Tim Cook on Apple Watch: 'You're Going to Wind Up Charging It Daily'

[Service Droid]

One day soon there will be an entire course syllabus in Business school taught regarding the blind epic fail of this device.

Yeah I remember similar claims being made about the iPod, iPhone and iPad.
Make sure you remember this comment in a few years time.

I would like to buy one, but like something new I am going avoid this like a plague given the 1 day charge. Hopefully the 2nd gen will fix the battery short life issue.

You're living in a dreamland of magical batteries that do everything you want and last multiple days. Not going to happen anytime in the near future. At least not until the battery is completely re-invented which is not Apple's area of expertise.

 

[QCassidy352]

Amazing to me they'd bring a daily charger to market.

Tethered to the iPhone, tethered to an outlet. Competitor commercials forthcoming.

Yes, and apple outselling all of those competitors combined also forthcoming. I really don't think they care what Samsung says in its ads.

 

[doelcm82]

You're living in a dreamland of magical batteries that do everything you want and last multiple days. Not going to happen anytime in the near future. At least not until the battery is completely re-invented which is not Apple's area of expertise.

Others are living in the dreamland where Apple already has the technology to provide several days use of the Watch, but they're going to sit on it a year to milk their customers for more money. (And all the competitors are also going to sit on their advanced batteries).

Then there is the dreamland where by the time Apple releases the Watch 2 in 2016, they'll already have slipped ten years behind the competitors' products.

 

[thejadedmonkey]

I'm not sure what folks were expecting. They are bound by current battery technologies just like everyone else. I'm sure the engineers are doing the best they can with what they have.

*shrug*

Back in 2001, your average HDD based mp3 player lasted a few hours at best, or if it was flash, could only hold around 16 songs. Apple managed to create an HDD based mp3 player with the battery life of a flash based one. Then they went on to explain that if you're going to do something, you wait to do it right. I'm sure I'm paraphrasing but that's the general line they've toted the past decade.

Now you have smart watches that last a week and don't do much, smart watches that last "hours" and are more like mini-cellphones, and I would expect Apple to merge the two together - an AMOLED or e-ink low resolution high efficiency screen, a polarization filter for sunlight readability, super sensitive touch for use with leather gloves on...

The iWatch is an accessory to the iPhone, and should be treated as an accessory. Couple it tightly to iOS apps so that the iWatch can offload its GPU functions to the iPhone. It shouldn't be the basis of another app platform, it should extend the iOS platform.

 

[sethlution]

How will the second gen be much better without an massive improvement in battery tech. At most, they'd get a slight improvement in the blue tooth chips and maybe 30% if going to 14nm. That's giving a few hours more, not a full day more anyway.

Not to mention that given Apple track record and the watch thickness, Apple will probably make it thinner and keep the same battery life as the first gen anyway.
We really do need that battery breakthrough soon.

 

[Jayy24]

Forget buying the first gen model.

This. If it requires a daily charge out of the box, then 9-12 months down the road it's gonna start to creep into two charges per day.

 

[iSayuSay]

Well, if I use my phone A LOT it also will only last a day. The point of the article is the usefullness of the watch. If its barely used, it would surely last 3 days, and so what!

Phones also lasted a week before the Iphone came in and we know how that turned out.

Yeah battery life sucks on any modern smartphones. But to be fair it also does a lot more, so if you want a direct comparison to a dumbphone, you can simulate and treat the iPhone as a feature phone. No WiFi, no cellular data, no games, no apps, no social media, nothing intensive. Purely as a phone call and texting device, and maybe we can discuss about how good (or bad) iPhone battery life compared to our good ol' cellphones.

I hardly do that but I remembered I could get almost 3 days of battery life when I had no WiFi nor cellular data. I opened some apps though so it could be more had I use my iPhone as a bare phone.

 

[Service Droid]

Others are living in the dreamland where Apple already has the technology to provide several days use of the Watch, but they're going to sit on it a year to milk their customers for more money. (And all the competitors are also going to sit on their advanced batteries).

Do you have a source for that?

 

[lincolntran]

There is only a few ways to make the watch last longer :
- Make it do less.... PRetty sure that this is a non starter, people already complain that this doesn't do enough
- Use components that take less energy. Battery tech is not improving soon, they're already using the most efficient screen, so that leaves the SOC. IF they're already using 20nm now, they're already using the best SOC around. If not (which I doubt, since having the most energy efficent SOC is even more important in a watch than a phone), you could get 25% more efficient in the next iteration.
- Make it bigger, heavier... Well, know Apple, this is NOT happening.

So, no I don't think they're holding anything back. That makes no sense at all.

Don't waste your time talking about senses on macrumors. People here look at you in a weird way when you talk about things that actually make sense or matter.

 

[doelcm82]

This. If it requires a daily charge out of the box, then 9-12 months down the road it's gonna start to creep into two charges per day.

