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What kind of battery life can you expect from the Apple Watch?

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 23 Jan 2015 11:47 User comments (4)

What kind of battery life can you expect from the Apple Watch? Apple's upcoming smartwatch, the Apple Watch, is expected to launch in March; one of the most highly-anticipated devices of the year.
Insiders have now revealed the "specific performance targets Apple wants to achieve for the Apple Watch battery" although experts don't believe those targets can be achieved.

According to those sources (via 9to5), Apple's S1 chip will be close in performance to the A5 processor of previous iOS devices, but that the powerful processor and high-end display will lead to major battery drain.

Apple wanted about 19 hours of use if the user was "mixing a comparatively small amount of active use with a larger amount of passive use" or up to 4 hours of "active application use" or 4 days in sleeping mode (meaning you are just telling the time).

It seems, however, that Apple could not achieve any of their goals. Instead the Apple Watch will have 2.5 hours of heavy app use, 3.5 hours of standard app use, and 2-3 days of standby mode.



At $349 at minimum, the newly reported battery life is not impressive but we will learn more in March.

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4 user comments

124.1.2015 02:32

Quote:
one of the most highly-anticipated devices of the year.
I guess I am just not in the know. I have yet to hear anyone even mention anything about the new watches let alone the Apple watch.

For me I just do not get it. I have a nice old watch I stopped wearing it because I have a phone with a clock on it. unless the watch can replace the phone I can't see wanting one. It would just be one more thing to charge every night.

224.1.2015 19:33

For 349 surely you could get a phone that would be good enough for anything this watch might do. Makes you wonder if the watch would do anything useful without being linked to another idevice. Personally when I wear a watch, which I never do since I have my phone, I would want it to be a watch that keeps time without any bells and whistles. I guess I just don't get the big deal with these smart watches that aren't really all that smart.

325.1.2015 10:33

Originally posted by lamain:
Quote:
one of the most highly-anticipated devices of the year.
I guess I am just not in the know. I have yet to hear anyone even mention anything about the new watches let alone the Apple watch.

For me I just do not get it. I have a nice old watch I stopped wearing it because I have a phone with a clock on it. unless the watch can replace the phone I can't see wanting one. It would just be one more thing to charge every night.
2.5 hours to run apps? On a watch?? Give me a break! Has Apple bumped their heads on this one? Forget about charging it overnight! Hell, you're gonna have to charge this thing two or even three times a day from the sound of it! Too pricy for doing too little performance if you ask me. You're right though, it's just another gadget/gizmo to charge overnight and I get by with my phone these days. At least it has all day battery life..

426.1.2015 11:08

I still wear a watch because it's a quick way to determine the time. I can glance at my wrist without having to fumble with my phone. I can also be subtle and look at the time while in a meeting.

So if I have a smartwatch I need to "do something" to display the time because the battery won't support an always on display? What a step backwards. Reminds me of the LED digital watch that I bought in the late 1970s.

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