workout and airplane mode

[rishiomedia]

If one goes for a workout with the Watch but without the iPhone, is there any reason not to put the Watch in Airplane mode? I assume all the sensors work in Airplane mode, you just save battery life by turning off the bluetooth and wifi. So why wouldn't you put the watch in airplane mode when you leave the phone behind?

 

[lordofthereef]

I think that includes gps but don't quote me. If you don't need the god I guess I don't see a reason why you couldn't. My reason is I don't really need the battery savings so I guess I don't really see the point.

 

[rishiomedia]

I think that includes gps but don't quote me. If you don't need the god I guess I don't see a reason why you couldn't. My reason is I don't really need the battery savings so I guess I don't really see the point.

Hmm.. I'll have to look into GPS though I never use GPS. The only activity I track where I don't have my iPhone is swimming and pool swimming doesn't use GPS.

I'm a heavy watch user - my iPhone stays in my backpack most of the day. I even respond to emails on my watch because I like keeping them simple and short. That, and I'm using the 38mm, so I need to conserve as much battery as possible.

 

[lordofthereef]

Fair enough. Why don't you try it and see how it goes? More importantly, let us know how much battery you actually conserve. I expend about 7% on a one hour god enabled run (42mm). Unless you have super long workouts I can't imagine you'd met a huge savings but maybe I am wrong.

 

[exxxviii]

If one goes for a workout with the Watch but without the iPhone, is there any reason not to put the Watch in Airplane mode? I assume all the sensors work in Airplane mode, you just save battery life by turning off the bluetooth and wifi. So why wouldn't you put the watch in airplane mode when you leave the phone behind?

I would test the watch with and without Airplane Mode to try to determine how much battery drain BT and WiFi have. BT has to be close to nothing; BLE barely uses any power. WiFi maybe, but even that may be immaterial relative to the battery used just to keep the watch alive. If Airplane Mode saved you 1% per hour, would you still use it for a workout? How much would it have to save to make it worthwhile?

My AWS0 naturally burns about 4% per hour under normal use; therefore it is unlikely that using Airplane would move the needle. I doubt that it could even regular reduce the burn by 1%, since that would mean BT and WiFi account for a quarter of the AW's normal power consumption. If BT & WiFi account for 0.5% of battery consumption per hour, then airplane mode during a workout may give you at most 5 to 10 additional minutes of battery life over the day. For me, that would not be enough to fumble around with the AW.

 

[matrix07]

If you care about workouts but not GPS, enable Airplane mode when you start a workout. Doing this with a Series 1 vs Series 2 gave me a whopping 65% remaining battery life vs 25% after 161 minutes of exercise at the end of the day.

 

[exxxviii]

If you care about workouts but not GPS, enable Airplane mode when you start a workout. Doing this with a Series 1 vs Series 2 gave me a whopping 65% remaining battery life vs 25% after 161 minutes of exercise at the end of the day.

I read that, but her statement left me confused. In particular, did she intend to say that the S1 ended the day at 65% and the S2 ended the day at 25%? That is what she wrote, but that does not seem like a benefit. Or, was her intent to say that both watches end at 65% when in Airplane mode and both watches end at 25% in regular mode? And, does her clause "at the end of the day" imply that she had a full day of use without a recharge prior to the 4 hour workout, or did she recharge? This one is confusing, because the numbers to not match. A 4 hour workout with GPS active should have burned 80% of battery, which exceeds her EoD number.

My hunch is that she is trying to say that by putting the AWS2 in Airplane mode, it disables GPS, which saves you about 10%-15% hour of battery burn. So, battery burn for a 4 hour AWS2 workout with GPS drops from 75% battery burn to only 35% battery burn without GPS. This reconciles with her other consumption data and Apple's web site commentary on battery consumption during workouts.

 

[matrix07]

I read that, but her statement left me confused. In particular, did she intend to say that the S1 ended the day at 65% and the S2 ended the day at 25%? That is what she wrote, but that does not seem like a benefit. Or, was her intent to say that both watches end at 65% when in Airplane mode and both watches end at 25% in regular mode? And, does her clause "at the end of the day" imply that she had a full day of use without a recharge prior to the 4 hour workout, or did she recharge? This one is confusing, because the numbers to not match. A 4 hour workout with GPS active should have burned 80% of battery, which exceeds her EoD number.

My hunch is that she is trying to say that by putting the AWS2 in Airplane mode, it disables GPS, which saves you about 10%-15% hour of battery burn. So, battery burn for a 4 hour AWS2 workout with GPS drops from 75% battery burn to only 35% battery burn without GPS. This reconciles with her other consumption data and Apple's web site commentary on battery consumption during workouts.

Listened to her talking on iMore podcast, she likely meant 65% left if you tuned on airplane mode with 25% left with normal settings. Isn't sure about Series 1 vs. 2.

 

[nuvvanda]

Airplane mode does not disable built-in gps on series 2. Tested by myself.

 

[exxxviii]

Airplane mode does not disable built-in gps on series 2. Tested by myself.

Hmmm. That makes Serenity Caldwell's battery analysis even more confusing. Her numbers and conclusions make no sense with that information. I wonder what she actually did?

 

[rishiomedia]

Injust had to return my series 2 since there was a defect in the screen. Now I'm watchless till my new one ships so the testing will have to wait for me. I'm surprised if GPS mode is not off in airplane mode.

 

[Julien]

.... I'm surprised if GPS mode is not off in airplane mode.

GPS is a receiver (passive) only.

 

[matrix07]

Hmmm. That makes Serenity Caldwell's battery analysis even more confusing. Her numbers and conclusions make no sense with that information. I wonder what she actually did?

She's talking about work out in a "gym".

 

[Phogro]

If I understand it correctly the GPS is only active during Outdoor Run and Open Water Swim. If you select other workouts you wouldn't then use the GPS on the watch by default as it assumes you're inside. Something worth testing when you get around to it.

 

[exxxviii]

She's talking about work out in a "gym".

If that is true, she just needs to delete all the content about fitness tracking and battery use and start over. It is a hot mess grammar errors, of non-linear thinking, and inconsistent data and conclusions.

 

[matrix07]

If that is true, she just needs to delete all the content about fitness tracking and battery use and start over. It is a hot mess grammar errors, of non-linear thinking, and inconsistent data and conclusions.

Yeah.. I still don't understand her comparison between Series 1 vs. 2 despite talking about Airplane mode. Luckily I listened to iMore podcast, which she was more specific, before reading review.

 

[Julien]

If I understand it correctly the GPS is only active during Outdoor Run and Open Water Swim....

Also Outdoor Walk and Cycle.

 

[nuvvanda]

Airplane mode cuts off communications with the phone by Bluetooth and wi-fi. Does not disable internal GPS that is used only in that 4 workouts mentioned before.

 

[CaptMarvel]

My question is how long or how much data can your Apple Watch store if you keep it in Airplane mode? I know it can do one days worth. Anyone tried anything longer?

Let's say if I wanted to hide my activity from other Apple Watch friends without directly doing it through the Activity app as it would tell them I hid my activity from them.