What is the lifespan of a Watch before it needs to be replaced?

My second Apple Watch Series 1 went bad yesterday. Fortunately it’s still under AppleCare+ monthly warranty (worth the $2.49/month). Apple did a remote diagnostic and said the battery had gone bad and they are sending out a replacement. I think it’s supposed to arrive today. I miss it.

The last time this happened was April, 2020. So it just lasted 1.5 years. And the first one just lasted around 2 years.

It seems like continuing your AppleCare warranty is a must. But seriously - are all the Watch series like that? They go bad and need replacement so quickly?

Or are the newer series better?

I think it is just a lottery with battery life.

Earlier this year I gave my 2015 Retina Macbook a new life by having the battery replaced (~Au$400).

Sometimes it seems these devices have smart batteries, in that they know when the warranty runs out! :blush:

We have two Apple Watches with no problems over 2 years. One of them replaced my previous AW, where the glass face cracked when it fell onto a plastic lumber deck from half a metre in height. That was very annoying and I have invested in a protective case for the replacement.

In Australia there are “fit for purpose” consumer laws and I would expect that an electronic device that usually failed after a few years would be targeted. So far the Apple range of products has avoided this.

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My Series 4 runs absolutely fine ever since I picked it up soon after launch, which must be four years ago.

My experience is identical to Tommy’s. Received my Series 4 on launch day exactly four years ago this month and original battery max capacity is at 88% today. Lasts all day and recharges in an hour or so.

How do you check a Watch’s battery max capacity?

On the watch Settings->Battery->Battery Health.

Ah. That feature doesn’t seem to appear for my series 2 Watch, which is maxed out at WatchOS ver 6.3.

The performance of Series 4 watches and later are so much better than earlier watches, and the S6 and S7 are not that much faster than the S4 and S5.

That said, I used my Series 2 for three years, and the battery life was obviously worse than it was when new, but I could still get through the day with just a top-up charge once a day (usually while I showered.) My almost three year old S5 is at 86% maximum capacity and it’s basically the same - after sleep tracking overnight and a workout in the morning, I charge while I eat breakfast and shower and it’s basically back to 100% and will get me to the end of the day.

I still have my S2 and power it up occasionally and it’s frustrating to use, just barely usable. It takes a few minutes just to start, and there are obvious delays when launching apps.

The new SE will be a great watch and I think will last a good, long time. Unless you need ECG, it’s a great upgrade if you’re looking to save money.

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For me, the lifespan of any device is when the old one lacks something I genuinely think I need that the new one has. I have a S6 watch and see no reason to update this version.

As a diver/climber I’m interested in the Ultra but I’ll wait until the dive software gets released and the watch itself gets to v2.

I was thinking of getting an iPhone 14 (I have an SE Gen2) but I’d prefer to wait until they go to USB-C charging to minimise cables needed when traveling,

Sorry to go off-topic, but this reasoning always surprises me. I charge my devices overnight while I sleep (except for the watch, as I’ve said previously, but that requires a custom cable anyway), so I need a cable for each device anyway. It doesn’t much matter what the device end is - I’m still going to have a cable for it.

I got a series 1 for free from a friend who gifted it to me after she upgraded to a series 4. I kept up the Apple+ warranty for just $2.49/month. After a couple of years the battery seemed to go bad and Apple replaced it with this series 2 because they didn’t have any more series 1 lying around.

The series 2 also works fine - I haven’t compared it to any later models. I do get down to 10% around 5 pm though (I put it on around 5 am though) if I don’t top it off mid-day. But it’s always been like that.

I use the Workout app a couple of times a day for walks.

Not sure if I need an upgrade or not, but I would probably go with the latest SE if I did.

I have an iPad, drone, gimbal and a couple of cameras which all charge from USB-C. If my phone does I only need a single USB-C - USB-C cable (and a watch cable). If I can dump a USB-C to lightning cable I’d like to. Part of the reason I chose the devices I did was so I don’t have to carry a cable for each of them - it actually does matter what the device end is.

Right, that’s what I’m saying - I am charging my phone and iPad at the same time, so it doesn’t matter what’s on the device end. I’ll have a cable for each of them anyway. If I traveled with my MacBook I probably wouldn’t bring a separate cable, though, as I would just use the iPad cable.

I seriously doubt they’re going to convert the Watch to USB C charging, given how much emphasis they have on waterproofing.

My series 3 is almost 5 years old and still has good battery life. Does what I need it to – fitness tracking, occasional 2FA authentication…

Back in 2022, I wrote an article about upgrading from an Apple Watch Series 2 to a Series 5. It was a big win.

My Series 5 is often warning me about going into Low Power Mode at the very end of the day now, but it’s not being a problem.

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My Series 5 is down to 82% after three years. I typically have to charge my watch twice a day.

I’m replacing my Series 4 with a Series 8, later this week. It’s only very rarely that my Series 4 enters Low Power mode, and I sleep with it on about 3 - 4 times a week.

Just a bit of new information, I read last week that watchOS 9 re-calculates battery life using a more accurate means. Also, the Low Power Mode now maintains core features of Apple Watch while temporarily disabling select background features such as always on display and heart health notifications to extend battery life.

The maximum capacity for older watches, yes. My Series 5 went from 86% maximum capacity on watchOS 8 to 88% on version 9. I believe it’s the S4 and S5 that have the maximum capacity estimates more accurate - the Series 6 and later should be the same.

Interesting. I was happy with the 94% battery health reported on watchOS 8 for my S4. Just checked on watchOS 9 and it’s now 95%. Woo!