watchOS 9 Introduces New Low Power Mode on Apple Watch Series 4 and Later

[MacRumors]

Apple today announced that watchOS 9 will feature a new Low Power Mode on the Apple Watch Series 4 and newer. When the Low Power Mode is enabled, the Apple Watch will be able to get up to 36 hours of battery life per charge.

Apple says Low Power Mode will temporarily disable or limit select sensors and features, including the always-on display, autostart workouts, heart health notifications, and more. Other features like activity tracking and fall detection will remain available.

The new Low Power Mode in watchOS 9 is separate from the Apple Watch's existing Power Reserve mode that only displays the clock when enabled.

Low Power Mode is just one of many new features that will be available on the all-new Apple Watch Series 8 and Apple Watch SE, which are available to pre-order starting today and will launch on September 16. Other new features for the Apple Watch Series 8 include a body temperature sensor focused on women's health and car crash detection.

As for the new high-end Apple Watch Ultra, Apple said a new battery optimization feature will be available later this year that allows the device to get up to 60 hours of battery life per charge. It sounds like this feature will be separate from the Low Power Mode.

Article Link: watchOS 9 Introduces New Low Power Mode on Apple Watch Series 4 and Later

 

[_Spinn_]

Low power mode is a welcome addition.

 

[TwoBytes]

i wonder what we lose out on in lowe power mode?

 

[NJRonbo]

Thank you for saving me money, Apple.

This is basically the same watch as series 7.

Yes, menstruation and crash monitoring are nice features -- as well as a power-saving mode -- but I wonder how essential for those of us that had hoped for a redesign or more compelling capabilities.

I have bought an Apple Watch every year since its introduction -- in stainless steel no less. This is the first year that I walked away unimpressed.

 

[NJRonbo]

$799 for the PRO is better than I thought. Would have to think about that.

 

[PhillyGuy72]

Thank you for NOT forgetting Series 4!

 

[seanbperiod]

How does this differ from the already existing power reserve mode? Just more optimized? 🤷‍♂️

 

[raha613]

I'm running the public beta and don't see low power mode... I wonder when that will make its debut?

 

[katanna]

This is super welcome news! I run low on power regularly and wish there was something between "all on" and "only the watch face". Also glad it goes down to the Series 4 (which I still have). Thanks!

 

[raha613]

How does this differ from the already existing power reserve mode? Just more optimized? 🤷‍♂️

Seems like the watch still functions vs only showing the low power time view.

 

[paradox00]

How does this differ from the already existing power reserve mode? Just more optimized? 🤷‍♂️

It's actually useful?

 

[anticipate]

It is in the RC build of WatchOS 9.

 

[Mrjoedot]

How does this differ from the already existing power reserve mode? Just more optimized? 🤷‍♂️

Answer is in the name, right?

 

[Shanghaichica]

A nice little surprise.

 

[anticipate]

Here's the details.

 

[TwoBytes]

View attachment 2052688 View attachment 2052689

Here's the details.

• Low Power Mode maintains core features of Apple Watch while temporarily disabling select background features such as always on display and heart health notifications to extend battery life

but you still get notifications from 3rd party apps? EG Whatsapp?

 

[Arty6]

Thank you for saving me money, Apple.

This is basically the same watch as series 7.

Yes, menstruation and crash monitoring are nice features -- as well as a power-saving mode -- but I wonder how essential for those of us that had hoped for a redesign or more compelling capabilities.

I have bought an Apple Watch every year since its introduction -- in stainless steel no less. This is the first year that I walked away unimpressed.

The PRO is remarkable, but sadly, at the rumored $1k cost, not for me.

The Pro(ULTRA) is $799. Real non-rumored price was out at the time this article posted. I’m sure apple is disappointed they didn‘t impress you though. I‘m sure that was their goal.

 

[grouch]

This should have been a feature from day one. Thank you!

 

[tivoboy]

Nice welcome feature, but I already get 48 hours on my AW 6, do you think I’ll get another 12-18 hours with this? The only things I have already turned off are AOD and Walkid Talkie, but turning off activity AWARENESS might help even further.

Granted, at night i do put it in airplane mode (but with WIFI on) and turn off the auto screen activation and put on DND (I wish this could just be automatic) but I still get reliably 48 hours with 1.5 hours of workout tracked as well.

 

[anticipate]

• Low Power Mode maintains core features of Apple Watch while temporarily disabling select background features such as always on display and heart health notifications to extend battery life

but you still get notifications from 3rd party apps? EG Whatsapp?

I just turned it on so will see

 

[NT1440]

• Low Power Mode maintains core features of Apple Watch while temporarily disabling select background features such as always on display and heart health notifications to extend battery life

but you still get notifications from 3rd party apps? EG Whatsapp?

I think so, because those are based on push notifications, the watch isn’t constantly running the service.

 

[Sir_Macs_A_Lot]

 

[Sparkie_e]

Shame this feature is buried in settings. Would have been great as a power button hold option

 

[CarAnalogy]

This is the feature I wanted to see and was the highlight of the day for me. Everything else seemed like they were trying to make something out of nothing.

They made interesting lemonade out of the pill but I'm going to wait at least until next year to see how that goes. They used the code word "iconic" meaning "get used to it" but we'll see.

 

[seanbperiod]

View attachment 2052688 View attachment 2052689

Here's the details.

This is basically the same thing as Power Reserve mode 🤷‍♂️