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S2 vs S3: Battery Life

E

eyeseeyou

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Feb 4, 2011
3,390
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My S0 has become an annoyance barely lasting 11-12 hours these days.

I’m considering either having the battery replaced for $79 through Apple, or a third party if cheaper or myself if I’m bored, or buying a used S2.

I’ve read that the S3 can almost go a full 2+ days. Can any current or former S2 owners comment on the battery life for an S2? Does it compare to the S3’s battery life?
 
eyeseeyou said:
My S0 has become an annoyance barely lasting 11-12 hours these days.

I’m considering either having the battery replaced for $79 through Apple, or a third party if cheaper or myself if I’m bored, or buying a used S2.

I’ve read that the S3 can almost go a full 2+ days. Can any current or former S2 owners comment on the battery life for an S2? Does it compare to the S3’s battery life?
Click to expand...

With the way the first generation Apple Watch performs with watchOS 4, I would likely consider a Series 2, which has the upgraded processor. In comparison to the battery life with the Series 2 and Series 3, they are both very good in in comparison. I don't see a drastic difference in battery light between both models, but I will say that the speed is faster with the Series 3.

My recommendation is a Series 2 Apple Watch, or a Series 3 if your budget allows. But I would just move on from your first generation Apple Watch, as the Series 2 will likely see longer updates as it is, versus investing more money in your first generation Apple Watch.
 
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Relentless Power said:
With the way the first generation Apple Watch performs with watchOS 4, I would likely consider a Series 2, which has the upgraded processor. In comparison to the battery life with the Series 2 and Series 3, they are both very good in in comparison. I don't see a drastic difference in battery light between both models, but I will say that the speed is faster with the Series 3.

My recommendation is a Series 2 Apple Watch, or a Series 3 if your budget allows. But I would just move on from your first generation Apple Watch, as the Series 2 will likely see longer updates as it is, versus investing more money in your first generation Apple Watch.
Click to expand...

So an S2 can get almost 24+ hours?
 
eyeseeyou said:
So an S2 can get almost 24+ hours?
Click to expand...

Battery life is always variable and can be based on Settings . It all depends on how you're using your Apple Watch and what for. For me, I primarily use stock applications and I have my Settings where my brightness is minimized, Hey Siri is disabled, haptic feedback is minimized, etc. But yes, I can easily go to days without charging in my situation.
 
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I just have my first Apple Watch which is series 3. Pricey, but battery life is very good. Lasts two full days before running out. I now use it to track my sleep. Very happy about it. Likely this is a new watch so battery is in excellent condition by nature.
 
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Shirasaki said:
I just have my first Apple Watch which is series 3. Pricey, but battery life is very good. Lasts two full days before running out. I now use it to track my sleep. Very happy about it. Likely this is a new watch so battery is in excellent condition by nature.
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I’d love to have that battery life but the S3 and it’s price is overkill for my use.

My situation feels eerily similar to the recent iPhone throttle issue in that there’s no way for me to check the actual battery health before taking it to the Genius Bar and just getting the battery replaced or buy a new watch.
 
eyeseeyou said:
I’d love to have that battery life but the S3 and it’s price is overkill for my use.

My situation feels eerily similar to the recent iPhone throttle issue in that there’s no way for me to check the actual battery health before taking it to the Genius Bar and just getting the battery replaced or buy a new watch.
Click to expand...

If you are seeking a Series 2, check Best Buy and B&H Photo online. They are certainly out there, but just make sure you purchase from a reputable online retailer or if in store if you can find one.

Just my opinion as well, I have no reason to believe Apple throttles anything the Apple Watch at all. The first generation Apple Watch was severely under powered to begin with, other than using it for stock applications.
 
Relentless Power said:
If you are seeking a Series 2, check Best Buy and B&H Photo online. They are certainly out there, but just make sure you purchase from a reputable online retailer or if in store if you can find one.

Just my opinion as well, I have no reason to believe Apple throttles anything the Apple Watch at all. The first generation Apple Watch was severely under powered to begin with, other than using it for stock applications.
Click to expand...

I really only need actionable notifications and fitness tracking. I also use the timer and music controls.

It’s only recently that the battery life has taken a noticeable hit. It could be because of watchos4 or could be because the battery is EOL.

