The Apple Watch will soon get a real power-saving option that can provide up to 60 hours of extra battery life. The update is rolling out now.
Apple gives watchOS 9 a proper power-saving mode
In a new update of watch OS 9 for the Apple Watch, Apple finally comes with a real power-saving mode. It can extend the watch's battery life when you need it.
This power-saving mode can be activated manually via the Control Center or the Settings menu. It also appears as an option when the watch has ten percent of the battery left.
Then it automatically turns off when the battery reaches 80 percent during charging.
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Power saving function turns off important functions
The power-saving mode turns off the more demanding functions. These include Always on Display, notifications from the heart rate monitor, tracking of arrhythmia, measurement of pulse and oxygen in the blood, and more. Exercise reminders are also turned off.
Interestingly enough, if there is no iPhone connected to the watch nearby, Wi-Fi and the mobile network are switched off. Incoming calls and notifications don't get through either. If you need certain apps that need data or Wi-Fi connectivity, of course, the system turns it back on.
And if the watch is near a paired iPhone, it delays notifications and sends them in bulk every hour.
Of course, the overall performance of the watch when in power-saving mode is also reduced, so animations and using the watch are not the same.
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Up to 60 hours of extra battery time
All Apple Watch that can be updated to the new watchOS 9 versions will get the update with the power saving feature. The Apple Watch Ultra should get the most joy from the update, which should give it a full 60 hours of extra battery life.
The update should be rolling out now, coming to Apple Watch 4 and above.
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