What do you make of the AW 9 vs. the AW 7 or 8? Are you going to upgrade — and why?

[Supermallet]

Macrumors forum: What the hell Apple? Same CPU from S6 to S8? Come on, we need some improvements.
Apple: Releases S9 with new CPU.
Macrumours forum: CPU upgrades don't mean anything. Come one Apple, we need some improvements.

Exactly! I’ve seen so many posts for years saying Apple is coasting because they didn’t upgrade the chip in the AW and now they do and everyone is going “eh my current watch is fast enough”. The new chip enables things like on device Siri and will help this watch support features that come in the next few years of Watch OS.

 

[LedRush]

Then I doubt you'll be back to Apple Watches at any time in the forseeable future -- Apple's made it pretty clear that 18-hour/all-day is their design target - likely founded on extensive market research for their primary target audience - and they will throw additional batter and CPU efficiency into UI/UX stuff rather than longer battery life.

Yeah, I suspect that is right. They may target 18 hours, but after 2 years you're lucky to get 10 hours. You have to religiously charge the watch, and it's just too much for me.

 

[Howard2k]

I have a S6. I got so tired of running out of battery that I switched to a normal watch. I just did a search to see how the S6 and S9 match up on battery time: they're exactly the same. I don't think I'll be coming back to Apple Watches until I don't need to charge them every day.

The Ultra does not need to be charged every day.

 

[cwosigns]

I have two watches (S7 and Ultra). The S7 is my night watch and the Ultra is my main watch. Not upgrading either this year. Maybe next year if there’s a design update.

 

[LedRush]

The 40mm already seems a bit big for me. Hard pass on the ultra.

 

[deeddawg]

Yeah, I suspect that is right. They may target 18 hours, but after 2 years you're lucky to get 10 hours. You have to religiously charge the watch, and it's just too much for me.

While perhaps that's the case for you, it hasn't been for me and my three year old S6.

On the charger when I go to bed, off the charger when I wake up. If I do a long outdoor workout, I'll pop it on the nightstand charger while I shower and clean up. Only very rarely would I see a low power warning before it was bedtime - And that's without the fast charging capability of the S7+ models.

Since I have AC+ on it (SBTi was 2yr warranty +1yr AC+) I went ahead with an AC+ covered battery replacement once it was below 80%.

 

[Monkswhiskers]

While perhaps that's the case for you, it hasn't been for me and my three year old S6.

On the charger when I go to bed, off the charger when I wake up. If I do a long outdoor workout, I'll pop it on the nightstand charger while I shower and clean up. Only very rarely would I see a low power warning before it was bedtime - And that's without the fast charging capability of the S7+ models.

Since I have AC+ on it (SBTi was 2yr warranty +1yr AC+) I went ahead with an AC+ covered battery replacement once it was below 80%.

How long did you have it before it dipped below 80%?

 

[deeddawg]

How long did you have it before it dipped below 80%?

About two years eight months. Even then it was still going all day though slightly more often would give a low battery in the late evening than previously.

If I'd had to pay out of pocket for battery service I likely wouldn't have done yet. I've orderd a GrSS S9 to try out, and will either return it and keep the SBTi S6 another year -- or keep both and use the S6 for sleep tracking (which I've not really explored at all yet)

 

[Cirlonde]

While perhaps that's the case for you, it hasn't been for me and my three year old S6.

On the charger when I go to bed, off the charger when I wake up. If I do a long outdoor workout, I'll pop it on the nightstand charger while I shower and clean up. Only very rarely would I see a low power warning before it was bedtime - And that's without the fast charging capability of the S7+ models.

Since I have AC+ on it (SBTi was 2yr warranty +1yr AC+) I went ahead with an AC+ covered battery replacement once it was below 80%.

I've had a similar experience with my S6. I didn't get it until April 2021, so only about 2.5 years of use. And I'm definitely not a heavy user, which I'm sure is why I don't need to charge as often as some. I don't use Always On Display and during most of the day, I am using it primarily for notifications and checking the time/temperature. Then 30-45 minute daily work outs. In the beginning, I charged every other night. Now the battery health is down to 86% and I am usually at ~45% by the end of the day.

 

[vintimus]

I am upgrading from the 7 to the 9. Battery life took a bit of a dip, not upgrading the phone this year, and I am giving my MIL my 7 which will save her a bit of money and she's wanted an Apple Watch the last few months.

 

[Woodcrest64]

I have the Series 7 non cellular aluminum. I’m not upgrading this year. What I do know is when I upgrade in the future I will get a cellular version. There are many times where I don’t want to take my phone with me, swimming, kayaking, biking, etc.