This device hasn't even been released yet!

[bunnicula]

Apple are already aware that people will want a much better battery. They don't need people to buy this and report that they want a weeks worth for them to then put their heads together and figure it out. The battery life issue has been a major concern for them so far. They can see the opposition getting far better results. Really, what you said is very naive.

No. It's not. They know what people THINK they want. They know how people THINK they want to use the device. Until millions are actually using it, they have no way of knowing what a typical user of their device actually needs. There aren't any other devices exactly like Apple Watch.

Of course, every electronics manufacturer in the history of EVER wanted to have long battery life. That's a bit of a "duh" idea. But, having long battery life just to say you have it is pointless.

I think the word you were looking for is "competition." Thing is, doing everything else this device will do for iPhone? Apple HAS no competition.

 

[fitshaced]

No. It's not. They know what people THINK they want. They know how people THINK they want to use the device. Until millions are actually using it, they have no way of knowing what a typical user of their device actually needs. There aren't any other devices exactly like Apple Watch.

Of course, every electronics manufacturer in the history of EVER wanted to have long battery life. That's a bit of a "duh" idea. But, having long battery life just to say you have it is pointless.

I think the word you were looking for is "competition." Thing is, doing everything else this device will do for iPhone? Apple HAS no competition.

The data is already there. Smart watches existed before the Apple Watch was announced. People do want longer battery life. They don't need to have this to figure that out. Having to charge it every day is not a feature you look for in a watch. People don't just want it for the sake of having it. People need longer battery life because of what they do or what they want to do. It's unlikely that the Apple Watch will last a marathon for an average runner. It might not even last a working day for people that receive many notifications and work long hours. It won't be forgiving if you forget to charge it at night or forget to switch the power outlet to on. This argument is like saying 10Gb for the iPhone is plenty. It isn't. It might hold your important dat but there isn't much room for the fun things you want it to do. Longer battery life isn't just insurance, it's useful and it's being compromised for the gimmicky stuff. Anyone that had an iPhone 5 and had a long day but not able to get to charge their phone will understand battery life, especially if your phone is your only way to stay in contact with people. You might not have such a requirement but maybe you're not a typical user. I don't know he situation but do you work?

 

[bunnicula]

The data is already there. Smart watches existed before the Apple Watch was announced. People do want longer battery life. They don't need to have this to figure that out. Having to charge it every day is not a feature you look for in a watch. People don't just want it for the sake of having it. People need longer battery life because of what they do or what they want to do. It's unlikely that the Apple Watch will last a marathon for an average runner. It might not even last a working day for people that receive many notifications and work long hours. It won't be forgiving if you forget to charge it at night or forget to switch the power outlet to on. This argument is like saying 10Gb for the iPhone is plenty. It isn't. It might hold your important dat but there isn't much room for the fun things you want it to do. Longer battery life isn't just insurance, it's useful and it's being compromised for the gimmicky stuff. Anyone that had an iPhone 5 and had a long day but not able to get to charge their phone will understand battery life, especially if your phone is your only way to stay in contact with people. You might not have such a requirement but maybe you're not a typical user. I don't know he situation but do you work?

Of course I work. I'm not a trust fund baby. LOL.

Corporate, white collar, professional. I'm also completing a 2nd graduate degree. I do not, however, run marathons. Nor do I plan to run marathons.

I enjoy the outdoors, but am not much of a fan of camping.

I'm big on charging devices and I rarely let my iPhone get below 50%. I was the first person in my department to even own an iPhone. Now, most everyone does.

I was one of the first to push company email and IMs to my personal device (because it's easier for me, I'm not required to).

Thing is, I know there are smart watches and activity trackers out there. I've tried a few. I didn't really like any of them, but I did find my UP band to be tolerable.

I was discussing this with my husband earlier. Between the two of us, he definitely gets more work-related notifications in a given day. I get more personal ones.

We both feel that the watch should last us through an average day, if the specs are accurate. We've considered situations like overseas flights and the truth is that nobody needs to use a smart watch on a plane. Might as well use a tablet. Longer battery life than a laptop, even. We usually book longer flights with seats near charging devices, just in case we need them.

Aside from long travel days? We're rarely away from any and all electrical outlets, so I think this initial trial with the Apple Watch should be fine.

