Battery Life, series 2 .... 38mm v 42mm?

[blocks992]

I understand there has been a rather substantial increase in battery life for Series 2 v the first gen apple watch... with some saying their watch will last 2 or even 3 days. I'm wondering if folk are seeing this improvement on their 38mm watch, or is it specifically on the 42mm variant?

The 42mm has a bigger battery... so just wondering! I'd be more interested in getting the smaller 38mm model, so curious to know if they both have seen the improvements.

 

[eyecrispy]

I have the 38mm and I can tell you there's no way I can get 2-3 days from mine. 1.5 days maybe. I usually end the day with somewhere between 25-45% remaining. Last night I must not have positioned it on the charging cradle properly so it didn't charge. It was at around 30% when I went to bed and when I woke up this morning it was a 9%. Not sure what it was doing overnight but kind of crazy.

 

[blocks992]

thats not what I wanted to hear eye crispy but thanks for reply. will go into apple store and try them both on. Battery life is a must for me, as my job means i am not always able to charge up at will.

 

[StraightlineBoy]

I've got a series 2 42mm watch and can definitely confirm that 2 days is pretty easy with this watch as long as you're not making heavy use of it as a GPS device. I think for 3 days of use you'd either be using it very sparingly or perhaps turning it off overnight would make this easily achievable.
I'd definitely say try the 42mm watch in store. I've got fairly skinny wrists and think the bigger watch is fine.

 

[tcuprof]

To be fair, I think eyecrispy probably exercises a lot and is a runner, so if that exercise is using the GPS then the battery life would be less as StraightlineBoy suggests. There are days I use more than 50% of the battery on my 42mm Nike+, but I also have as much as 150+ minutes of exercise, much of it using the GPS.

 

[anon(9343851)]

I’ve noticed a return to pre-3.1 battery life in watchOS 3.1.3. With 3.1 and the quickly pulled 3.1.1, I was getting 3 days from my 42mm Series 2, ending the third day at 20% or more.

Since 3.1.3, I finish the second day at 30% or less. My Watch now drains 2-3% per hour (same as 3.0 and earlier), with the occasional large drops that eyecrispy mentioned. With 3.1 and 3.1.1 it was draining 1% per hour or less.

No change in my schedule or usage pattern.

 

[nnahorski]

Hello there. I've got a 42 mm series 2 and I could get 2 days if I needed. I typically take mine off the charger around 6 am for a run of 4 to 5 miles, using GPS. At night, i put the watch back on the charger around 930 or 10 and have around 50 to 60% left. So, you shouldn't have any trouble getting through a day with either

 

[eyecrispy]

To be fair, I think eyecrispy probably exercises a lot and is a runner, so if that exercise is using the GPS then the battery life would be less as StraightlineBoy suggests. There are days I use more than 50% of the battery on my 42mm Nike+, but I also have as much as 150+ minutes of exercise, much of it using the GPS.

I am a runner and usually exercise 60-90 minutes a day (includes my runs). I don't use gps much if at all bc if I am running outside, I always have my phone with me.

So for example, I've been off charger since 5am and am 13.5 hours later, I'm at 56%. By the time I go to bed tonight, I'll be below 50%. I can't make it through 2 whole days. S2 is def better than S0 though.

Oh I have a 38mm watch.