This year’s new Apple Watch models come with a variety of upgrades, including battery improvements on the Ultra 3 and Series 11. But looking into the fine print reveals that Apple’s battery estimates come with an important asterisk.
Apple’s battery estimates now include sleep tracking, but didn’t before
Battery life is one of the most important features of any mobile device. Any battery gains tend to be a big deal for users.
But historically, the Apple Watch has offered more or less the same battery life over time. The Ultra’s debut offered the first big upgrade in that department, but it was an entirely new model with a much higher cost.
That consistency over time is why this year’s battery gains seemed like such a big deal.
Apple Watch Ultra 3 gets up to 42 hours in normal use, increased from 36 hours on Ultra 2
gets up to 42 hours in normal use, increased from 36 hours on Ultra 2 Apple Watch Series 11 gets up to 24 hours in normal use, increased from 18 on Series 10
In both cases, the new models offer six hours of extra use.
But as pointed out on the MacRumors forums, there’s an important catch.
Apple’s website reveals that the battery tests for Ultra 3 and Series 11 include six hours of sleep tracking in their estimate.
With previous models, the tests didn’t include that six hours of sleep tracking.
What does that mean? Two things:
Ultra 3 and Series 11 do have better battery life than before, since six hours of sleep tracking still has a battery cost But you shouldn’t expect six extra hours of active, daytime use
Sleep tracking is one of the most power-efficient features of watchOS. If you haven’t previously used your Watch for sleep tracking, the new Sleep Score feature might be a good reason to start.
Even if you don’t use your Watch to sleep track, you should still experience a longer lasting battery with Apple’s new models, but the gains will likely be smaller than you might think.
How much smaller? We’ll have to wait for reviews to start circulating to find out.
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