Series 8 Battery Life

[djr7572]

Just curious, is anyone else getting what you'd consider lackluster battery life on Series 8? I wouldn't say I'm getting battery drain, but I am noticing that battery life is noticeably worse compared to my Series 7.

Maybe this is perfectly acceptable, feel free to educate me, but I'm losing about 3 to 4 percent per hour. That's while doing nothing - no music, no workout, no messages, emails, anything. And I'm not using any power-hungry apps or watch faces. Seems like the most I'd lose per hour with my Series 7 wold be about 1 to 2 percent, max.

Anyway, just curious - are my expectations way out of whack? Does it take some time for your battery to "settle in", or is there no such thing?

Thanks

 

[djr7572]

Anybody??

 

[DMG35]

How long have you had the watch? If you are using it from a backup then its going to take it a few days to finish indexing before you can judge the battery. I wouldn't worry, give it some time and you will be getting better battery life than you were on your Series 7.

 

[djr7572]

How long have you had the watch? If you are using it from a backup then its going to take it a few days to finish indexing before you can judge the battery. I wouldn't worry, give it some time and you will be getting better battery life than you were on your Series 7.

Thanks for the response! I've only had it for a little over a week (Sep 17th). I didn't restore from backup, I did a "set up as new". Like I said, I don't think it's battery drain, but it's noticeably different compared to my Series 7.

For example, I've lost 10% in approximately 5 hours (doing nothing, really). Does that sound like a lot?

 

[DMG35]

Thanks for the response! I've only had it for a little over a week (Sep 17th). I didn't restore from backup, I did a "set up as new". Like I said, I don't think it's battery drain, but it's noticeably different compared to my Series 7.

For example, I've lost 10% in approximately 5 hours (doing nothing, really). Does that sound like a lot?

10% in 5 hours is great battery life. Your watch should last you easily two days. Nothing wrong with it at all.

 

[djr7572]

10% in 5 hours is great battery life. Your watch should last you easily two days. Nothing wrong with it at all.

Appreciate the feedback, thank you! I think I was a little too caught up comparing the other watch to this one. I'll quit worrying about it

 

[Tozovac]

10% in 5 hours is great battery life. Your watch should last you easily two days. Nothing wrong with it at all.

I’m a complete noob to AW. Just got an 8 last week. I did not wear it much while waiting for a screen protector to arrive, so it’s down to 10% after sitting for ~3 days, from 100%. is that normal?

I found a few articles for how to check which apps are using the most battery and it guided you to the Settings —> General area of the watch but now the “Usage” option stated in the article (from around 2021) is not there on the 8. Does anyone recognize that perhaps the Usage option was removed in any recent update?

 

[Tozovac]

PS I noticed I had “background App refresh” on; I disabled that and will see if there’s any change in idle drain.

 

[Howard2k]

I’m a complete noob to AW. Just got an 8 last week. I did not wear it much while waiting for a screen protector to arrive, so it’s down to 10% after sitting for ~3 days, from 100%. is that normal?

I found a few articles for how to check which apps are using the most battery and it guided you to the Settings —> General area of the watch but now the “Usage” option stated in the article (from around 2021) is not there on the 8. Does anyone recognize that perhaps the Usage option was removed in any recent update?

The battery app usage feature was pulled several WatchOS versions ago, for some frustrating reason. Perhaps it wasn't accurate? I wish I knew. But it's gone. You should expect to charge every day, but you can use the two Power Saving features in the S8. One is a general power reduction and the other is a workout specific power reduction feature, and the two can be used together.

From the watch go to Settings, Battery, Lower Power Mode for the general one.
For the Workout specific one, from the Watch, go to Settings, Workout, and you can see Low Power Mode (same as above) but also a second "Fewer GPS and Heart Rate Readings option".

Turning both of those on will extend the battery life further.

I never leave it sitting but down to 10% from 100% over 3 days feels normal, anecdotally.

 

[BenGoren]

I’m a complete noob to AW. Just got an 8 last week. I did not wear it much while waiting for a screen protector to arrive, so it’s down to 10% after sitting for ~3 days, from 100%. is that normal?

