I didn't want to start charging the Ultra 3 the 'wrong' way and end up with similar problems - hence my post. I think at night, I'll just leave it on the side but not on the charger, and let it run down to ~20% before I start charging it to 100% again. Don't think I can go wrong with that approach...

And hopefully my iPhone can last through to September as I'd like to upgrade to an iPhone Fold when that's announced!

Thanks again for the response!

 

[jz0309]

That's awesome - thanks for the feedback. I was just a little wary because the battery on my iPhone 14 Pro is toast - I have to charge it multiple times to make it through the day, and the battery health section in Settings shows a maximum capacity of 68% Pah!! I'm not sure why it's that bad, as I'm not even a heavy phone user. Just (bad) luck of the draw I guess...

But yeah, I didn't want to start charging the Ultra 3 the 'wrong' way and end up with similar problems - hence my post. I think at night, I'll just leave it on the side but not on the charger, and let it run down to ~20% before I start charging it to 100% again. Don't think I can go wrong with that approach...

And hopefully my iPhone can last through to September as I'd like to upgrade to an iPhone Fold when that's announced!

Thanks again for the response!

re your phone, from what I've read at 68% its a day-to-day gamble, if you want to wait til Sep I'd consider getting the battery replaced by Apple, I think cost is $99, might be a good investment for "peace of mind", esp if you are considering the foldable (I'm interested too but would not order before I can do a hands-on and thus it might be later than Sep to get one)

 

[FellaMeLad]

re your phone, from what I've read at 68% its a day-to-day gamble, if you want to wait til Sep I'd consider getting the battery replaced by Apple, I think cost is $99, might be a good investment for "peace of mind", esp if you are considering the foldable (I'm interested too but would not order before I can do a hands-on and thus it might be later than Sep to get one)

Yup! I looked into replacing the phone battery - only reason I didn't do it is because I work from home so it's easy for me to charge and keep the phone topped up when it runs low. And I have an Anker external battery to keep me going when I'm out and about... So I kindof muddle through lol. But yeah - It's something to consider...

Thanks again!

 

[cateye]

At Christmas I treated myself to an Ultra 3 and I'm loving it so far! With my previous Series 7, I had to charge it every evening as the battery would be down to around 15% by the time I went to bed. In contrast, the Ultra 3 is still showing around 80% at the same time of night. Awesome!

Question: Is there a problem with me 'overcharging' the Ultra 3 by leaving it on the charger overnight when it's already on 80%? Or should I let the battery drain down to ~20% or so before I start charging it up again?

Up to you. As jz0309 suggests, discussions about charging methodologies rapidly becomes a black hole of misconceptions and deeply-held superstitions. While there are a few basic things you can do to prevent premature aging of batteries (don't subject your devices to extreme heat for extended periods of time, etc.) for the most part, charging it when you want, or need to, or it is convenient to, is a perfectly adequate plan.

I got an Ultra 3 at launch and, like you, love it primarily for the battery life. I can pull it off the charger at 100% and with normal use don't drop it back on the charger until day 3 when it'll be at around 15-20%. But I don't hesitate to "top it off" if I feel like I'll need the extra headroom (e.g. before heading out on a weekend backpacking trip or on a long day hike where I might have a workout running or am using the watch to track my progress all day long).

Put another way, let the device work for you. Not the other way around.

 

[FellaMeLad]

Put another way, let the device work for you. Not the other way around.

Got it! Thanks both for the feedback. I appreciate you!