Kit Eaton (apologies to Kit, got his name wrong in the original post), writing for Medium, addresses the recent rumors about Apple Watch battery life, calling the whole discussion silly.
19 hours sounds very reasonable. Picture yourself looking at and interacting with your watch for 2–3 seconds at a time as you read notifications, with the occasional 10–20 seconds used to respond to something like a tweet or text message. Add in less frequent longer interactions lasting a few minutes (like making a phone call or playing a game—even though we don’t know how much game play Apple will allow in watch apps) and then that 3-hour “heavy” use window looks quite generous. You wouldn’t want to stare at such a small screen for much longer each day anyway. It’s also a first generation device, and Apple’s proven advanced product development techniques will certainly deliver more power in version 2
The Apple Watch is slated to ship in April. That first generation will go to early adopters who, by their very pioneering nature, will revel in the newness, accept any flaws as the cost of being first.
The rest of Marcel’s essay focuses on the history of the watch, grappling with the problems in making timekeeping portable:
Ever since clockmakers worked out how to make clocks portable there was an almost continuous technological struggle between how much “battery life” and capability the devices had. This affected the first pocket watches and wristwatches, and pretty much every watch ever since.
A solid read.
There is something infinitely more personal about a watch, and as such, I think the battery thing WILL be an issue for me. I have a Pebble right now and a week is really the minimum that makes sense. I find that if it doesn’t last that long i forget to wear it. Its not just something you pick up and you don’t rely on it like your phone. The issue is, its an extender, not the workhorse, so you can forget it and not be at a loss for it. It makes the device non-critical. I don’t think it will hurt sales, but I think it might hurt longevity.
Agreed, I don’t like the idea of having another device to charge every night especially one that’s playing a supporting role. I’m excited about the potential of Apple watch, but I’ll hold off until the battery can last a few days or there is a compelling feature.
Charging time is the elephant in the room (if not for the first iteration, surely by R2).
Battery life could well be a complete non-issue if a full, or nearly full charge can be accomplished while we’re in the shower, for example.
The idea that a watch like this should last longer than Apple’s targets kinda grosses me out. Take the damn thing off and charge it when you go to bed (or whenever you can tear yourself away from your important life.
Obviously it’s speculation, but given the charging capacities of modern batteries I could see it charging quite rapidly; at the very least you can get the 80% of capacity for far less than 80% of the time. An iPod touch, for instance, has about a 1000 mAh battery and gets to 80% charge in 2 hours. If the Apple watch has a battery size comparable to other smartwatches of similar caliber (300-400 mAh), a near-full charge in less than an hour seems feasible. The only question for me is if induction charging can be as efficient as the charging via 30pin/Lightning we have as a frame of reference.
“other smartwatches of similar caliber (300-400 mAh), a near-full charge in less than an hour seems feasible.”
Yes. This means a full-day charge (80PC of 19 hours-isn) might be accomplished whilst showering or eating breakfast.
I do hope this is the case, as I’d much rather read news about new and innovative Watch apps than about battery life criticisms.
Just because Apple is making the device, doesn’t mean that you have to put blinders on. They are obviously worried about battery life too. Their goal may not be right the first time, but that doesn’t mean the watch is dead in the water. Improvements are part of the natural cycle, but I know how I work and I put good money on the fact that ill likely turn this into an expensive paperweight most of the time.
You still list it as “Marcel’s essay” before the second block.