Either way if it can’t last at least the entire day of while I’m awake it isn’t capable of fulfilling my needs. I don’t want to have to worry about charging my watch in addition to my phone lol.
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Relentless Power said:
Battery life is always variable and can be based on Settings . It all depends on how you're using your Apple Watch and what for. For me, I primarily use stock applications and I have my Settings where my brightness is minimized, Hey Siri is disabled, haptic feedback is minimized, etc. But yes, I can easily go to days without charging in my situation.
Click to expand...

I pretty much have my S0 with same exact settings aside from having the haptic feedback on standard.
 
I have a series 2 (38mm) and I get about a days use out of mine. If I go for a (45 minute to 1 hour) run & use the workouts or Nike app, I have to pout it on the charger while I'm in the shower, or else, it would be really close getting through the day. As it is, I usually end the day with somewhere around 30-40% of battery life, and that's wearing the watch from approx 7 am till midnight. It almost always seems to fall into that range, whether I run or not (as long as I charge it again while in the shower after the run).

There are some days that it gets lower than that, but in the one year of having it, I've only run out of battery life one time, and it was pretty late at night.
 
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Comparable battery life on my S2SS (year old) and S3SBSS (3 months old). But I wear the S2 on non-workout days and wear the S3 on days I plan to run--indoor or outdoor. So the S3 battery life includes 45 mins worth of use without the phone and using LTE and GPS. Tons of notifications throughout the day and maybe checking ESPN app for game schedule or scores.

Generally I am at 60% or higher after 6:00 am to about 9:00 pm. Put the watch on charger from 9:00pm to 10:00 and wear it to sleep. Start sleep at 100% in airplane and theater mode. Wake up to 97-100% depending on how long the watch was charging at 100% before sleep. Put watch on charger as I get ready in the morning and it's back to 100%. Watch usually shows 100% to at least 10:00 in the morning.

Same for both watches generally, but with S3 including a workout. If I don't workout, the S3 generally ends the day a few % higher before pre-sleep charging. 42mm watches.
 
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Pseudo-Fed said:
Comparable battery life on my S2SS (year old) and S3SBSS (3 months old). But I wear the S2 on non-workout days and wear the S3 on days I plan to run--indoor or outdoor. So the S3 battery life includes 45 mins worth of use without the phone and using LTE and GPS. Tons of notifications throughout the day and maybe checking ESPN app for game schedule or scores.

Generally I am at 60% or higher after 6:00 am to about 9:00 pm. Put the watch on charger from 9:00pm to 10:00 and wear it to sleep. Start sleep at 100% in airplane and theater mode. Wake up to 97-100% depending on how long the watch was charging at 100% before sleep. Put watch on charger as I get ready in the morning and it's back to 100%. Watch usually shows 100% to at least 10:00 in the morning.

Same for both watches generally, but with S3 including a workout. If I don't workout, the S3 generally ends the day a few % higher before pre-sleep charging. 42mm watches.
Click to expand...

That’s a pretty involved routine. Almost as if you’re monitoring the Apple watches activity lol but also a pretty effective way to maintain the battery life.
 
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eyeseeyou said:
The sleep tracker routine using airplane mode is pretty smart.
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Airplane mode was a no brainer for me since the beginning. Theater mode you would think was the formula for cold fusion. It didn’t occur to me for weeks even as I was complaining about the screen lighting up while I slept and blinding me AND using more battery overnight. I study my tech so I knew about the mode. Doh!
 
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Pseudo-Fed said:
Airplane mode was a no brainer for me since the beginning. Theater mode you would think was the formula for cold fusion. It didn’t occur to me for weeks even as I was complaining about the screen lighting up while I slept and blinding me AND using more battery overnight. I study my tech so I knew about the mode. Doh!
Click to expand...

Is there a sleep mode or is it based off of your general movement? Is this a 3rd party app?
 
Ok.

Sounds like either way the battery life on a S0 will be really bad.

Ended up selling my S0 for $100 and found a S2 for $200 on Craigslist. Which came out to about the same as paying the $79 battery replacement for the S0.

Newer battery and tech and battery life.
 
eyeseeyou said:
I really only need actionable notifications and fitness tracking. I also use the timer and music controls.