Will have to be able to actually USE THE THING to know for sure.

 

[Newtons Apple]

Many of us in the medical profession have to work 24-36 hour shifts when on-call a couple times per week. It would be difficult to make this my sole watch for that reason because I would have to switch what I use at work otherwise. It should be enough for those who work 9-5 jobs though. I do plan to still get an Apple Watch for when I am not working and just socializing.

What is really scary is that after working all those hours, many of these health professionals go and do double shift at your local Air Traffic Control

 

[MH01]

Come on people, get a grip.

Just because Tim announces a 18hr battery life, doesn't mean its going to last for 18hrs, it could last 32409 hrs

Wait until you have it in your hands, then bitch about it!!!!

Do we complain to you if we don't see 32409 hours? I'll give u 10 % error margin

 

[Arran]

Good news! In that day you just described, there was no 30 minutes spent exercising while using the watch to play music without a phone in your pocket. As that is one of the most battery-eating uses, you've just allowed the watch to last your whole day no problem since that's included in Apple's 18 hour day.

Every little helps, but it's still cutting it a bit fine (for me, personally) especially as the battery will age and lose capacity just like cell phones do.

You see, I'm the guy who buys the 128gb phone but hardly ever fills it more than half full. Life's unpredictable and I like having something in reserve. If Apple could get the battery to 36-48 hours when new, I'd be more interested.

Maybe by version 2 or 3?

 

[Piggie]

Every little helps, but it's still cutting it a bit fine (for me, personally) especially as the battery will age and lose capacity just like cell phones do.

You see, I'm the guy who buys the 128gb phone but hardly ever fills it more than half full. Life's unpredictable and I like having something in reserve. If Apple could get the battery to 36-48 hours when new, I'd be more interested.

Maybe by version 2 or 3?

Indeed. Apple has forced you to be like this, and it's getting worse on other Apple products.

As we know, still these days, you buy a PC/Laptop and you know you can, at a later date, if you need to upgrade it, with more memory or a larger drive/ssd.

As we have seen in the past few years, Apple found out it can make more money from people by shutting down this option and stopping you from doing this.

So rather than buy the 8MB or 16MB model, you think.. Oh, I am worried I will run out, and I'll have to buy a whole new machine.
It's probably better, I pay another $100 and buy the more memory model today, just to be safe.

It's very clever of Apple, and works well for them.

 

[Mr.C]

I'm still waiting for someone to explain to me exactly why 18 hours isn't enough.

I'm still waiting for someone to explain to me how they know that 18 hours will be enough based on the fact no one outside of Apple and maybe a few journalists have actually used it in real world conditions. No one and I mean no one can say at this stage whether the proclaimed 18 hours will be enough on a typical day with typical use or not.

 

[bunnicula]

I'm still waiting for someone to explain to me how they know that 18 hours will be enough based on the fact no one outside of Apple and maybe a few journalists have actually used it in real world conditions. No one and I mean no one can say at this stage whether the proclaimed 18 hours will be enough on a typical day with typical use or not.

Because I usually sleep at least 6 hours a night and I'm usually in bed for at least 8, so...math?

Eh. It's first gen. It's not likely to be perfect for everyone right out of the gate.

 

[refslady]

I'm not complaining, just answering his question. I still plan to buy one. But what you are suggesting is quite inconvenient. After a long stressful shift, the last thing I want to do is stress more about finding an outlet and charging my watch (or even having to bring the cord with me). It's too bad because we do communicate with co-workers on different floors with texts and use our iPhone for medical apps a lot. I'll just have to continue pulling that out of my white coat if I don't wish to worry about charging a watch during my breaks. I'd like to add that none of my breaks are 1.5 hours long and I would never want to leave it charging unattended outside of a locker because theft or missing items are very common (i.e. someone had money stolen out of their purse, missing stethoscopes, etc.). As I said, I understand that technology just has not developed yet to the point I can use it worry-free, so I will enjoy an Apple Watch for socializing outside of work.

Perhaps using a mophie charger in your locker?

----------

International, maybe not everyday.

But thinking about it, domestic travel days can get just as long: Leave house 4:30 AM --> Airport --> Office --> Dinner/drinks out --> get to hotel at 10:00 PM = 17.5 hrs. Many will recognize this schedule.

