I was wondering if anyone who had a series 0 and then got a series 2 had tried it without turning on the gps at all and seeing if the new ~30% larger battery in the series 2 extended the battery life to 1.5 or 2 days or at least substantially longer life than the 0? thanks.
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Series 1 or Series 2 real world battery life?
- Thread starter MadCar
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Exact same situation. Been in the red everyday since I switched, where I was at 30-40% on my original Watch. Tired to tinker with the settings, we'll see tomorrow!
I took my S2 off the charger at 5am EST. I used it off and on all day but haven't worked it yet. That's next. It's at 51% at 6:50pm. This is astonishing next to the S0 on watchOS 3 which was far worse.
I also calculated workouts with GPS use 20% an hour with active HR and music, and 10% with active HR but no GPS.
Well I've got mine to test now and having lifted off the charger at 7am this morning and its just gone 2pm I've got 78% left after playing with it and showing it to people and a small outdoor walk to boot.
I'd say that was pretty darn good for something so powerful.
I'd say that was pretty darn good for something so powerful.
38mm Series 1.
I'm draining at the rate of 6-8% per hour. Took a few apps out of the dock, no change. It's usually off the charger at 7am, and by the time 10pm rolls around I am below 10%. I haven't gone out for any late nights yet, but I'm sure the watch wouldn't make it.
Honestly, this is bad enough that I'm seriously considering returning the watch. I'm not sure if I have a bad unit, or if this is just the reality of what I'm dealing with. In which case, as battery life degrades over the life of the watch, this will be unuseable.
I'm draining at the rate of 6-8% per hour. Took a few apps out of the dock, no change. It's usually off the charger at 7am, and by the time 10pm rolls around I am below 10%. I haven't gone out for any late nights yet, but I'm sure the watch wouldn't make it.
Honestly, this is bad enough that I'm seriously considering returning the watch. I'm not sure if I have a bad unit, or if this is just the reality of what I'm dealing with. In which case, as battery life degrades over the life of the watch, this will be unuseable.
With my S0 and OS3 I was getting better BL than with OS2, and it was quite good easily a full day which would include a 1 hour workout or 30 min walk tracking.. and what read as about 4 hours of use.
With S2 and OS3 I'm getting even better. the battery is lasting me now TWO DAYS with one 1 hour workout in the middle. That's having the watch on 24 hours a day, at night as well and not taking it off to charge till at least going to bed on the night of the 2nd day. For me that's fine amount of BL and not having to hassle with an every day sort of thing. Historically, I would just either take it off at night or take it off while showering and getting ready and that was enough to have it work all day and into the following morning. Now, I just put it on full in the AM and worry about it on the 2nd night.
At the moment, It's sitting at 32%, this is day two mind you and I took it off the charger yesterday AM at 05:45 pst (it's now 12:30 PST). I used it quite a bit yesterday, did one 10 minute call on it to test the speaker (louder! and now really pretty usable), lots of messaging, scribble, weather, and a 45 minute metered walk (with phone in pocket so no onboard GPS used) and USAGE shows 4:25 minutes.
So, I'm pretty satisfied with what they call better battery life.
Oh, and I did a fair amount of indoor and outdoor testing of the new screen brightness (going outdoors, and also shinning my iphone light on the screen to increase it to max and then back down, etc.) I think the screen OFF feature works in about 100ms as it really wants to get off that 1000 lumans mode as quickly as possible.
With S2 and OS3 I'm getting even better. the battery is lasting me now TWO DAYS with one 1 hour workout in the middle. That's having the watch on 24 hours a day, at night as well and not taking it off to charge till at least going to bed on the night of the 2nd day. For me that's fine amount of BL and not having to hassle with an every day sort of thing. Historically, I would just either take it off at night or take it off while showering and getting ready and that was enough to have it work all day and into the following morning. Now, I just put it on full in the AM and worry about it on the 2nd night.
At the moment, It's sitting at 32%, this is day two mind you and I took it off the charger yesterday AM at 05:45 pst (it's now 12:30 PST). I used it quite a bit yesterday, did one 10 minute call on it to test the speaker (louder! and now really pretty usable), lots of messaging, scribble, weather, and a 45 minute metered walk (with phone in pocket so no onboard GPS used) and USAGE shows 4:25 minutes.
So, I'm pretty satisfied with what they call better battery life.
Oh, and I did a fair amount of indoor and outdoor testing of the new screen brightness (going outdoors, and also shinning my iphone light on the screen to increase it to max and then back down, etc.) I think the screen OFF feature works in about 100ms as it really wants to get off that 1000 lumans mode as quickly as possible.
So a full day with the watch.
S2
Usage 2hrs 14mins
Standby 14hrs 19minutes
Battery left 50%
I did a walking activity as a play at lunch as well and I've done a fair amount of playing and testing so still very much getting used to it.
Very impressed, a few tweaks and I could easily get 2 days, most likely I will still end up charging it each day will see how it goes when then novelty wears off.
S2
Usage 2hrs 14mins
Standby 14hrs 19minutes
Battery left 50%
I did a walking activity as a play at lunch as well and I've done a fair amount of playing and testing so still very much getting used to it.
Very impressed, a few tweaks and I could easily get 2 days, most likely I will still end up charging it each day will see how it goes when then novelty wears off.
