A smartwatch can be an extremely useful device – allowing you to track your health and fitness, manage notifications, make calls, play music, and much more, right from your wrist. However, like all gadgets, smartwatches need power to function and getting the most out of your battery life is key to having the best experience. Poor battery life can severely limit what your smartwatch is capable of and turn a high-tech wonder into a useless bracelet.
You can maximize your smartwatch’s battery life by following some simple tips and being smart about managing settings, activity, and charging. Read on for comprehensive advice on getting the longest runtime possible!
Understanding Smartwatch Battery Life
To maximize your smartwatch’s battery life, it’s important first to understand what factors impact battery performance and the average battery runtimes of today’s most popular smartwatches.
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What Impacts Battery Life
Many variables affect how long your smartwatch’s charge will last between full cycles:
- Display and Interactivity – The screen is one of the biggest battery drains. Usage time, brightness level, rising to wake, and always-on display mode all impact this significantly. Any user input like tapping, scrolling, and voice commands also takes power.
- Sensors and Tracking – Activity tracking sensors like GPS, heart rate monitor, accelerometer and altimeter use extra battery runtime whenever activated. Features like workout detection also use more juice.
- Notifications and Apps – Battery is needed to power notification checks and app data refreshes. Complex watch faces, music storage/playback, and 3rd party apps can be more taxing.
- Connectivity – Bluetooth, WiFi, mobile data, and NFC all require a battery to maintain connections. Signal strength also plays a role – poor signal demands more power for the same tasks.
- Features and Modes – Power modes, health tracking, onboard storage usage, and microphone access for voice assistants also all influence available battery life.
As you can see, running a computer on your wrist leads to a lot of potential battery drain! Being aware of which features impact your runtime the most will help you manage it better.
Average Battery Life of Popular Smartwatches
Modern smartwatches vary widely in terms of typical runtimes thanks to differences in size, display technology, processor efficiency and more. Here are the average expected battery lives for some current popular models:
| Smartwatch | Battery Life |
| Apple Watch Series 8 | ~18 hours |
| Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 | ~24-50 hours |
| Fitbit Sense 2 | ~6 days |
| Garmin fēnix 7 | ~10-18 days |
As you can see, Apple and Samsung’s full-featured watches require almost daily charging, while some fitness trackers like those from Fitbit and Garmin can potentially go days or weeks between charges by limiting fancy smart features.
Now let’s look at some great ways to start maximizing the battery life you can get from your smartwatch!
Tips to Maximize Battery Life
Implementing some smart management of settings, activity, features, and charging habits can vastly improve your battery runtime. Try out these tips to keep your smartwatch going longer!
Adjust Screen Brightness
The display is one of the biggest reasons our smartwatches need frequent charging. Keeping brightness lower extends battery life more than any other single action!
Set brightness to around 30-40% or enable auto-brightness so the watch can dim based on ambient light. You’ll still have a visible screen and get hours more run time.
Limit GPS and Connectivity Usage
GPS, mobile data, WiFi and Bluetooth all require significant power to actively scan/connect. Be smart about usage:
- Turn GPS off when not navigating or tracking outdoor activity. Enable only for workouts.
- Use WiFi over mobile data whenever available – it’s much more efficient.
- Switch Bluetooth connections OFF when not using wireless headphones/accessories.
Manage Notifications and App Usage
It takes battery to power the antenna for notification checks and display alerts. Restrict this usage:
- Disable notifications from non-vital apps. Limit vibrating alerts.
- Close apps when you’re done using them or restrict background activity.
- Limit updates and syncing for unimportant apps like games/social media.
This reduces unnecessary battery drain in the background.
Turn Off Unnecessary Features
Modern smartwatches offer many “nice-to-have” features that aren’t always needed. Temporarily disabling them can save power:
- Always-on Display
- Automatic Workout Detection
- Pulse Ox Sensor Readings
- Sleep Tracking and Stages
- Heart Rate Zone Alerts
- Cellular Standby
Re-enable features as required!
Use Battery Saving Mode
Most smartwatches have a dedicated low-power mode that pauses selected features and limits performance to extend battery life at critical times.
Things that battery saver mode turns off/limits:
- Always-On Display
- GPS and Connectivity
- Notifications
- Performance (processor speed)
- Vibration Intensity
- Screen Refresh Rate
Turn this on manually when the battery drops below 20% for hours more usage when needed. The impact to usability is minimal for basic functions like time/activity tracking.
Charge Regularly and Properly
Proper charging technique maximizes overall battery lifespan:
- Recharge more often for shorter periods – don’t let the battery run down fully each time before charging.
- Avoid overheating – don’t charge covered under pillows/blankets.
- Let battery levels cool to 40-50% before recharging for maximum longevity.
- Use a manufacturer charger for optimal efficiency and battery care.
Following best practices keeps batteries in good health for hundreds of charge cycles!
Update Software
Run regular software updates so your smartwatch operating system and apps remain optimized with latest fixes/upgrades from the manufacturer. Updates often improve:
- Efficiency of processes like notifications and GPS usage resulting in battery gains.
- Charging algorithms for protecting battery lifespan long-term.
- Bugs that inadvertently drain the battery.
Updating takes little effort and helps ensure peak performance!
Additional Tips
Some other ways to maximize smartwatch battery life:
- Set screen timeout to 15-30 seconds to reduce active display time
- Enable flight/cinema/do not disturb modes when unneeded
- Select basic watch face designs without seconds hand
- Disable WiFi/Bluetooth device connections not currently in use
- Test battery life in various usage profiles and limit worst offenders
- Factory reset the watch after major software updates
- Contact manufacturer support if hardware issues suspected
Mistakes to Avoid
Just as there are many ways to improve battery runtime through careful management, there are also some common mistakes that can quickly ruin your smartwatch’s charge:
Charging Errors
- Leaving the watch on while charging instead of powering off
- Wearing and using the device while it’s plugged in and charging
- Attempting to charge in hot environments like under pillows or in direct sunlight, causing battery temperature buildup
Software Issues
- Allowing many apps to run services and background updates
- Missing important software/firmware updates
- Letting operating system battery management get stuck with bad data
Activity Behavior
- Having always-on display, GPS and maximum brightness enabled at all times
- Using battery-hungry music playback features over cellular
- Tracking ultra-long workouts with heart rate monitoring
Avoiding obvious battery-draining habits will go hand in hand with the battery-maximizing best practices outlined above. Be vigilant and your smartwatch battery life will thank you!
Conclusion
Getting good battery life from your smartwatch ensures you can take full advantage of its features without worrying about constantly recharging. By understanding what impacts your battery runtime and implementing battery maximization tips – like managing display use, restricting background activity, using battery saver mode judiciously, charging properly, and avoiding common mistakes – you can extend the time between charges and improve your overall wearable experience.
The above comprehensive guide covers key principles for getting the most out of your smartwatch battery. With this advice, your fancy wrist computer will be able to keep up with your lifestyle!