From the original Apple Watch right up to the Apple Watch Ultra and Series 8, here is a complete guide to Apple Watch battery life – inc. sizes, performance, and charging times.

The Apple Watch is the world’s most popular wearable. As smartwatches go, the Apple Watch is normally what people think of when they hear the term smartwatch. However, as you will see in this guide, the Apple Watch does have one small problem: battery life.

The battery life on the Apple Watch – even Apple’s latest models – is not very good. With Apple Watch, you will have to charge up the wearable every day – or every other day if you’re lucky. The reason for this, however, is simple: Apple Watch does a lot of stuff but it has a small battery.

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Apple clearly sees the Apple Watch’s many features and abilities as a fair trade-off for battery life. Me? I prefer a wearable that doesn’t need charging every 24 hours. This is why I use Garmin watches which not only last way longer (anywhere from a week to a month, depending on the model) but are also far better at tracking your running activities.

Still, Apple Watch is immensely popular. And in the table below, you can see how big the battery is inside each of Apple’s Apple Watch models, as well as how long it takes to charge up.

And if you’re looking to compare the SIZES of different Apple Watch models, Check out our complete list of Apple Watch sizes here.

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Apple Watch Battery Sizes Comparison Chart

WATCH MODEL	BATTERY SIZE	BATTERY LIFE	CHARGE TIME
Apple Watch Ultra	542 mAh	36 Hours	1.5 hours to 80%; 2.5 hours to 100%
Apple Watch SE (2nd Edition)	296 mAh	18 Hours	1.5 hours to 80%; 2.5 hours to 100%
Apple Watch Series 8	308 mAh	18 Hours	1.5 hours to 80%; 2.5 hours to 100%
Apple Watch Series 7	284 mAh	18 Hours	1.5 hours to 80%; 2.5 hours to 100%
Apple Watch SE (1st Edition)	296 mAh	18 Hours	1.5 hours to 80%; 2.5 hours to 100%
Apple Watch Series 6	303.8 mAh	18 Hours	1.5 hours to 80%; 2.5 hours to 100%
Apple Watch Series 5 (GPS)	296 mAh	18 hours	1.5 hours to 80%; 2.5 hours to 100%
Apple Watch Series 5 Nike (GPS)	296 mAh	18 hours	1.5 hours to 80%; 2.5 hours to 100%
Apple Watch Series 5 (GPS + Cellular)	296 mAh	18 hours	1.5 hours to 80%; 2.5 hours to 100%
Apple Watch Series 5 Nike (GPS + Cellular)	296 mAh	18 hours	1.5 hours to 80%; 2.5 hours to 100%
Apple Watch Series 5 Hermes (GPS + Cellular)	296 mAh	18 hours	1.5 hours to 80%; 2.5 hours to 100%
Apple Series 5 Watch Edition (GPS + Cellular)	296 mAh	18 hours	1.5 hours to 80%; 2.5 hours to 100%
Apple Watch Series 4 (GPS)	291.8 mAh	18 hours	1.5 hours to 80%; 2 hours to 100%
Apple Watch Series 4 Nike+ (GPS)	291.8 mAh	18 hours	1.5 hours to 80%; 2 hours to 100%
Apple Watch Series 4 (GPS + Cellular)	291.8 mAh	18 hours	1.5 hours to 80%; 2 hours to 100%
Apple Watch Series 4 Nike+ (GPS + Cellular)	291.8 mAh	18 hours	1.5 hours to 80%; 2 hours to 100%
Apple Watch Series 4 Hermes (GPS + Cellular)	291.8 mAh	18 hours	1.5 hours to 80%; 2 hours to 100%
Apple Watch Series 3 (GPS)	279 mAh; 38mm 352 mAh; 42mm	18 hours	1.5 hours to 80%; 2 hours to 100%
Apple Watch Series 3 Nike+ (GPS)	279 mAh; 38mm 352 mAh; 42mm	18 hours	1.5 hours to 80%; 2 hours to 100%
Apple Watch Series 3 (GPS + Cellular)	279 mAh; 38mm 352 mAh; 42mm	18 hours	1.5 hours to 80%; 2 hours to 100%
Apple Watch Series 3 Nike+ (GPS + Cellular)	279 mAh; 38mm 352 mAh; 42mm	18 hours	1.5 hours to 80%; 2 hours to 100%
Apple Watch Series 3 Hermes (GPS + Cellular)	279 mAh; 38mm 352 mAh; 42mm	18 hours	1.5 hours to 80%; 2 hours to 100%
Apple Watch Series 3 Edition (GPS + Cellular)	279 mAh; 38mm 352 mAh; 42mm	18 hours	1.5 hours to 80%; 2 hours to 100%
Apple Watch Series 2	273 mAh; 38mm 334 mAh; 42mm	1 day	1.5 hours to 80%; 2 hours to 100%
Apple Watch Series 2 Nike+	273 mAh; 38mm 334 mAh; 42mm	1 day	1.5 hours to 80%; 2 hours to 100%
Apple Watch Series 2 Hermes	273 mAh; 38mm 334 mAh; 42mm	1 day	1.5 hours to 80%; 2 hours to 100%
Apple Watch Series 2 Edition	273 mAh; 38mm 334 mAh; 42mm	1 day	1.5 hours to 80%; 2 hours to 100%
Apple Watch Series 1	246 mAh; 38mm 250 mAh; 42mm	1 day	1 hour to 80%; 1.3 hours to 100%
Apple Watch 1st Generation	205 mAh	1 day	1 hour to 80%; 1.3 hours to 100%
Apple Watch Sport 1st Generation	205 mAh	1 day	1 hour to 80%; 1.3 hours to 100%
Apple Watch 1st Generation Hermes	205 mAh	1 day	1 hour to 80%; 1.3 hours to 100%
Apple Watch 1st Generation Edition	205 mAh	1 day	1 hour to 80%; 1.3 hours to 100%

