Watch charging schedule

[BenGoren]

First, to get it out of the way: I’m sure everybody wants a watch that never has to be charged. Then again, I’m sure all y’all also want unicorn space ponies that shoot lasers out their as … er … eyes.

So, instead, from a practical perspective, what would you consider a reasonable charging schedule for your watch?

Assume that you have all features that you care about turned on and you use them without concern for battery life. Maybe you’re annoyed by “It looks like you’re doing a walking workout” prompts and so have that turned off, but you use GPS for a couple hours a day with many phone calls — whatever. Your choice of AOD depends on whether or not you want the display to be on when your wrist is down, not on its impact on battery life.

Also assume that the watch can be charged in the time it takes you to do something where you wouldn’t be wearing the watch anyway. For me, that’s when I shower; maybe for you, that’s while you sleep, or while you change the oil in your car, or wash the dishes, or whatever.

Further, assume the watch doesn’t have to get to 100% by the time you’re done; it just has to charge enough so that, by the next time you would charge it, it’s got plenty of reserve such that you’re not worried about running out. For me, if I see anything north of 80% when I get out of the shower, I know my Ultra will have at least 20% (and probably more than 30%) left at the next day’s shower.

With all that in mind, what, for you, is an acceptable regular charging interval for the watch?

b&

 

[cwosigns]

I’ve had 2 watches (day and night for a long time, so one was for sleep tracking and the other one was for during the day. I upgraded one of them to the Ultra, so it’s complicating things a bit. If I try to charge the Ultra every night, then it will only want to charge to 80%. So I usually wear the Ultra for a couple days, and then charge it and wear my other one.

 

[BenGoren]

I’ve had 2 watches (day and night for a long time, so one was for sleep tracking and the other one was for during the day. I upgraded one of them to the Ultra, so it’s complicating things a bit. If I try to charge the Ultra every night, then it will only want to charge to 80%. So I usually wear the Ultra for a couple days, and then charge it and wear my other one.

That’s part of what I was trying to get at with “assume the watch doesn’t have to get to 100%.” Before the Ultra, the only way I’d put my S4 back on my wrist with less than 100% charge was if it was some dire emergency. But with the Ultra … anything over 80% and it’s more than fine. And if I know that the next day is going to be low usage, I’m just fine with 70%. Because of fast charging, it usually makes it to the low 90s by the time I’m done with the shower.

I actually charged it to full for the first time in a while yesterday. Woke up with near 90%, and did the software update mid-morning. By the time the update was done, the watch was charged to full. (And this was on my backup battery-powered slow charger!) After yesterday evening’s shower, I think it was back to 98%, and it’s only down to 87% now.

So … try an experiment. I’ll bet you a cup of coffee that won’t be bothered at all by your Ultra topping out at 80%.

b&

 

[cwosigns]

That’s part of what I was trying to get at with “assume the watch doesn’t have to get to 100%.” Before the Ultra, the only way I’d put my S4 back on my wrist with less than 100% charge was if it was some dire emergency. But with the Ultra … anything over 80% and it’s more than fine. And if I know that the next day is going to be low usage, I’m just fine with 70%. Because of fast charging, it usually makes it to the low 90s by the time I’m done with the shower.

I actually charged it to full for the first time in a while yesterday. Woke up with near 90%, and did the software update mid-morning. By the time the update was done, the watch was charged to full. (And this was on my backup battery-powered slow charger!) After yesterday evening’s shower, I think it was back to 98%, and it’s only down to 87% now.

So … try an experiment. I’ll bet you a cup of coffee that won’t be bothered at all by your Ultra topping out at 80%.

b&

I need to remove the battery complication; I monitor it way too much.

 

[Jackbequickly]

Over night on my over a year old SBTi Series 7 and capacity is still at 100%

 

[BenGoren]

I need to remove the battery complication; I monitor it way too much.

Ha! I resemble that remark. (Yes, even as I’ve got far more than enough battery to spare. Force of habit!)

With the Wayfinder, I’ve got complications to spare. And I’ve had the same basic layout of the four corner complications for so long that I’m not sure my brain could handle anything different.

But … yeah, I probably don’t actually need the battery complication any more, especially since a quick swipe up brings up the control center with the battery right there. I’ll have to put some thought into what I might replace it with ...

b&

 

[CMoore515]

Pre-Ultra: Overnight.

With Ultra: Every 2-3 days.

 

[jz0309]

had an AW for 7+ years, since S0, have always been charging overnight.
Got a S7 last year and kept my S4, starting to use the 4 for sleep tracking while S7 was charged overnight.
Now have an Ultra and it gets charged every other day, S7 is then used for sleep tracking.

I for one do not want a watch that doesn't need to be charged, as a smartwatch simply does not fit that criteria. I just make it a habit that the watch is on the charger overnight, easier than remembering or obsessing over when to charge, but that's just me, YMMV

 

[scotsmandc]

I recently upgraded to the s7 so I now have fast charging. I wfh so I top up whenever I feel like it. The only difference is now I don’t even charge to 100% anymore. I’m testing to see if this would prolong the capacity longer.

 

[Howard2k]

Daily. Sometimes I'll charge it until around 75% or so, sometimes I'll charge it fully, sometimes I'll just charge it for a few minutes while I'm showering, getting dressed or whatever.

Never overnight.
Never unicorns, unfortunately.

 

[DARKiLLUSiON]

I got the s8 a little over 3 weeks ago..initially I charged it overnight but now I only do it when the battery is below 75% or when I'm in the shower or something. I was being told be an Apple employee not to charge it overnight hence the change..,

 

[krezimax1975]

I put my watch on the base for charging when they can interfere with me doing something or I can damage them. Literally 30-40 minutes or 1 hour a day keep my Series 7 up to date and I don 't think about charging them .