It’s only recently that the battery life has taken a noticeable hit. It could be because of watchos4 or could be because the battery is EOL.

Either way if it can’t last at least the entire day of while I’m awake it isn’t capable of fulfilling my needs. I don’t want to have to worry about charging my watch in addition to my phone lol.
[doublepost=1514624519][/doublepost]

I pretty much have my S0 with same exact settings aside from having the haptic feedback on standard.
Click to expand...
I just replaced my series 1 with a series 2.

I did this primarily because I wanted to upgrade from aluminum to stainless steel, I wanted an improved processor, and I don’t feel the need for LTE on my watch yet (and there would be the additional monthly Verizon charge). I figured that the processor jump from Gen 1 to Gen 2 would be a marked improvement in accessing data and apps — and it is!

And because I like to save a few hundred dollars when I can, I went for the S2. I got a beautiful SS watch with the original Apple Link band in SS — for around $450 — that is less than the band itself costs when new(and both the watch and band are in perfect condition, and have AppleCare for another year). So basically, I bought the link band I’ve been desirous of for two years(!) and got an S2 Apple Watch included at no cost. I simply could not bring myself to pay $500 for a watch band — even though I believe it is worth that amount. But, I digress.

Regarding battery life, I’m not sure I can see much of a difference, though I do believe it is better. But I do have Siri enabled, strong haptic, and medium/bright (whereas on my S1 I used low haptic, and the lowest brightness settings). Also I have been using the watch directly to connect to my Bluetooth headphones and stream from the songs I have stored on the watch — i never did that on my old watch. I also sleep with mine, since I want the heartbeat data, and I enrolled in the Apple/Stanford Heart Study.

But if you just want an S2, you’ll find very good used prices, including WITH AppleCare, which will guarantee at least a one year warranty (likely) — much lower than new-at-store prices.

I agree with the other posters that rather than spend $80 on a battery for the S0, use that $80 as part of the payment for a newer model.
 
FriendlyMackle said:
I agree with the other posters that rather than spend $80 on a battery for the S0, use that $80 as part of the payment for a newer model.
Click to expand...

This is pretty much what I did. I didn’t get the Nike edition(I just like Nike) but I did upgrade from a S0 38mm to a S2 42mm for about $80.

I’m going to see what the battery life is like with the bare minimum settings aside from haptic feedback and go from there.
 
eyeseeyou said:
This is pretty much what I did. I didn’t get the Nike edition(I just like Nike) but I did upgrade from a S0 38mm to a S2 42mm for about $80.

I’m going to see what the battery life is like with the bare minimum settings aside from haptic feedback and go from there.
Click to expand...
Good for you! Enjoy it — and Let us know how you find the battery life to be.
 
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I get two days and one night on my new S2 42mm I got for Christmas. Pretty happy with it although I do wish it had the speed of the S3 after installing Watch Os4. Still good though and worth saving $80+ vs the S3.
 
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nph said:
I get two days and one night on my new S2 42mm I got for Christmas. Pretty happy with it although I do wish it had the speed of the S3 after installing Watch Os4. Still good though and worth saving $80+ vs the S3.
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Good to hear.

If I could’ve went from an S0 to an S3 for $80 I definitely would’ve.
 
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nph said:
I get two days and one night on my new S2 42mm I got for Christmas. Pretty happy with it although I do wish it had the speed of the S3 after installing Watch Os4. Still good though and worth saving $80+ vs the S3.
Click to expand...

And your post makes a good point. The battery life is similar with the Series 2 and Series 3, but the speed is the significant difference factor with the series 3.
 
eyeseeyou said:
My S0 has become an annoyance barely lasting 11-12 hours these days.

I’m considering either having the battery replaced for $79 through Apple, or a third party if cheaper or myself if I’m bored, or buying a used S2.

I’ve read that the S3 can almost go a full 2+ days. Can any current or former S2 owners comment on the battery life for an S2? Does it compare to the S3’s battery life?
Click to expand...

Unless you get a significant discount, I'd go with the S3, just because it will be supported for longer, and will be faster for longer. My S2 is already notably slower on watchOS 4 (especially the workout app). So unless you're getting an £100 or so off the price of the S3, I would say it's worth the additional investment.
 
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