Expanded Low-Power Mode in watchOS 9 Will Work With More Apps and Features

watchOS 9 will feature a new power-saving mode that will let users use an Apple Watch and its apps and features without taking up a significant amount of battery life, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported today.

watchOS 8 Green BG Feature
Currently, the Apple Watch features "Power Reserve" mode, which greatly limits Apple Watch functionality to only show users the time. With watchOS 9, Apple is looking to port over Low Power Mode from the iPhone to the Apple Watch, letting users use apps and features while using less battery life.

For watchOS 9, Apple also is planning a new low-power mode that is designed to let its smartwatch run some apps and features without using as much battery life. Currently, Apple Watches in low-power mode -- known on the device as Power Reserve -- can only access the time. The company is also planning to refresh many of its built-in watch faces currently shipping with the device.

The added new feature in watchOS 9 is part of Apple's overall efforts to improve battery life on the Apple Watch, which has remained mainly stagnant over the years.

watchOS 9 will also include a new detection feature for atrial fibrillation that will track how long an individual has been in a state of atrial fibrillation, according to Bloomberg. Apple will preview iOS 16, iPadOS 16, macOS 13, and watchOS 9 during WWDC from June 6 through June 10.

Related Roundup: watchOS 26
Related Forum: Apple Watch

Popular Stories

M3 iPad Air

Apple's Next Two Products Are Coming Soon

Thursday February 12, 2026 11:17 am PST by
Apple plans to release an iPhone 17e and an iPad Air with an M4 chip "in the coming weeks," according to the latest word from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "Apple retail employees say that inventory of the iPhone 16e has basically dried out and the iPad Air is seeing shortages as well," said Gurman. "I've been expecting new versions of both (iPhone 17e and M4 iPad Air) in the coming weeks."...
Apple Sales Coach App

Apple Launching New 'Sales Coach' App

Friday February 13, 2026 2:01 pm PST by
Apple plans to launch a rebranded "Sales Coach" app on the iPhone and iPad later this month, according to a source familiar with the matter. "Sales Coach" will arrive as an update to Apple's existing "SEED" app, and it will continue to provide sales tips and training resources to Apple Store and Apple Authorized Reseller employees around the world. For example, there are articles and videos...
m5 macbook pro deal

Why You Shouldn't Buy the Next MacBook Pro

Tuesday February 10, 2026 4:27 pm PST by
Apple is planning to launch new MacBook Pro models as soon as early March, but if you can, this is one generation you should skip because there's something much better in the works. We're waiting on 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, with few changes other than the processor upgrade. There won't be any tweaks to the design or the display, but later this...
Coffee Burgundy and Purple iPhone 18 Pro Mock

Five iPhone 18 Pro Features Revealed in New Report

Friday February 13, 2026 8:43 am PST by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are still seven months away, an analyst has revealed five new features the devices will allegedly have. Rumored color options for the iPhone 18 Pro models In a research note with investment firm GF Securities on Thursday, analyst Jeff Pu outlined the following upgrades for the iPhone 18 Pro models: Smaller Dynamic Island: It has been rumored...
macbook air prime day 2025

M5 MacBook Air: Release Date, Features, and Performance Predictions

Wednesday February 11, 2026 3:36 am PST by
The MacBook Air is Apple's most popular laptop – a thin, fanless machine that wields quiet power thanks to the efficiency of Apple silicon. While the M4 model isn't exactly old, attention is already turning to its successor. Apple doesn't telegraph new product launches ahead of time, but we can draw a surprisingly clear picture of what to expect by looking at Apple's silicon roadmap,...

Top Rated Comments

50 months ago
Finaly just make them work without depending on the iPhone.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
50 months ago
Sounds good to me. I really wish I could get at least 2 days off my watch battery.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
50 months ago
Would be nice to see 3-4 day battery while on low power mode
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
50 months ago

seriously, make it 2 mm thicker and double the battery life, your consumers would prefer that to an imperceptibly thicker device.
count me out. I don't want a chunky tech watch protruding from my wrist.

I agree that current battery life isn't good enough, I had a Xiaomi Mi Fit that could do like 14 days, but also did about a tenth of the things my AW does.

At this point I've gotten used to finding an hour in my day to charge my watch. Whether it's during my shower, while sleeping, or working from my desk.

Upgrading from a s6 to s8 this year and I'm looking forward to the increased charging speeds that were introduced with s7. Even though I already charge over USB-C and I take advantage of the charge-speed improvements that came with series 6, it could always be better!
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kylo83 Avatar
50 months ago
Just let us make our own watch faces from
3rd partys
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Robert.Walter Avatar
50 months ago

It’s gonna be called…Ultra Low Power Mode.
I can see the ads now:

“Limbo Power Mode …
… how low can you go?”
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)