Apple Watch battery life is better than ever. Apple Watch Ultra 3 measures battery life in days, and Series 11 isn’t too far behind.
In a recent battery life test, I measured 28 hours between charges on both Apple Watch Series 10 and Series 11. Both tests included an hour-long workout plus overnight sleep tracking.
That’s pretty impressive considering the original Apple Watch struggled to reach its promised 18-hour battery life. Since then, Apple Watch has gained 5G and brighter displays capable of always displaying the time with seconds — all in a thinner design.
Meanwhile, in Apple Watch Ultra land, you can put on your watch on a Monday and not need to top it off again until Thursday.
That said, there’s an old set of training wheels on Apple Watch that can come off now.
Like iPhone, Apple Watch needs at least 50% battery to install a software update. Unlike the iPhone, Apple Watch also needs to be connected to a charger.
Why? Well, you don’t want to risk bricking your device if it loses power mid-installation.
I’m confident this Apple Watch Ultra 3, with a full battery, could update to watchOS 26.0.2 without running out of juice. The same is true for any modern Apple Watch with more than 50% battery.
Ideally, Apple Watch software updates wouldn’t be a thing to think about. By design, they happen overnight while charging. Sleep tracking and charging in short bursts can complicate that.
In reality, I often find myself putting on a fully charged watch and immediately receiving a notification that says Update Was Not Installed.
My instinct is to open Settings, swipe down to General, and tap Software Update, and install it.
Instead, the Install button stares back at me with this 312 MB software update that just can’t do it without external power.
It’s a tiny barrier, but one of those nice quality-of-life software improvements I hope we see in a future watchOS update — as long as you’re connected to a charger, of course.
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