Apple is known for touting the “all-day battery life” of its smartwatches, but what does that really mean in practice? To cut through the marketing claims and get to the truth, HotshotTek conducted an in-depth battery life test of every Apple Watch model, from the original Series 0 to the latest Series 10 and Ultra editions. They also threw in top competitors from Samsung and Google for comparison, let’s find out how they performed.
The goal was simple but ambitious: determine which smartwatch can truly last the longest on a single charge under consistent, controlled conditions. By stress testing the devices with always-on displays at a uniform brightness, disconnected from phones, and with no external interference, we aimed to push their batteries to the limit.
Rigorous Testing Methodology
To level the playing field and ensure an apples-to-apples comparison (pun intended), we developed a strict testing protocol:
- All watches were updated to their latest respective firmware versions
- Displays were set to always-on mode at a standardized 20% brightness
- Airplane mode and focus mode were enabled to prevent any notifications or background processes from impacting battery drain
- Watches were placed on custom 3D-printed pucks with built-in “screen tappers” to keep their displays awake without allowing them to enter power reserve mode
- Devices were fully charged, then left running continuously until their batteries were depleted
We tested over a dozen smartwatches in total, encompassing Apple’s complete lineup as well as flagship models from its rivals. The full list included:
- Apple Watch Series 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 10 (both 42mm and 46mm sizes of the Series 10)
- Apple Watch SE (1st and 2nd generations)
- Apple Watch Ultra (1st and 2nd generations)
- Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra
- Google Pixel Watch 3
Battery Life Test Results
So which smartwatch ended up taking the battery life crown? Here are the full results, ranked from shortest to longest runtime:
- Series 0: 4 hours 21 minutes
- Series 1: 6 hours 53 minutes
- Series 2: 7 hours 6 minutes
- Google Pixel Watch 3: 7 hours 33 minutes
- Series 3: 6 hours 54 minutes
- Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra: 8 hours 27 minutes
- Series 4: 8 hours 10 minutes
- Series 6: 10 hours 45 minutes
- SE (1st gen): 11 hours 16 minutes
- Series 5: 12 hours 20 minutes
- Series 7: 14 hours 10 minutes
- SE (2nd gen): 15 hours 22 minutes
- Series 10 (42mm): 15 hours 56 minutes
- Ultra (1st gen): ~20 hours
- Series 10 (46mm): 20 hours 14 minutes
- Ultra (2nd gen): 35 hours
As you can see, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 was the decisive winner, lasting an impressive 35 hours in our test – nearly double that of the 46mm Series 10, the next longest-lasting model. The original Apple Watch, in contrast, sputtered out after just 4 hours and 21 minutes.
In general, we observed a clear trend of battery life improving with each new generation of Apple Watch. The Series 7 and SE 2 also posted solid numbers, while the larger 46mm size of the Series 10 significantly outlasted the smaller 42mm version.
Interestingly, competitors from Google and Samsung failed to match the endurance of Apple’s more recent models, clocking in at under 10 hours each. However, they did beat out Apple’s older watches like the Series 0-4.
Caveats and Conclusions
While we strived to maintain consistent test conditions, some factors like adaptive brightness and potential overheating may have caused slight variations in the results. We plan to conduct follow-up tests to further validate our findings.
Overall though, this evaluation provides the clearest, most standardized picture of smartwatch battery life that we’ve seen yet. The Apple Watch Ultra 2 is the undisputed battery champion, while the Series 10, 7 and SE 2 are also solid performers. For those focused on maximum stamina, it’s clear that bigger is better when it comes to Apple’s latest offerings.
We hope this in-depth testing gives you a more realistic understanding of what to expect from these smartwatches’ batteries, beyond the vague promises of “all-day” runtime. Stay tuned for more real-world tests to help inform your buying decisions.
Source & Image Credit: HotshotTek
Filed Under: Apple, Guides, Technology News, Top News
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