After a few days with my Apple Watch Ultra I’ve now started measuring Apple Watch battery life in days and not hours.
When I picked up my Apple Watch Ultra it shipped with about 85% battery charge. Apple has never shipped me a product with a dead battery, whether that’s an iPhone, iPad, MacBook or Apple Watch. I did pop the Apple Watch Ultra on a charger when it arrived as there was a quick software update to get through as part of the initial set up process.
But for the next 50 hours, I didn’t take the watch off.
After those 50 hours, I saw my first low battery warning, telling me I still had 10% remaining. But before that, I did the following.
- completed a 6km run
- completed two walks of 3km and 4km
- two nights of sleep monitoring using the SleepWatch app
- several phone calls where I used the Apple Watch Ultra to talk to people
- numerous notifications and reminders
I haven’t yet had the opportunity to take it out for a seriously long run or hike but I know that my previous Apple Watch, a Series 5, even with a brand new battery, could not get through that time and level of activity without at least one, and more likely two, trips to the charger.
iFixIt’s teardown of the Apple Watch Ultra reveals that the battery in Apple’s first take at an ‘adventure watch’ is a 542mAh unit. In comparison, the Apple Watch Series 7’s battery weighs in a 309mAh. Little wonder Apple rates the Ultra’s battery life at double the non-Ultra models.
As the Apple Watch Ultra is pitched at people engaged in a more active lifestyle, it’s worth noting that the two to three days of battery I’ve seen lags some other similar sports watches. Some of Garmin’s range boasts battery life stretching into weeks and are equipped with integrated solar charging so they can get a top up while you’re out and about. If you’re on a multi-day hike or endurance event, that’s super useful. But I suspect Apple is catering to a different audience.
Anthony is the founder of Australian Apple News. He is a long-time Apple user and former editor of Australian Macworld. He has contributed to many technology magazines and newspapers as well as appearing regularly on radio and occasionally on TV.