I’m just back from a week of holidays, camping in a temperate rainforest a few hours away from home. With no cellular coverage and limited access to power, I had to find a way to keep my Apple Watch Ultra 1 and iPhone 15 Pro alive. Part of that was achieved with my trusted Mophie power bank. But Low Power Mode covered me nicely on a couple of five-plus hour hikes and through the week.
I’m going to jump straight to the chase. Using Low Power Mode did not impact the usefulness of my Apple Watch Ultra. I was able to use the watch exactly as I did when in normal power mode. I went hiking using the All Trails app, I went swimming at a local pool. It tracked my steps, sleep, daily activity and gave me access to the apps I often use.
Battery life was at least 50% better than usual. For example, on a five and half hour hike, battery life dropped by just 40% despite using GPS with All Trails to ensure I didn’t get lost when the trail disappeared under fallen trees and dense undergrowth. In contrast, I’ve had past Apple Watch units run precariously low after five or six hours of using navigation apps.
How to turn Low Power Mode on
- Press the Side Button on the Apple Watch. This is the button below the Digital Crown. This activates the Control Centre.
- Tap on the Battery level widget.
- Tap on the Low Power Mode icon.
- Choose either
- Turn On to enable Low Power Mode. Low Power Mode will turns off automatically when your battery is charged to 80%.
- Turn On For… to choose whether to enable Low Power Mode for either one, two or three days.
What does Lower Power change on your Apple Watch
Apple Watch Low Power Mode disables a number of features across a number of different functions. These include how the display is used, some health features and the start workout reminder.
The Workout app continues to collect data such as heart rate and there’s no impact on the GPS.
If you want to prolong battery life without all the other Low Power Mode features, you can reduce the number of GPS and heart readings by opening the Settings app on your Apple Watch, scrolling down to Workout and turning on “Fewer GPS and Heart Rate Readings”.
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.