Apple Watch Battery Size By Model

What Are The Differences?

As you can see, nearly all of Apple’s Apple Watch, save for the Apple Watch Ultra, have very similar battery life. You’re looking at around 18 hours from a single charge on Apple’s latest models – including the Apple Watch SE (2nd Edition), the Apple Watch Series 8, and the Apple Watch Series 7. This means, on a single charge, you’ll get a full day’s usage from any of Apple’s modern Apple Watch models.

Is this good? Not really, especially if you want to monitor your sleeping habits. This is why many health nuts and hardcore athletes prefer to use Garmin watches – they last for up to a month in some cases on a single charge and they track literally every health metric you can think of. The Garmin Fenix 7, for instance, costs slightly more than the Apple Watch Ultra, has a battery life that lasts around 30 days on a single charge, and has the most advanced running/cycling activity tracker on the market.

Garmin Fenix 7 Solar

$819.99

Pros:

Industry-Leading Battery Life
Hyper Accurate GPS
Free Maps
Outstanding Battery Life
Myriad Tracking Modes
Most Accurate Heart Rate Sensor

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01/27/2023 07:29 pm GMT

Where the Apple Watch streaks ahead of watches from Garmin and Polar is with its overall features set. The Apple Watch is a true smartwatch; it connects and syncs with nearly every aspect of your iPhone, becoming an extension of it, and it is this level of integration, as well as its very respectable health and fitness tracking, that give it an edge over similarly priced, “less smart” watches from Garmin and Polar.

Even for casual runners and cyclists, the Apple Watch Series 8 or SE is going to be all you need. It will track your runs, give you detailed analytics about your overall speed and heart rate, and display all of your activities inside both the Health and the Fitness app. The only thing you need to keep in mind with Apple Watch is that, in order for it to function optimally and not run out of battery, you have to charge it up overnight, every night.

Apple Watch Ultra Battery Life

If you need more battery, up to 60 hours with Low Power Mode, the Apple Watch Ultra is, of course, the one to go for. It does cost $799, though, making it a lot more expensive than Apple’s Series 8 and SE 2 Apple Watch models which retail for $399 for the WiFi model and $499 for the cellular variant. For most people, the Apple Watch Series 8 will be all you ever need.

