It’s not your thing, it’s a reality that Apple Watches have less battery life since their arrival watchOS 11. It was in September when this version was launched and although we already had an update with watchOS 11.0.1 and we also already have the final beta version of watchOS 11.1, the truth is that it didn’t improve things much.
As it stands, I have no choice but to throw the blanket over my head and try to fix it myself. With a series of adjustments I managed to regain some autonomy. Of course, I already warn you that this requires some sacrifices in terms of functionality, but at least it works and on some occasions I managed to get up to two hours of extra battery life.
No apparent reason for battery drain
I wouldn’t say this happens across the board. However, many friends and acquaintances have reported battery life issues with their Apple Watch. Also on the forums we can read many complaints and they all agree on something: this did not happen with watchOS 10 (nor its successive updates).
There are several reasons why an Apple Watch battery lasts less. How bad they are is the fundamental thing. It also depends on the model you have. Likewise, if a new, resource-intensive function is added in an update, it is clear that autonomy will decrease.
However, on this occasion This doesn’t seem to make any sense. This apparently happens well on Apple Watch models in terms of battery health and virtually overnight (after updating to watchOS 11). Also in this version, new functions acting in the background are added.
SO, everything indicates that it is an error and unfortunately this has no solution at the moment. I have been testing the RC of watchOS 11 for several days, which a priori will be the same version that will reach everyone next week and the problem persists, so Apple is choking and we will have to cross our fingers that they launch a hypothetical watchOS 11.1.1 which fixes it.
Six settings with which I managed to save battery in watchOS 11
I already warned at the beginning that this is a process that requires sacrificing some functions. I would love to provide a magic cure that, with the slightest impact (if at all), would leave us with the same autonomy again. However, such a miracle does not exist, or at least I have not found it.
- Exit “Always displayed”. This is a classic for saving battery on the Apple Watch and I admit that I hate turning it off because I love the always-on screen feature. However, we must go through this if we want to gain autonomy. Of course, in my case, I admit to cheating and usually wear it during my work day (then turn it off later). It can be removed from the “Watch” app on iPhone by typing Afair >Pscreen and brightness >Pscreen always active. If you prefer, there is a shortcut that makes it more convenient.
- That the screen only lights up if you touch itthus preventing accidental wrist rotation from turning on and consuming battery power. This is something that, together with the above, saves a few hours of battery life. It can also be deactivated from the ‘Watch’ application, by going to Settings > Screen and brightness > Activate by raising your wrist.
- Reduce active screen time following almost identical instructions, Settings > Screen and brightness > Active Screen Duration. It is advisable to set a period of 15 seconds so that the screen does not stay on for too long. However, it is best that after using or viewing something on the watch, you are the one to turn it off by placing your hand on the screen.
- Use spheres in which black predominatesthus avoiding spheres with color photos and those that allow backgrounds with color degradation. The priority to the black color is due to the very nature of the OLED panel of the Apple Watch, since in this type of screen black is expressed with off pixels and therefore energy consumption is reduced.
- The fewer complications, the better.. And no, I don’t mean that we don’t complicate our lives, but rather what Apple calls it and what are all these indicators of spheres like temperature, date, calendar, as well as third-party applications. In my case, I had just what I needed: the time (which is still there), the date, the temperature and the reminders. It is advisable to avoid the more complicated spheres in order to reduce background updates.
- See you soon, Siri. The Assistant is still on my Apple Watch if I press the Digital Crown, but it won’t activate if I say “Hey Siri.” This is a function that consumes resources because we always have to know if we are invoking it, so it is advisable to deactivate it from the ‘Watch’ application, by entering Siri > Activate when you hear “Hey Siri”. It is also recommended, for similar reasons, to deactivate the “Raise to speak” option.
And that’s it. There are obviously other settings that save battery life. However, my intention was to extend the autonomy a little more without having to abandon everything and change my experience of using the device.
As things stand, I hope and wish that In later updates this issue will be fixed and we can re-enable these settings which we have now limited to save battery. Please, Apple.
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