You may be right. Charging won't take long, I think.

 

[AppleScruff1]

Not too different from a phone that dies in 12-14 hours really.

Although everyone is disappointed, apple isn't a battery technology company and this is the limitation of current battery technology and power requirements of color screen smart devices.

Although everyone is disappointed, they will buy it anyway.

 

[MacFather]

Deleted.

 

[AppleScruff1]

"Wind up"

Interesting choice of words

He planted a subliminal message so people will think that charging your watch will be like winding it everyday and therefore they will be ok with daily charging. Brilliant.

 

[iChrist]

12-14 hours TOPS.

When it's brand new. After a couple months you'll be charging it at lunch.

 

[AppleScruff1]

Samsung Unveils $299 Galaxy Gear Smart Watch With One-Day Battery Life
, Wednesday September 4, 2013


funny comments

https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=17830909#post17830909

Typical. Now one day battery life is great, just like phablets were scorned until the iPhone 6+.

 

[Keirasplace]

When it's brand new. After a couple months you'll be charging it at lunch.

I'm still using my 3GS, which I've charged about every 1-2 days for 5 years. So, why on earth would battery life go so bad in just a few months? After 2-3 years, I could maybe understand. But, not a few months.

Also, if you could charge it in say 5 minutes (there exists tech to charge phones in 15), charging wouldn't be much of an issue at all. That's what I banking on short term instead of this mythic new battery tech.

 

[Silver78]

I use a watch and allways have. I even used a pocket watch for many years that had to be winded.
But having to charge the watch after 10-12 hours would be sad since you need a wall plug to "wind up" the watch and take the watch off also.
10-12 hours you run out of battery on way home from work!? How does the healthkit sensors on watch handle that? If it does not hold battery from the time i get up untill i go to bed the helath data would be more or less useless!?

matching the 6 plus i batterylife would be perfect or some fast charging like seen on many new phones

 

[Max(IT)]

I'm quite excited about the Watch, but still worried about battery life.

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Not surprised and not bothered, either. The Apple Watch is going to be awesome, so I'll be using it quite a bit. Getting a full day out of it is enough for me! Can't wait for pre-orders.

The real question is: how much is that full day?

 

[thingstoponder]

I'm not sure what folks were expecting. They are bound by current battery technologies just like everyone else. I'm sure the engineers are doing the best they can with what they have.

*shrug*

Exactly. Plenty of people were saying the watch looked thick too.

 

[Keirasplace]

I think charging it daily won’t be the issue. The larger problem is that the watch is not dependable if it dies during the day. For me that means: excellent standby battery life is a must. That’s precisely the reason for me why I’m not yet excited about these smartwatches. If I have to be mindful of the battery life, i.e. have to very carefully consider what I use my watch for, it’s value becomes even less obvious to me. So instead of enhancing my life, it may become another thing to keep track of. Why bother then and not just stick with a smartphone?

If there is a small coprocessor for monitoring M8?, I expect it to easily last 2-3 days on standby. You should also be able to see the watch face/screen with the processor in very low energy mode (either when you look at it, or running at will for while if you want the face to show as a fashion accessory).

 

[Max(IT)]

Still don't get this thing. They've got to be working one that's independent of the phone right? AND waterproof so that when I'm surfing I don't have to come back in and check my phone for messages while I'm all call.

Do you really care about messages while surfing?
It's very sad.....

 

[Tovenaar]

Meh, I charge enough stuff. I don't want my watch to need daily charging because that means in a year it will need twice daily, than thrice daily..and so on.

That's actually the best argument I've heard for why the watch should run more than a day on a single charge. Because otherwise, really, what's the problem with charging it every night?

I would say however that Apple should just go ahead and design a charging station for their devices because it's getting a bit out of control.

 

[Blue Fox]

I really don't see the problem with this. People charge their phones at night, their cars at night, their laptops at night, what's the big deal with snapping on an easy charger and charging it? Think most people are just trying to make a big deal out of it. If they would have had 3 days people would still have complained.

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That's actually the best argument I've heard for why the watch should run more than a day on a single charge. Because otherwise, really, what's the problem with charging it every night?

I would say however that Apple should just go ahead and design a charging station for their devices because it's getting a bit out of control.

What's getting out of control? Charging battery powered devices? I don't see how it's out of control if you're charging your devices every day. If you don't want to charge them, then don't buy them?

 

[Lancer]

"Wind up"

Interesting choice of words

LOL at first when I read that I though it might have some inbuilt winder to charge it.

 

[Michaelgtrusa]

"Since the Apple Watch requires daily charge cycles, users are given a more intimate experience of sitting down with their Apple Watch and waiting for it. iPhone users familiar with this feature would be pleased to know that charging their Apple Watch will work seamlessly through their daily routines. Consciously checking on the remaining battery life often allows users to gain a personal connection with their Apple Watch."

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I can here his voice.