Apple Watch models do come in different sizes, 44mm and 45mm in the Apple Watch Series 8 range, for instance, and the larger size models do have bigger batteries and, therefore, better battery life. If you want the best battery life on your Apple Watch, it is, therefore, advisable to go with the biggest model in the range you’re looking at. And while the Apple Watch Series 8 is the latest model, alongside the Apple Watch Ultra, it is only a very modest update over the Apple Watch Series 7.

Apple Watch Series 8 Improvements & New Features

The Apple Watch Series 8 includes the following new features: a new temperature sensor, Crash Detection, and an improved processor. In addition to this, the new temperature sensor can provide feedback about ovulation too, so if you’re looking to get pregnant, the Apple Watch can now help with that too. If you’re an avid runner or cyclist, you’ll want to go with the Apple Watch Ultra – this is the watch Apple designed for hardcore athletes. It is basically Apple’s answer to a Garmin/Polar watch and the initial reviews of the device are very positive indeed.

Apple Watch Ultra

4.5

$779.99

If you can afford the lofty asking price, the Apple Watch Ultra is one of the best “smart” smartwatches on the market now. It delivers huge improvements in battery life and durability as well as some much needed new fitness and tracking abilities...

Pros:

Action button is fantastic
Bright, big screen
Best battery life of any Apple Watch
Dual-band GPS is more accurate than earlier watches

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01/27/2023 03:29 pm GMT

Which Apple Watch Models Are Discontinued?

As with iPhones, Apple only sells a select few models of Apple Watch via its official channels. You can still buy older models via third-party channels like Amazon and other online retailers. But if you want to buy direct from Apple, you will be limited to its newest models like the Apple Watch Ultra, the Apple Watch Series 8, and the Apple Watch SE (2nd Edition). As for the Apple Watch models that have been discontinued, here’s a complete list of all the models Apple has killed:

1st generation Apple Watch: September 7, 2016
Apple Watch Series 1: September 21, 2018
Apple Watch Series 2: September 12, 2017
Apple Watch Series 3: September 7, 2022
Apple Watch Series 4: September 10, 2019
Apple Watch Series 5: September 15, 2020
Apple Watch Series 6: October 8, 2021
Apple Watch SE (1st generation) and Apple Watch Series 7: September 7

Wrapping Up…

One of the biggest caveats with the Apple Watch is its battery life. But this is a trade-off many users are willing to make because the reason its battery life isn’t as good as, say, the Garmin Fenix 7, is because it can do so much more and is connected, almost holistically, to your iPhone. Apple has improved the battery life considerably on the Apple Watch Ultra, so if you want the Apple Watch experience and you want long-lasting battery life, the Apple Watch Ultra is the one to go for – it is leagues ahead of everything else in the Apple Watch range.

The Apple Watch Series 8, however, is the one that is most suitable for most users. The Ultra is aimed at serious athletes – people that run, cycle, swim, or dive a lot – which is why Apple made it more durable, and larger, fitted a new Action Button and increased its battery capacity massively. The Apple Watch Series 8 is the watch for everybody, essentially, whereas the Ultra is far more niche – hence its lofty price tag.

For 99.9% of users, the Apple Watch Series 8 is going to be all you need. Or, failing that, go for the Apple Watch Series 7 and save yourself some money. You will miss out on some new features like the new temperature sensor and Apple’s new SoC, but the battery life and overall features-set are much the same as the Series 8’s – and the Apple Watch Series 7 is now quite a bit cheaper too, so it represents killer value for money. Again, with the Apple Watch Series 8 and Apple Watch Series 7, you’re looking at 18 hours of battery – basically a full day’s worth of use.

Additional Resources

If you want more battery life, as well as additional, dedicated fitness trackers, check out reviews for the Garmin Fenix 7 as well as our guide to the best Garmin watches for runners.

Alternatively, if you’re interested in Apple Watch, but you don’t want to pay full whack for one, don’t miss our Guide on How To Buy An Apple Watch For Less…

Daniel Segun

Daniel Segun is a Content Writer, Graphics Designer, and Web Developer with a background in Computer Science. His work has appeared on several publications such as GraceThemes, Web Designer Depot, SecureBlitz, NewsLair, CryptoJefe, and more...

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