I found a few articles for how to check which apps are using the most battery and it guided you to the Settings —> General area of the watch but now the “Usage” option stated in the article (from around 2021) is not there on the 8. Does anyone recognize that perhaps the Usage option was removed in any recent update?

“Normal” usage is for the watch to be on your wrist. It’s not normal to use the watch as a desk clock. Therefore, whatever battery life you get out of the watch as a desk clock is abnormal.

That aside … I’d suggest, as I do in general, against premature optimization.

Apple Watch owners overwhelmingly don’t obsess over battery performance. The watch is designed to be worn constantly save for daily charging. So I’d recommend figuring out how charging fits best into your schedule; most commonly, that means something like “when getting ready in the morning,” or overnight if you don’t care about sleep tracking, or during a meal, or something else you do every day at about the same time when you don’t need to be wearing the watch.

And then … unless you actually have problems with the watch running out of battery before your regular charging time, just wear the watch and forget about trying to get “more” out of your battery.

Because it’s actually very, very unlikely that you’ll ever run the battery down, unless you forget to charge it or you can’t give it a regular once-a-day charge.

b&

 

[Tozovac]

“Normal” usage is for the watch to be on your wrist. It’s not normal to use the watch as a desk clock. Therefore, whatever battery life you get out of the watch as a desk clock is abnormal.

Ha, well…rest assured it was not used as a desk clock. It sat unused until a protective cover arrived; I just got the watch before a weekend of heavy outdoor work and I did not want to wear it naked around power tools in the first 128 hours of ownership.

It’s a bit extreme to suggest there are only two “normal” modes the watch should be judged against - on your wrist or on the charger. I think it’s a fair question to ask what’s normal for idle drain, especially for a newcomer to AW whose Garmin golf watch goes for weeks in between charges, sometimes on sometimes off-wrist.

That aside … I’d suggest, as I do in general, against premature optimization.

Apple Watch owners overwhelmingly don’t obsess over battery performance. The watch is designed to be worn constantly save for daily charging. So I’d recommend figuring out how charging fits best into your schedule; most commonly, that means something like “when getting ready in the morning,” or overnight if you don’t care about sleep tracking, or during a meal, or something else you do every day at about the same time when you don’t need to be wearing the watch.

And then … unless you actually have problems with the watch running out of battery before your regular charging time, just wear the watch and forget about trying to get “more” out of your battery.

Because it’s actually very, very unlikely that you’ll ever run the battery down, unless you forget to charge it or you can’t give it a regular once-a-day charge.

Thanks for the info!!

The battery app usage feature was pulled several WatchOS versions ago, for some frustrating reason. Perhaps it wasn't accurate? I wish I knew. But it's gone. You should expect to charge every day, but you can use the two Power Saving features in the S8. One is a general power reduction and the other is a workout specific power reduction feature, and the two can be used together.

From the watch go to Settings, Battery, Lower Power Mode for the general one.
For the Workout specific one, from the Watch, go to Settings, Workout, and you can see Low Power Mode (same as above) but also a second "Fewer GPS and Heart Rate Readings option".

Turning both of those on will extend the battery life further.

Thanks for the confirmation about the usage feature.

I don’t see Settings—>Battery on my S8. Is there a different path?

I never leave it sitting but down to 10% from 100% over 3 days feels normal, anecdotally.

Thanks! Good reality check. The battery life is a drastic change from my Garmin golf watch.

 

[Howard2k]

Thanks for the confirmation about the usage feature.

I don’t see Settings—>Battery on my S8. Is there a different path?

You’ll need to do some scrolling, it’s quite far down.

 

[Tozovac]

You’ll need to do some scrolling, it’s quite far down.

Yes it is. Thanks. Holy cow I swear it wasn’t there before. Like I said, noob to AW and hadn’t spent much time with it till this week.

 

[Peter_John]

I never leave it sitting but down to 10% from 100% over 3 days feels normal, anecdotally.

Yes, the Watch 8 battery holds longer than the 7's!