S4 battery capacity below 80%. Other than the obvious, anything else I should be worried about?

[Farrgazer]

It goes without saying that batteries eventually lose longevity, and that’s to be expected from something I’ve used for 4 years every day.

I don’t want to get a battery replacement because as it stands, I can still get through a typical day of workouts, Apple Pay usage, activity tracking and (filtered) notifications, along with sporadic uses of the timer and the occasional watch app. I am merely waiting for the battery capacity to fall low enough that even that is no longer feasible, at which point I would just upgrade altogether.

That said, is an exhausted battery a cause for some other concern I’m not aware of?

 

[StumpyBloke]

No as long as it’s not expanding and opening up the watch casing.

 

[Farrgazer]

No as long as it’s not expanding and opening up the watch casing.

Good to know. Here’s hoping that doesn’t happen to me for the next year at least.

 

[jz0309]

So it took not quite 4 years to get to that, I would not expect that battery to last another year as you “hope”. I think you’ll see much more degradation …
And to state the obvious, Apple charges $79 and you’d get a refurb, which should last you at least another 2 years…

 

[Farrgazer]

So it took not quite 4 years to get to that, I would not expect that battery to last another year as you “hope”. I think you’ll see much more degradation …
And to state the obvious, Apple charges $79 and you’d get a refurb, which should last you at least another 2 years…

Are you implying that battery degradation is more exponential than linear? This is not a rhetorical question - I have never paid close attention to how a battery exhausts itself in the long run; if it goes bad, I just take it to the shop without a second thought.

And just my opinion, but I’d rather put that $79 towards a brand new model with updated features.

 

[jz0309]

Are you implying that battery degradation is more exponential than linear? This is not a rhetorical question - I have never paid close attention to how a battery exhausts itself in the long run; if it goes bad, I just take it to the shop without a second thought.

And just my opinion, but I’d rather put that $79 towards a brand new model with updated features.

yes, seen reports here for AW, iPhone where people say they have 70ish% of health but battery last only for a couple/few hours. battery degradation is most definitely not linear.

I loved my S4, actually still have it but ever since getting my S7 in late 2021 I've never worn it during the day, can't stand the non-AOD ...

 

[Farrgazer]

yes, seen reports here for AW, iPhone where people say they have 70ish% of health but battery last only for a couple/few hours. battery degradation is most definitely not linear.

I loved my S4, actually still have it but ever since getting my S7 in late 2021 I've never worn it during the day, can't stand the non-AOD ...

I guess I’ll just hope harder then. So far, I can spend a day and start charging before the watch gives me the 10 percent warning. Ideally I want to buy the Series 10 or whatever gets released in 2 years.

 

[jz0309]

I guess I’ll just hope harder then. So far, I can spend a day and start charging before the watch gives me the 10 percent warning. Ideally I want to buy the Series 10 or whatever gets released in 2 years.

Best of luck!

 

[macduke]

My S4 44mm is at 72% of maximum capacity. I hadn't thought to even check that because I didn't realize you could view that for the Watch also and I usually get a new iPhone every year on iUP so I never look at it.

Doesn't seem like it wants to explode yet. Haven't noticed anything weird. I've been working out a lot and work from home, so sometimes I've been sticking it on the charger at my desk during a mid-day meeting so it doesn't die in the evening when I'm working out. If I forget then I will stick it on the charger when I get on my Mac in the evening to work on finances, shop, watch YouTube or whatever and then do my workout after it charges up for 30-45 minutes or so. Literally what I'm doing right now killing time on MacRumors. Time is up!

 

[MacCheetah3]

That said, is an exhausted battery a cause for some other concern I’m not aware of?

Nope. Your mentality of as long as the runtime is sufficient/satisfactory is all you need to really care about regarding battery degradation.

 

[blimundus]

S4 at 73% battery health here, using it 23/7. Once you’re struggling to make the battery last all day, simply disable “Wake on Wrist Raise”. You obviously lose some convenience, but it makes a huge difference in terms of battery life.