Apple watch series 2 battery life

maverick786us

Well-known member
Oct 23, 2014
106
0
0
Visit site
A wrist watch, be it the worlds best smartwatch, if charge everyday, is odd. I don't like being an early adopter, therefore skipped the first generation Apple watch and patiently waited for Series 2. Now that Series 2 has arrived. How good is the battery life? Does it lasts for 2 days?

Series 2 watches comes with in built GPS. Therefore without connecting with the smartphone. Will it automatically change the time, when moved from one time zone to another?
 

James Falconer

Well-known member
Nov 1, 2012
1,891
0
0
Visit site
I can't speak to this as I went down the same road as you maverick. I held off on the series 1. Now that the series 2 is here (with GPS), battery is one of my main concerns. I'm almost 90% sold at the moment (the 3-5 week wait times are a bummer), but would love to get some feedback here from owners that use the watch a lot for activity tracking! How does the GPS drain the battery? Able to get through a busy day no problem? 2 days?
 

CloudSpeaker

Member
May 5, 2013
24
0
0
Visit site
With all respect to the original poster and those who may have "battery life as deal breaker" thoughts about Apple Watch, I think the issue is overblown. Not non-existent, but overblown.

Let me explain.

In the days of flip phones, your old Sony Ericsson whatever or Nokia 61XX would last a week on a charge. Those phones didn't do much, they were relative bricks and they lasted forever. You could drop them down the stairs or leave them on the roof of the car and drive away and they were mostly fine.

Today's phones are delicate. You have to top them off before an evening out and if they slip from your hands on the train, you might have to hit up AppleCare. Of course, our iPhones are amazing, life-changing devices... The first thing many of us reach for in the morning and the last thing we touch at night.

To me, while watches haven't yet reached that must-have, iconic status, they're similar. My Apple Watch does so much more than any Timex. And here's the big part. Most of us don't sleep with a watch on. We put it down somewhere ? on a dresser or a nightstand, wherever. Isn't putting it down on its charger a natural and easy thing to do every night?

If my watch lasts through the day, I'm good. And it does. If you're traveling and have to bring another charger, I get that that can be a pain. Same if you work out and your watch doesn't last through a normal day. Possible deal breaker.

I look forward to others' take.
 

maverick786us

Well-known member
Oct 23, 2014
106
0
0
Visit site
I can't speak to this as I went down the same road as you maverick. I held off on the series 1. Now that the series 2 is here (with GPS), battery is one of my main concerns. I'm almost 90% sold at the moment (the 3-5 week wait times are a bummer), but would love to get some feedback here from owners that use the watch a lot for activity tracking! How does the GPS drain the battery? Able to get through a busy day no problem? 2 days?

Addition of GPS is a good thing. But I won't use a watch for GPS navigation while driving. My iPhone is best suited for it. Yes if your watch time adjusts automatically using the GPS while travelling. Its a welcome move. Otherwise i might keep the GPS off.

Yes we are smart people, thats why i want a smartwatch, will never turn to a treditional wrist watch. Since I am in Apple eco system, therefore I will buy an apple watch. I am not an athlete, so will less utilise it for fitness or health tracking or any other such activity. But a watch is not meant to be charged everyday. It is supposed to last for longer
 

Mac Guy

Well-known member
Dec 10, 2015
1,910
0
0
Visit site
But I won't use a watch for GPS navigation while driving. My iPhone is best suited for it.

If you have your phone with you, the GPS in the Watch won't be used. To preserve the Watch battery, only the phone's GPS is used. (If you turned off BT or put the phone in AirPlane mode, then the Watch's GPS would take over.
 

Snoweagle

Well-known member
Dec 23, 2015
654
0
16
Visit site
I find that OS 3 somehow improved battery life a bit. I'm using the original watch and usually I'll turn it on at 7am in the morning, use the watch for volume control on my Bluetooth speaker at work and for other uses too so it's pretty heavily used everyday.

At the end of the work day by 6pm, also have around 60+% battery left as well, though not as good as the series 2.
 

eyecrispy

iPhone 7, iPad Pro & Apple Watch Champion
Sep 26, 2012
4,278
0
0
Visit site
I find that OS 3 somehow improved battery life a bit. I'm using the original watch and usually I'll turn it on at 7am in the morning, use the watch for volume control on my Bluetooth speaker at work and for other uses too so it's pretty heavily used everyday.

At the end of the work day by 6pm, also have around 60+% battery left as well, though not as good as the series 2.

I, too, have found that os3 has improved the battery life on my series 0 watch. Still not where I'd like it to be, but better than previous os.
 

Snoweagle

Well-known member
Dec 23, 2015
654
0
16
Visit site
I, too, have found that os3 has improved the battery life on my series 0 watch. Still not where I'd like it to be, but better than previous os.

Well I suppose we just can't have everything, but WatchOS 3 has revolutionalised the Apple Watch and it has made mine more usable than before.
 

Mac Guy

Well-known member
Dec 10, 2015
1,910
0
0
Visit site
Still not where I'd like it to be...

Given the technology Apple uses for the display, battery tech will have to improve. I don't know how much Apple can do with OS and processor efficiency to create a significant increase in battery life.

The S2 is thicker because of the bigger battery needed for the GPS. Without the GPS maybe Apple could've had both a bigger battery and a slightly slimmer case. I don't know.
 

James Falconer

Well-known member
Nov 1, 2012
1,891
0
0
Visit site
Would be nice to get a 3-4 day battery life, but I realize with all the things going on in the case, not currently possible. We'll get there though...
 

Mac Guy

Well-known member
Dec 10, 2015
1,910
0
0
Visit site
You can manually go into Power Reserve mode (instead of waiting for the option to come up at 10% battery).

Swipe up to bring up Control Center. Press the Battery icon in the upper left of the Center display. Press Power Reserve.
 

CarAholic22

New member
Sep 23, 2016
4
0
0
Visit site
Not sure what happened with my series 2. The first two days I would be at 56% when I went to charge it at night. This is two work outs and a wear time from 3am-10pm. My series 0 would always be around 5%, so I was enjoying the extra battery. Unfortunately lately my series 2 is ending the day with 10% battery or less. The usage is the exact same and I always have my phone with me. I have even double checked to make sure I didn't have a lot of apps docked and their were none. I have decided to return my series 2 as there isn't a real reason for me to upgrade. I never use the gps, speed increase isn't that noticeable in most situations, I still swam and showered with my 0.
 

Trending Posts

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
260,018
Messages
1,765,333
Members
441,221
Latest member
CØR