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Apple Watch Impacts iPhone Battery Life... One Way or the Other

Sunday April 26, 2015 1:07 pm PDT by Arnold Kim
With the launch of the Apple Watch on Friday, the first wave of consumers have received their Apple Watches. Our forums are abuzz with activity surrounding Apple's newest device. While there were initial concerns about the Apple Watch's battery life, reports seem to indicate that the Apple Watch, itself, has no problem lasting a full day.

Apple-Watch
However, there have been mixed reports about the impact the Apple Watch has on iPhone battery life. The Apple Watch needs to be paired to an iPhone for full functionality. The iPhone connects to the Apple Watch via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi to feed it data and notifications throughout the day.

Some users have found a notable improvement in iPhone battery life with the addition of an Apple Watch. This suggests the act of offloading notifications and quick interactions to your Apple Watch, could make your iPhone battery last much longer.

However, several other users have noticed a significant drain on their iPhone batteries in early usage with the Apple Watch.

Former Engadget editor Ryan Block had as similar experience and pinpointed the Apple Watch Companion app as the culprit. John Byrne also puts some blame on the Companion App, saying that force-quitting the app seemed to help at least a bit. A discussion thread in our forums provides similarly mixed results, with one user blaming his battery drain on checking email on the Apple Watch. Due to the inconsistency in reports, it seems that either a software bug or particular usage pattern could be a culprit.

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[ 148 comments ]


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Shayanftw
45 months ago
And why exactly is anyone surprised?
Rating: 37 Votes
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JeffyTheQuik
45 months ago
Well, until it ships to the user, the :apple: watch drains the battery by the user constantly checking their phone to see if it has shipped.

:mad: :p
Rating: 31 Votes
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willwritefortea
45 months ago
Battery life on my 6 has definitely gotten better. Home and lock screen usage has gone way down.

Both the watch and my phone lasted a day of normal use with no problems. Neither dipped below 30%.
Rating: 24 Votes
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bunnicula
45 months ago
I'm having absolutely no issues with iPhone battery life.

It seems pretty much the same as it did without the Apple Watch.
Rating: 23 Votes
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Brian Y
45 months ago
More relevantly, by 9:30pm with my Pebble connected my battery would be 10-20%. With my Apple watch connected it's 40%.
Rating: 18 Votes
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doelcm82
45 months ago

This is why you never buy a first gen Apple product. Let someone else be Apple's beta testing guinea pig. #S-Upgrade-Cycle-4-Life


You know what they say: Fools rush in and get to enjoy the latest device for a full year or more, where wise men kvetch and moan.
Rating: 17 Votes
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lincolntran
45 months ago
This is definitely proof that battery life of the two are directly depend on each user usage patterns. Nothing more and nothing less.
Rating: 16 Votes
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chumpy34
45 months ago
My battery life has improved as I am using my iPhone 6 much less. Absolutely loving my Sports Watch after 2 days of use.

I just experienced this, can some one let me know how this works? I left my iPhone at home, rode my bike to my gf's house with my Watch on, when I got to her house and inside (she has wi-fi) my Watch started dinging and I was seeing incoming texts and could send replies as well as emails too.

Is this because my iPhone has been on this network before? But how freaking cool is this? I can start leaving my phone home more often now and still be in touch/contact. Dang Apple!

P.S. My other watch, a Sports with black band which said 4-6 weeks, just got charged to my cc and is preparing for shipment! Wooohooo!
Rating: 15 Votes
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Keirasplace
45 months ago

Yeah, please continue to make excuses for Apple. They thrive on fan boys blindly defending their every misstep. How could you possibly take Apple's side when it is quite obvious that this first gen Apple Watch is half-baked both hardware wise and especially software wise?


Your use of the word "fanboy" is all that's needed to disregard your post. Bye.
Rating: 11 Votes
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MacFan23
45 months ago
The battery drain is likely a result of people who got their watch on Friday spending so much time playing with their new toy.

Once people start to calm down and start using them in a more normal way, I expect the reported battery problems to go away.
Rating: 9 Votes

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