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Redesigned Apple Watch Series 7 Could Prioritize Longer Battery Life Over Additional Sensors

I’ve never really seen the need for anything just above an all-day battery life. If it lasts all day, it does it’s job and people will be in the habit of charging it on a daily basis, in line with their routine (charging during sleep, shower, whatever).

Unless it’s at least a one-week battery life, what’s the point in improving it, if it comes at the expense of other factors (weight, sensors, etc)?
 
I can get a good day and a half of constant wearing my series 5 Watch, but only if I turn off the aod, which is how I normally have it set. I’m going to upgrade if they change the design, not because of any improvements in battery life.

The hard edged form factor is just such a great look, definitely more masculine than the rounded edge of the current Watches. It would also be great if they can improve charging speed, as I sit here waiting for my Watch to charge for the day, so I don’t have to worry about getting through a typical busy Monday.
 
The battery life on my Series 4 has been great the last 2+ years. I guess if the new sensors aren't ready for prime-time, then sure, add more battery. But unless it's going to get me through two full days, I'm not sure I see a lot of value there.
 
I've been using a Watch Sport for 5 years and the battery still lasts me 2 days of use. I rarely use any apps on it and the modern watches don't really offer anything new to make me upgrade. General fitness tracking, time, Apple Pay and setting a timer are really all I use it for.
 
djcerla said:
My Series 4 battery had deteriorated to 82% capacity; even now, it lasts a full day, no exceptions, even if I use the 4G modem and record a training session. I'd take the extra sensors over a better battery.
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How do you know the status of your watch's battery? I've never found any way to check what capacity it's been drained to.
 
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Battery life is just not interesting to me. It lasts plenty long enough as it is.

I want Apple watch to be faster. Respond and process requests much much faster.
 
Good. My battery dies every day by 7pm. I got a new Apple Watch specifically because the battery life on my old one was abysmal; the new one ended up being even worse until I turned off its headline best feature: the always-on screen.

The only new sensor I'd care about would be a UV monitor. I'd like to know how much UV exposure I've gotten per day.
 
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Gsmaniac said:
Just checked the battery health on my series 4 - 97%. I was shocked it was still so high.
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Prompted me to check my replacement (refurb sent under warranty) S4, still @ 93% 👊
yegon said:
The AW is ill suited to fitness tracking beyond a few hours a day. It’s clearly targeted to the gym/spin class/general fitness crowd (me, basically). Unless Apple released a chunkier, rugged sport version, I doubt you’ll ever get the battery life you require.

I have tracked a few hikes with it but stopped doing it as the battery simply isn’t up to it.

If I ran like I did when I was younger, I’d get a Garmin no question.
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Agreed & saw some ultra cats posting in another thread here sim. thoughts.

Before I bought my AW4 in 2018 I was on my 2nd Gar Fenix but like you my marathon & even running days are in the rear view now. My 4 gets me thru a day w/ either lap swimming/rowing/yoga or a hike just fine w/ 40-55% batt life left each nite.
 
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a104375 said:
The number of times I wake up in the morning to a mostly dead AW5 because I forgot to charge before bed is frankly too high. Or the dreaded "charge now or it won't have enough charge to wake you up in the morning" 10 minutes before you were about to head to sleep. So for us sleep tracker AW users longer battery life is a must. It's crazy that so many other smart watches have seemingly similar features and size yet much longer battery life.
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Totally agree.

Even without using the watch at all, and with always-on display turned off, I can't get 2 days of battery life on my AW6. :(

But I have it a a habit to always charge after my workouts and it has worked well.
 
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It seems extremely unlikely that Apple would delay the launch of an App that would give it access to huge amounts of massively valuable health data to do something as banal as improve battery life, particularly as the two are not mutually exclusive. The bigger question is whether they will use the Health data they're hoping to acquire to pedal insurance and well-being products and, if so, which platform they will use to drive sales.
 
