Do I have a unicorn battery?

[Bob Coxner]

My S4 GPS will be 2 years old next month. I've always been able to get around 48 hours between charges. After upgrading to OS7 I did another test this week. After 48 hours I still had 5% left. With OS6 I usually had about 10% left. I don't run any apps except for the Timer complication which I use many times per day.

Apple says up to 18 hours. Most posts about batteries I see here seem to say about the same or less.

I'm tempted to buy an S6 but I'm wondering if my S4 battery is unique for some reason and I would lose that fantastic battery life by switching. I hate dealing with charging and would not be happy with 18 hours at all.

 

[Mr. Awesome]

My S4 GPS will be 2 years old next month. I've always been able to get around 48 hours between charges. After upgrading to OS7 I did another test this week. After 48 hours I still had 5% left. With OS6 I usually had about 10% left. I don't run any apps except for the Timer complication which I use many times per day.

Apple says up to 18 hours. Most posts about batteries I see here seem to say about the same or less.

I'm tempted to buy an S6 but I'm wondering if my S4 battery is unique for some reason and I would lose that fantastic battery life by switching. I hate dealing with charging and would not be happy with 18 hours at all.

The likelihood of your battery being unique in that way is very unlikely, but not impossible. As you only use the Timer complication, it seems that you just have way less than what Apple defines as “average usage”, so you get much more battery life.

With a Series 6, you’ll probably get around the same amount of battery life, as long as you still have the same usage. It does have an Always On Display, which uses a little more battery, but if you don’t need that feature you can turn it off.

 

[glenthompson]

I had a S1 and upgraded to a S4. Both give me 2 day battery life. I don’t wear it in bed and usually charge it overnight. When I haven’t charged it at night it lasts through the next day with no problem.

 

[BigMcGuire]

My S3 was the first Apple Watch I had. I could easily do 3 days on that. Granted, I was a light user and exercised every other day at best. My AW5 was the second Apple Watch I had. The battery life on that was noticeably less. I get about 1.5 days on it without trying and using it heavily. If I try, I can do 2+ days. But that's with always on display off, Siri off, handoff off, etc... (I normally have these off anyway).

I'm pretty happy with my AW5 battery life. I charge it in the morning during my shower, and then again at my desk if I want to top it off, and maybe for 10 mins at night (usually not) - it is rare for my watch to see <50% battery with this usage.

I like that I can just not charge my watch for a day if I want to. I don't mind popping off my watch during a work meeting and charging - I have 2 cables so one sits at my desk and one is next to my bed.

I'm not expecting anything majorly different from the AW6. I'll keep AOD off, Siri, and all that other stuff I never use. Maybe I'll get 2.5+ days of use?

 

[jdb8167]

My S4 GPS will be 2 years old next month. I've always been able to get around 48 hours between charges. After upgrading to OS7 I did another test this week. After 48 hours I still had 5% left. With OS6 I usually had about 10% left. I don't run any apps except for the Timer complication which I use many times per day.

Apple says up to 18 hours. Most posts about batteries I see here seem to say about the same or less.

I'm tempted to buy an S6 but I'm wondering if my S4 battery is unique for some reason and I would lose that fantastic battery life by switching. I hate dealing with charging and would not be happy with 18 hours at all.

I would get two days or more on my Series 4. My Series 5 with the always on display it was down to about 36 hours. The Series 6 is too new to know yet but preliminary results over 2 days looks like it will be less than 36 hours.