I don't get how many people want to complain about the reported watch battery life. Eighteen hours seems like more than enough unless you are a freak of nature who doesn't sleep. How hard is it really to plug it up at night along side your iPhone? Do you all live in the jungle or what?
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What's wrong with "all day" battery life
- Thread starter spiritedcharm
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^ This. I don't understand that either, I plug my phone in every night, how should this be any different?
Mad Mac Maniac
macrumors 601
1) Silent alarm through the watch
2) Sleep tracking
3) An extra charger to forget/lose when you go on trips
4) Another thing to die when you have unanticipated "sleepovers"
2) Sleep tracking
3) An extra charger to forget/lose when you go on trips
4) Another thing to die when you have unanticipated "sleepovers"
It means that you can't use Apple watch when you sleep to monitor your sleep patterns and set the alarm to wake you up in the morning
To play devil's advocate, it's another thing to charge.
But I agree, if it doesn't last years, then a day is good enough. I had a pebble for a while and it lasted almost a week, so inevitably I'd forget to check the power before bed as it wasn't a habit to charge it each night. Ended up charging it every night anyways, just to avoid an unexpected dead battery.
But I agree, if it doesn't last years, then a day is good enough. I had a pebble for a while and it lasted almost a week, so inevitably I'd forget to check the power before bed as it wasn't a habit to charge it each night. Ended up charging it every night anyways, just to avoid an unexpected dead battery.
Because it's about 1/1500th the life of a typical watch battery.
This is a bad comparison because a watch is not a phone.
"I plug in my camera battery to charge about twice a year. Why can't a watch battery last that long?"
See, the reason that statement sounds ridiculous is because you're comparing things that are inherently not the same.
People who wear watches (speaking as one) do not typically plug them in, and the battery typically lasts for years. So a watch whose battery lasts only 18 hours is quite jarringly short on life, compared to what we're used to.
Ah, monitoring your sleep...that's another thing I don't get. So you can see how much you move at night, how does that help you sleep better? I fail to see how knowing how bad (or good) you sleep is any benefit. It was cool when I first got my Fitbit and that lasted maybe a week.
Exactly the same for me with my Nike fuel band. It dies when you least expect it and then forget to charge as not in habit every night.
I get an e-mail from Fitbit when my Surge needs its battery recharged; it lets me know I have a little over a day of charge left. So I have yet to forget to recharge it every 5th day of use.
I'm guessing that a watch that last for years between battery changes does does not have any of the functionality that the AW does, talk about bad comparisons.
If you want a battery that you don't have to recharge, get yourself a Casio and call it day. If you want a computer on your wrist that acts as an extension to your existing iPhone, you'll have to charge it daily. Pretty simple.
Although I agree with you to an extent, isn't it still equally as silly to compare a watch to a smartwatch? I mean, other than both going on your wrist and telling time, that's where the similarities end. They're essentially two completely different products. A smartwatch is a mini computer, not a watch. Confusing!
That said, I DO think the Apple watch should have longer battery life, and although charging every night doesn't bother me, I would love to not HAVE to. But I don't think anyone at all looks at a smartwatch and is appalled that it doesn't last years on a single charge like a normal watch. People realize they're 2 completely different things.
Would you feel better if I compared the Apple watch to my iPhone then? Fair enough.
Seems like my iPhone can do pretty much everything an Apple watch can do, plus a LOT more. And I can get three days between charges. According to what I've seen I can't get three days from the Apple watch.
Sleep tracking by FitBit watch depends on the model. The Surge and Charge HR monitor Heart Rate as well as movements at night; the others just detect movement.
Your deep-sleep HR is a very important indicator of cardiovascular health. I have altered my training to improve that level.
The tracking of total time and quality of sleep helped me realize how important a good night sleep is. The energy level I have doing the day matches up very closely with the morning sleep report from my Surge. I am now trying different things to improve my sleep efficiency.
The lack of sleep tracking is a non-starter for the AW for me.
I said it was an equally as silly comparison. So no, it is not a better one. Frankly, a smartwatch can't be compared to either of them effectively. That's why it is it's own category.
Hm. Have you seen inside an iPhone or better yet, an iPad? There's a reason both are mostly (for the iPad, 95%? more?) battery.
The watch has not so much room for the battery.
The watch has not so much room for the battery.
In that case, no - I don't believe that comparing a watch to a smartwatch is nearly as silly or irrelevant as comparing it to something else. IMO, a smartwatch's nearest relative on the technology spectrum is a wristwatch. You can argue all you like that it's more like a "computer" or a "phone," but in reality it's being marketed as a watch, or at least a replacement/competitor for such. So the comparison is much more fair than any other, as far as I'm concerned.
My daily watch is kinetic, so it never needs a battery or charging. But then it tells the time and that's all. I think an 18+ hour battery life for what is a small computer with near endless possibilities is pretty damn good for a gen 1 product.
Like I said, I agree with you to an extent, because I see where you're coming from, but I personally think there's way too many differences between a watch and a smartwatch to consider them in the same category. A smartwatch does so much more and has infinitely more power and capability than a standard watch, so like I said I don't think a single person expects a smartwatch to have the same battery as a standard one.
To me, it's like comparing an iPhone (or any smartphone) to a house phone. They're both called a 'phone' and you can make calls on both, but that's where the similarities end. No one can reasonably compare the two based on abilities because they both serve different purposes and are in different categories.
I know going back and forth is pointless because we'll never see eye to eye, so we'll just have to agree to disagree on this one.
I can't help but be reminded of the Playtex 18-Hour Bra they used to advertise on tv when I was a kid. I used to wonder what would happen if the lady wore it past 18 hours. Avalanche?
My carriage will turn back into a pumpkin and my Apple Watch will turn into a cute paperweight at the end of the night. I'm cool with that. I used to have to wind watches. Then I had to take them to a jeweler for new batteries that never seemed to last as long as the one that came with the watch. Now I have to stick them under light to keep them going. Charging at night is no biggie to me. The bigger sticking point for me is lack of full waterproofing. And even that's a minor bummer.
My carriage will turn back into a pumpkin and my Apple Watch will turn into a cute paperweight at the end of the night. I'm cool with that. I used to have to wind watches. Then I had to take them to a jeweler for new batteries that never seemed to last as long as the one that came with the watch. Now I have to stick them under light to keep them going. Charging at night is no biggie to me. The bigger sticking point for me is lack of full waterproofing. And even that's a minor bummer.
You two seem to be under the assumption that no one wears their watch at night. This is not true. I wear my watch at night and I'm not the only one. Obviously with the
Watch I'm going to have to change my habit so it doesn't run out of charge during the day. That said I may even compromise and wear my Pebble at night when less functionality is needed and the Watch during the day.