Apple Watch battery life potentially revealed

Battery life expectations for the upcoming Apple i̶W̶a̶t̶c̶h̶ Watch have leaked online, giving us a glimpse of what sort of life we can expect to squeeze out of it in between charges.

The information come from 9to5mac’s sources, who are said to be individuals “with knowledge of the Apple Watch’s development”, but it’s always best to take these things with a pinch of salt, especially as final retail versions of products normally undergo final optimisations and tweaks before launch.

Before we jump into typical usage times, let’s look at some hardware. Apple has chosen to power the Watch with its S1 chip, which is comparable to the A5 processor found within the current generation iPod Touch.

The Watch’s Retina display also apparently runs at an impressive 60 frames per second, while the whole operation is run by a stripped-down version of iOS codenamed SkiHill. As for the actual battery capacity of the Watch itself? That sadly remains a mystery, for the time being at least. That processor and high-quality screen both sound great for running apps, but also suggest that the Watch will guzzle power.

With all that said, let’s take a look at what we could see in terms of battery life.

Apple has reportedly been stress-testing the Watch’s battery life using stock and third-party apps. Source report that Apple is aiming for 2.5 hours of heavy application use, which includes intensive gameplay. That gets bumped up to 3.5 hours of standard app use, and up to four hours of pure fitness tracking.

And as an actual watch? Well, we’re apparently looking at three hours of displaying an always-on clock face with watch ticking animations, if nothing else is used on the device.

Overall, Apple is aiming for two or three days in standby/low-power mode, with roughly a full day of usage.

If you’re a current user of an Android Wear watch like the LG G Watch R, then these numbers will seem low. Considering that the G Watch R can last one and a half days with an always-on watch face, the Apple Watch’s three hour figure looks paltry in comparison. And that’s putting it mildly.

There are of course, some things to consider. The Apple Watch’s processor and 60fps screen are clearly hungry for power. While that appears to have a negative impact on battery life, it could also make up for it with high quality apps – an area which Android Wear is currently lacking in.

As long as the Apple Watch lasts a day with moderate use, then that’s fine by us. If people are left with expensive bricks on their wrists come dinner time however, then we expect there’ll be quite a few disappointed gadgeteers out there come launch day.

We’ll be sure to put the Apple Watch through its paces when we have our final review unit on our wrists, so stay tuned for a proper battery life rundown and our final impressions.

READ MORE: Apple Watch preview

[9to5mac]

About

Esat has been a gadget fan ever since his tiny four-year-old brain was captivated by a sound-activated dancing sunflower. From there it was a natural progression to a Sega Mega Drive, a brief obsession with hedgehogs, and a love for all things tech. After 7 years as a writer and deputy editor for Stuff, Esat ventured out into the corporate world, spending three years as Editor of Microsoft's European News Centre. Now a freelance writer, his appetite for shiny gadgets has no bounds. Oh, and like all good human beings, he's very fond of cats.