Travel is stressful enough without another battery letting you down or needing to carry another gizmo to charge it (which is always in the other bag! )

While in flight, the phone should be in airplane mode -- how does that impact the "18 hours", I wonder. No notifications, nothing but a timepiece during the flight, so is that going to burn charge at the same rate as when it is being a smart watch?

 

[DreamPod]

Every little helps, but it's still cutting it a bit fine (for me, personally) especially as the battery will age and lose capacity just like cell phones do.

But that's not cutting it close - a half hour of the most battery-intensive acts the device is currently capable of, remove that and it probably means the watch would last over 20 hours, maybe even 24 depending on what exactly you are doing with it.

No one and I mean no one can say at this stage whether the proclaimed 18 hours will be enough on a typical day with typical use or not.

But one important thing you are forgetting: Apple is ALWAYS conservative with their battery estimates. For example, Apple said iPad would last 10 hours under heavy usage, most reviews got around 12 hours in their intensive tests (playing movies over wifi), none got less than 10. Also, Apple said the 42mm watch would get better battery life, all tests were with the 38mm which has less battery inside.

 

[Arran]

I see some interesting ideas to save watch battery on a plane, but this isn't 1990. Most planes have wi-fi now. Everything stays online and connected to the internet, provided you buy a wifi pass*, of course.

*Don't get me started on airlines nickel-and-diming passengers

 

[Arran]

Indeed. Apple has forced you to be like this, and it's getting worse on other Apple products.

I wouldn't say Apple's really forced me into this. I'm like that with everything.

I just like keeping plenty in reserve: It's freedom.

 

[sterl320]

I'm still waiting for someone to explain to me how they know that 18 hours will be enough based on the fact no one outside of Apple and maybe a few journalists have actually used it in real world conditions. No one and I mean no one can say at this stage whether the proclaimed 18 hours will be enough on a typical day with typical use or not.

18 hours of general & a bit excessive use.
6 hours in the day remaining.

then there's sleep....

oh yeah you right. 18 hours of use in a day definitely definitely definitely isn't enough.

 

[Cashmonee]

18 hours of general & a bit excessive use.
6 hours in the day remaining.

then there's sleep....

oh yeah you right. 18 hours of use in a day definitely definitely definitely isn't enough.

Who said the use described is excessive? Most likely, Apple have based the usage on the usage patterns of their employees wearing the watch. The issue with that, of course, is that not everyone works in a corporate office building. What will normal use be when the rest of the world gets their hands on it? That is when we find out what the battery life really is. Remember, Apple had to get one day out of the battery. They could not afford to go on stage and quote 12 hours. So maybe they tweaked normal usage to get to that 18 hours. Real battery life numbers will come out in about 2-3 months. Then we will see how the battery holds a charge after 12-18 months.

 

[sterl320]

Who said the use described is excessive? Most likely, Apple have based the usage on the usage patterns of their employees wearing the watch. The issue with that, of course, is that not everyone works in a corporate office building. What will normal use be when the rest of the world gets their hands on it? That is when we find out what the battery life really is. Remember, Apple had to get one day out of the battery. They could not afford to go on stage and quote 12 hours. So maybe they tweaked normal usage to get to that 18 hours. Real battery life numbers will come out in about 2-3 months. Then we will see how the battery holds a charge after 12-18 months.

a "bit" excessive.

as in... checking the time 90 times in one day everyday.

i mean unless you're saying that's normal for you.

 

[Cashmonee]

a "bit" excessive.

as in... checking the time 90 times in one day everyday.

i mean unless you're saying that's normal for you.

As I said earlier in this thread, I honestly don't know. At first glance, 90 seems like a lot. Then I think about a normal workday as a teacher, and 90 seems low. I can easily see the number of times you check the time adding up real quick. For example, when you are expecting something at a given time, you rarely just check once. At the end of a period, I may check my watch 3 or 4 times. That's just at the end of the period, and there are 7 of them.

I really don't know, and that is the point, you don't either. No one does. I will maintain that the usage comes from what Apple employees are currently averaging with a few tweaks to make sure it all adds up to easily a day on paper. In real life? We will see.