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James Martin/CNET
It’s official. The Apple Watch will last up to 18 hours with normal usage. Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed the information during the company’s “Spring Forward” event in San Francisco. Battery life was one of the biggest mysteries surrounding the Apple Watch. Cook had previously hinted that the Apple Watch would need to be charged nightly.
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That 18 hours of battery life includes checking the time, receiving notifications, using apps, and doing a 30-minute workout. As with any device, battery life will vary depending on your usage.
Earlier reports had many people worried that the watch wouldn’t last a full day. It was suggested that with heavy usage the battery would last around 5 hours, although this doesn’t appear to be the case.
During a continuous workout with the heart-rate sensor turned on, the Apple Watch will last up to 7 hours, and up to 6.5 hours while continuously streaming music from the watch over Bluetooth. A special “Power Reserve” mode will automatically be switched on when the battery gets too low. This will allow you to continue to see the time for up to 72 hours.
Apple says that it takes around an hour and a half to charge the battery from zero to 80% and about 2.5 hours to get to full. The company also noted that battery claims are based off tests performed on the 38mm Apple Watch and that the 42mm model “typically experiences longer battery life.”
The battery life on the Apple Watch isn’t very impressive when compared to the competition. The Moto 360 lasted around 20 hours during our review, the Samsung Gear S can last a couple of days with the 3G turned off and we were able to get two full days out of the LG G Watch R. Not to mention that Pebble clams its new Pebble Time smartwatch will last up to 7 days on a single charge.
