Apple’s battery estimates when it comes to the Apple Watch are typically conservative. For example, the company only predicts about 24 hours for the Series 11, but we got 43 hours out of it in testing. Still, that all depends on how often you use it and what you’re doing with it. During a typical day, my Series 10 will get me through a full day, but it can run low sooner if it’s a day of heavy usage. To keep my watch going longer, whether I’m using it to track sleep or wearing it during a long travel day, these tricks always help.
How to Check Battery Life
Don’t know how much of a charge is left? You can check battery life in several ways. Press the Side button on your watch to display the Control Center. The battery icon shows the current percentage of the remaining charge. To get more details, go to Settings, swipe down, and select Battery. The screen displays the current level, the levels from the past day to today, and the level when you last charged it.
(Credit: PCMag / Apple)
1. Turn on Low Power Mode
Just like your iPhone, your Apple Watch has a low-power mode that aims to preserve battery life by disabling or limiting certain features and settings. This mode turns off the following:
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Background blood oxygen and heart rate measurements, including those during sleep.
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Collection of heart data for hypertension notifications.
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Heart rate notifications for irregular rhythm, high heart rate, and low heart rate.
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Always On display.
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Gestures for double-tap and wrist flick.
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Reminders to start a workout.
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The time in daylight view.
This can also affect phone calls and Siri requests. Background app refreshes, complications, and Live Activities will occur less frequently. Additionally, some animations and scrolling might appear less smooth.
(Credit: PCMag / Apple)
Your watch will prompt you to turn on Lower Power Mode when your battery charge drops to a certain level, but you can also enable it manually at any time. To do this on your watch, press the Side button to launch Control Center and tap Battery percentage > Low Power Mode (or Settings > Battery > Low Power Mode) and then tap Turn On to enable it until you turn it off or Turn On For to turn it on for one, two, or three days.
A yellow icon appears at the top of the screen to indicate when you’re in Low Power Mode. To turn off this mode, just return to the battery settings screen and tap the Lower Power Mode On button or turn off the switch next to Lower Power Mode.
(Credit: PCMag / Apple)
2. Disable the Always On Display
The Always On Display keeps the watch screen on even when your wrist is down or you’re not looking at it. This feature is enabled by default on the Apple Watch Series 5 and later, the Apple Watch SE 3, and the Apple Watch Ultra and later. Though this sounds handy, it can drain your battery. Low Power Mode automatically turns this off, but you can also turn it off separately if you don’t want to impact the other features and settings. Go to Settings > Display & Brightness > Always On and turn off the switch.
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(Credit: PCMag / Apple)
3. Stop Wake on Wrist Raise
By default, your Apple Watch turns on and displays the screen when you raise your wrist. But like other features, this one can also eat into your battery charge. To disable it, go to Settings > Display & Brightness and turn off the Wake on Wrist Raise feature. To view the screen with this option turned off, just tap on it. You can also control how long the screen stays on when you tap it. Select the Wake Duration option, and you’re able to set the screen to stay awake for 15 seconds or 70 seconds.
(Credit: PCMag / Apple)
4. Turn Off Battery Optimization
With a feature called battery optimization, your Apple Watch analyzes your daily charging routine to improve your overall battery life. Some Apple Watches also offer an optimized charging limit that determines when your device should stop charging. But these options can reduce the time your watch runs between charges. To turn these off, at least temporarily, go to Settings > Battery > Battery Health. You can then turn off Optimized Battery Charging or Optimized Charge Limit. You can then opt to turn these off completely or only until tomorrow.
(Credit: PCMag / Apple)
5. Turn on Airplane Mode
If you’re in an area where you don’t need connectivity, you can turn on Airplane mode just as on your iPhone. Doing so helps preserve the battery charge. But here, you also have a couple of options. Go to Settings > Airplane Mode, then turn it off to disable Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. This will sever the Bluetooth connection between your watch and iPhone. For that reason, you may want to just turn off Wi-Fi and leave Bluetooth enabled.
(Credit: PCMag / Apple)
About Our Expert
Lance Whitney
Contributor
Experience
I’ve been working for PCMag since early 2016 writing tutorials, how-to pieces, and other articles on consumer technology. Beyond PCMag, I’ve written news stories and tutorials for a variety of other websites and publications, including CNET, ZDNet, TechRepublic, Macworld, PC World, Time, US News & World Report, and AARP Magazine. I spent seven years writing breaking news for CNET as one of the site’s East Coast reporters. I’ve also written two books for Wiley & Sons—Windows 8: Five Minutes at a Time and Teach Yourself Visually LinkedIn.
I’ve used Windows, Office, and other Microsoft products for years so I’m well versed in that world. I also know the Mac quite well. I’m always working with iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and Android on my various mobile devices. And these days, I write a lot about AI, so that’s become another key area for me.
My wife always jokes about all the tech products we have around the house, but I manage to put them to good use for my articles. I like Lenovo computers, so I own a couple of Lenovo desktops and several laptops. I have three MacBooks and a Mac mini. For my mobile life and work, I use an iPhone 16 Pro, iPad Pro, and iPad mini as well as an Apple Watch. But since I write about Android, I own several Android phones and tablets. Like any tech person, I have a cabinet full of cables, wires, and assorted mysterious gadgets. And when it’s time to take a break from writing, I have an old Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii, both of which I use for exercise and fitness games.
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