This is in no way scientific but I've (stupidly) started to track my S1 battery performance throughout the day, just to see if some pattern will emerge:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1G5SLWDdu4fNydewlO9qB5xpvphFpZkecUnNTFzua7Ow/edit?usp=sharing
To provide more context to that spreadsheet:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1G5SLWDdu4fNydewlO9qB5xpvphFpZkecUnNTFzua7Ow/edit?usp=sharing
To provide more context to that spreadsheet:
- Before I picked up the S1, I had an original 38mm on 2.2.2 and that thing was a champ, easily lasting 16-17 hours before charging.
- I don't mess with the watch all day. I tap the screen maybe once an hour to clear any notifications and to check activity rings.
- The OS is running real "lean" right now, and the battery is still a huge issue. I can't imagine what the avg. standby time is for anyone with a ton of complications, all background apps refreshing, wrist activation, etc.
- With (likely) no battery upgrade in the S1, the S1P chip + watchOS3 is killing this thing to point of wanting to upgrade to the S2 (although I'm wondering if GPS cancels out any gain in battery performance)
What settings did you change?
Today I am at
1h 11m usage
11h standby by
20m outdoor walk
52%
I don't know if this is normal but I feel like it should be better? Or are my expectations not realistic?
I removed most things from the dock. I turned off background app refresh for 80% of apps. Didn't notice much of a difference.
I removed Dark Sky's complication and turned the Watch off and back on. Now it is doing WAY better. Don't know which of those 2 fixed it, but I moved Dark Sky to the dock and it is still getting good battery life. For instance, I just woke up a little while ago... Usage says 30 mins standby and 5 mins usage: battery is still at 100%.
Series 2
Started use at 8:30 AM - 100%
Currently 7:54 pm - 38%
I'm impressed. Today is my first day with the Watch so I used it A LOT.
Started use at 8:30 AM - 100%
Currently 7:54 pm - 38%
I'm impressed. Today is my first day with the Watch so I used it A LOT.
How do you manage to get such a low usage time? I already have 1 hour and 48 minutes after 4 hours of wearing it (87% battery left). I don't have any 3rd party apps on the watch and played around with it for maybe 10 minutes. I only get notifications for messages and mails. I even turned off background refresh for most apps and tried un and re-pair yesterday.
What am I doing wrong?
I only have background app refresh on for weather, workout, activity, and messages. No third party apps. I only have those same things in the dock. Maybe I'll try removing them although having them in the dock is convenient.
Just now I have removed everything from the dock except the workout app which I use every day. The other items I have complication short cuts for anyways.
I really have no idea. Sounds like you and I use the watch in similar fashions... weird!
Do we know what counts as "usage?"
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That's what I'm trying to find out.
I wouldn't use Watch's GPS since iPhone is always with me but I didn't find a comparison between series 1 and 2 regarding battery life without GPS.
Series 2 has a bigger battery, it should be there to allow the use of GPS for at least the average workout duration (I guess 30-60 minutes) and delivery the same battery life. But if you don't use GPS I'd expect the battery to last longer on a single charge, comparing to series 1. The display is different but I don't know if series 2 is more power demanding or if is more energy efficient.
Suddenly I'm at 80% on S1 after 3 hours standby and never touching the Watch and having crippled it by removing/disabling so many things.
At this point, I see no reason for the improved processor when I'm afraid to use the Watch for more than time/notifications.
I may go trade it in for a Gen0 Stainless Steel, and actually pocket a $20 refund as Best Buy has 38mm SS for $249 new. Or $299 with classic buckle.
At this point, I see no reason for the improved processor when I'm afraid to use the Watch for more than time/notifications.
I may go trade it in for a Gen0 Stainless Steel, and actually pocket a $20 refund as Best Buy has 38mm SS for $249 new. Or $299 with classic buckle.
I believe every time the CPU is doing something - either in the background when the screen is off or when you actually play around with the watch.
Anyway, I turned off background refresh for mails and messages, restarted my phone and turned bluetooth off and on again and now it seems to be a little less usage. I'll keep an eye on it and will see at the end of the day.
So far:
45m usage
2h 4m stand by
30m workout
94%
I turned off background app refresh for everything except weather, activity, and messages.
I removed everything from the dock except the workout app.
So far so good ... we'll see how this holds up through the day.
It makes sense that the dock would put a drain on the battery. I used to have timer, messages, activity, and weather on the dock as well.
1h usage
5h standby
30m workout
93%
Removing the dock items definitely helped. I'll add them back 1 by 1 and see which causes the battery to plummet.
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Series 1
Usage 1hr 21 mins
Standby 10hr 56mins
81% battery
I'm wondering about manufacturing tolerances. Not every CPU draws the same power exactly, and not every battery has the exact same capacity. Perhaps if you got a watch with a lower capacity battery and a higher draw CPU, you'd have issues with battery life?
Usage 1hr 21 mins
Standby 10hr 56mins
81% battery
I'm wondering about manufacturing tolerances. Not every CPU draws the same power exactly, and not every battery has the exact same capacity. Perhaps if you got a watch with a lower capacity battery and a higher draw CPU, you'd have issues with battery life?
I just returned my S1 and paid $30 more for a classic buckle stainless steel gen0 at Best Buy.
No need for speed when using the Watch drains the battery so quickly. I'll spend another year simply using this for the time and notifications.
No need for speed when using the Watch drains the battery so quickly. I'll spend another year simply using this for the time and notifications.
My usage still seems too high for a day (4 hours and 47 minutes), however, at the end of the day, after wearing it for 14 hours, I have 40% left which is not too bad I think.
I decided not to worry about the battery or the usage tomorrow for a day and just see how it goes.
If it gets me through the days thats fine
I decided not to worry about the battery or the usage tomorrow for a day and just see how it goes.
If it gets me through the days thats fine