Apple Watch Series 11: Advertised 24-hour battery life more of an illusion than reality
The Apple Watch Series 11 has received only a few hardware upgrades. Hypertension detection and Sleep Score are now available on the Apple Watch Series 9 and Series 10 following a free software update, while the sensors and processor remain unchanged from the previous model. Apple primarily touts one significant upgrade: a battery life increase from 18 to 24 hours.
This is significant because Apple has consistently advertised a battery life of 18 hours since the first-generation Apple Watch was released in 2014, right up to the Series 10. However, a glance at the small print reveals that the battery life is unlikely to be much longer than 18 hours, as Apple has only changed how it is calculated. For both the Series 10 and Series 11, a full battery charge is said to be sufficient for 300 display activations, 90 push notifications, 15 minutes of app use and 60 minutes of training with music playback.
The only new feature is that an additional six hours of sleep tracking is supposedly possible before the battery runs out. The fact that the runtime is unlikely to increase in practice is also shown by the fact that the smartwatch is supposed to have a runtime of 38 hours in power-saving mode, just two hours or 5.5% more than the Apple Watch Series 10, and that with even less demanding usage. While Apple measured this value for the Series 10 with 600 screen activations, 180 push notifications and 30 minutes of app use, the Series 11 only manages 530 screen activations, 160 push notifications and 26 minutes of app use.
The battery capacity of the Apple Watch Series 11 has increased from 7 to 10% depending on the model, so the runtime should be slightly longer in practice. However, there is still the problem that the battery life is barely enough for a day of intensive use. Following a few years of use and the corresponding reduction in battery capacity, even a day of economical use poses a challenge for Apple's smartwatch.
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