If they can bump up the life to 2-3 days for always on display, that would be great. Right now on series six, AOD makes watch last 1.5 days, which is kind of a nuisance having only one charger at home.
 
It doesn't seem likely that Apple would significantly improve battery life given that it has successfully conditioned Apple Watch customers to charge the watch every night. Why throw that training (and real estate inside the watch) away? In the 6 years I've owned various versions, it has *never* failed to last a full day - on occasions, it managed a whole weekend (when I forgot to bring the watch charger on a trip).

The only reason I can think of why Apple might go that route is if it thinks there's a huge market for 'sleep tracking'. But is there? I mean, sure, I don't think anyone would mind knowing whether they slept well or not, but do they really want to wear a watch during the night - I sure wouldn't - or have to remember to charge the watch at some 'odd' time during the day? I believe people like structure in their lives. Taking off my watch every night provides that structure.

I also don't think competing with other watch manufacturers is foremost on Apple's mind. With the watch's integration with the rest of the Apple ecosystem, they don't have much to fear from the likes of Fitbit Versa.
 
New sensors are about the only reason to upgrade the Apple Watch. My Series 4 runs so well I haven't found a reason to upgrade. The always on display is nice I guess, but will extra battery life really help that much? Do the always on display models always run out of battery or something? Mine lasts all day easily, in stark contrast to my Series 0 by this point in it's lifespan vs. my Series 4. My Series 0 was also getting to be really slow and the Series 4 is just chugging along. I had originally planned to upgrade on Series 7 but will be holding off this year.
 
I hope for battery improvement but an improvement of few hours is meaningless. It doesn't matter if it lasts 24 hours or 36 hours - both are overnight recharge for me. Yes, can drag it longer by disabling few settings but not too keen on making the watch resemble series 3 by disabling Always on, making the screen dull and other features
 
djcerla said:
My Series 4 battery had deteriorated to 82% capacity; even now, it lasts a full day, no exceptions, even if I use the 4G modem and record a training session. I'd take the extra sensors over a better battery.
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I had a Series 5 go down to 82% capacity. I was only getting 7-10 hours a day with it. No cellular, just a Bluetooth connection to my phone at all times.
 
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twolf2919 said:
It doesn't seem likely that Apple would significantly improve battery life given that it has successfully conditioned Apple Watch customers to charge the watch every night. Why throw that training (and real estate inside the watch) away? In the 6 years I've owned various versions, it has *never* failed to last a full day - on occasions, it managed a whole weekend (when I forgot to bring the watch charger on a trip).

The only reason I can think of why Apple might go that route is if it thinks there's a huge market for 'sleep tracking'. But is there? I mean, sure, I don't think anyone would mind knowing whether they slept well or not, but do they really want to wear a watch during the night - I sure wouldn't - or have to remember to charge the watch at some 'odd' time during the day? I believe people like structure in their lives. Taking off my watch every night provides that structure.

I also don't think competing with other watch manufacturers is foremost on Apple's mind. With the watch's integration with the rest of the Apple ecosystem, they don't have much to fear from the likes of Fitbit Versa.
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I almost always wear my Watch while I sleep, although Apple’s idea of sleep tracking does not show you that you’ve gotten a good night’s rest. About the only piece of data I’m watching is my heart rate, because it is the only thing really being tracked by the Watch. It does nothing to note the times that I wake up at 4am and stay up until 5am, then restlessly toss and turn until I finally get up at 6am. Instead, I get the notice ”you’ve done great and gotten your 7 hours of sleep”, because I turn off my alarm at 6am when the Watch thinks I’m getting up - and I’ve really only gotten 5 hours of sleep.
 
Love the design and the features, but the battery life alone have kept me away for now. What’s the point of sleep tracking and things like night mode when the device has to charge every night so one can use it the day after? Using smart watches from Garmin that is more activity oriented that lives for a week or so before the battery runs flat.
 
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