Just ahead of the finalized Apple Watch’s presentation at Apple’s March 9th “Spring Forward” event, sources with hands-on Apple Watch experience have revealed a collection of new details about the device’s features to 9to5Mac. Our sources have offered new information on the Watch’s real-world battery life, health and fitness features, apps, and experiences using Apple’s next-generation touchscreen hardware…
Power Reserve Mode and Battery Life
The Apple Watch’s battery life has concerned many prospective customers, as Apple said only that the Watch will need to be charged nightly. Earlier this year, we reported that Apple’s development targets for Apple Watch battery life were 2.5-4 hours for heavy app usage, versus 19 hours per day of combined usage between light app access, notifications, and Glances. Sources who have handled the Apple Watch tell us that Apple has improved the device’s battery life, noting that the final Apple Watch should be able to handle 5 hours of fairly heavy application usage, and it and won’t run out of battery during a typical day of mixed active and passive use. However, the source says that the device will still need to be charged nightly, as it will definitely not last through a second full day.
As The New York Times reported, Apple will address battery life concerns with a new “Power Reserve Mode” that cuts optional services to preserve as much of the Apple Watch’s core functionality as possible. Our sources have shared several new details about the feature. First, Power Reserve Mode can be activated via a Battery Glance that’s accessible at any time, or via the Apple Watch’s Settings application. The Battery Glance will show the percentage of battery life remaining, the amount of time since the last full charge, and a large button to activate Power Reserve Mode.
Power Reserve Mode can even be accessed when the Watch has a full 100% charge, and it is not solely activated when the Watch’s battery life is low. The mode noticeably dims the display, slows down communication with the iPhone to an on-demand level, and puts the display to sleep after roughly two seconds of inactivity. One unit tested allowed access to all Apple Watch functions while in Power Reserve mode, while another unit was limited to the Clock face. We’re told that some test units took between four and five hours to charge up to 100% from 0% via the wall-attached MagSafe charger. This is a notable improvement, we’re told, from fall 2014 prototypes.
Unlike the iPhone, when battery life is low on the Apple Watch, the device does not show a modal popup window indicating the battery life percentage remaining. Instead, with 20% battery life remaining, the Battery Life glance turns an orange/amber color as a subtle alert to the user. At 10%, the glance turns from orange/amber to a red color. On the iPhone side, our sources say that they did not see any “meaningful” change to the iPhone’s battery while using the Apple Watch.
Heart Rate Glance
One notable yet-to-be-announced Apple Watch feature is the Heart Rate Glance. Thanks to the device’s heart rate monitor, the Heart Rate Glance will allow the user to see their Beats Per Minute at any time. When accessing the Glance, an outline of a heart will appear, similar to the heart in the image above. After a button is tapped to start measurement, the screen will show the constantly updating BPM reading. Our sources say that the process of reading the heart rate was almost instant and the readings were “seemingly accurate.” Previously, Apple has only stated that the Heart Rate sensor will be used to send other users their heart beat via the communication features and to measure intensity for calorie reading in the fitness app. Of course, heart rate readings could be transferred to the Health application on the accompanying iPhone.
Notification Center, Glances, and Clock Faces
Our sources indicate that the following Glances are installed on the Apple Watch by default, in addition to Heart Rate and Battery Life: Fitness Stats, Activity, Clock, Weather, Music, Quick Settings, Calendar and Maps. As discussed on one of our recent Happy Hour podcasts, sources also indicate that the Apple Watch will have a full Notification Center like the iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Mac. To access Notification Center, a user can swipe down from the top of the display in any screen. The list of notifications will show each app name as well as truncated descriptions of the alerts, akin to an iPhone. Developers will be able to customize which notifications can show up in Notification Center as well as the Apple Watch app icon specific to this view. As for Clock Faces a source says that “the level of detail and customization is insane.” The source also called the quality of faces “incredible,” and said “each face is like an app in itself so it’s [a little curious] is not (yet) allowing third-party faces.” The source also said that the “astronomy Watch Face is smart: in one mode you can use the crown to scroll through time and see planetary alignments for the whole solar system.”
Onboard Storage and Music
As Apple has announced, the Apple Watch will be able to store music that can be played while unlinked to an iPhone. Prototype Apple Watches within Apple are said to include 8GB of storage; it is yet to be seen whether the shipping versions will all include 8GB. As we noted yesterday, the internal units also include Lightning connectors, which won’t be on the shipping models. Users will be able to specify individual songs, albums, and playlists to be loaded to their Apple Watches via a panel in the Companion app for iPhone. Users will also be able to stream music from the Apple Watch to external speakers or headphones over Bluetooth.
iPhone Companion App
As we extensively reported earlier this year, the settings for individual Apple Watch applications will be controlled by a Companion application on the iPhone. The Companion app has a dark black user interface with a glyph of the Apple Watch as the app icon. In addition to controlling various settings and music storage, the Companion app allows users to re-arrange the icons on the Apple Watch’s Home screen. This can be done from the Watch itself as well via a long press, just like on the iPhone and iPad. When a user downloads an iPhone application from the App Store with a WatchKit component, the Watch app is automatically installed on the Watch. Users can remove the WatchKit applications through the Companion app without deleting the app from the iPhone. Interestingly, if the iPhone is not connected to the Watch, third-party application icons will remain on the device’s Home screen, and the applications will still work for a period of time with cached data.
Force Touch, Digital Crown + Voice Control
Sources have praised the Watch’s next-generation force-sensing touchscreen interface, saying that “the screen feels like a giant button than you just want to press in the manner needed for Force Touch.” A source added that the feature “feels natural” on the small screen. Also, the Digital Crown input device is required to use the Apple Watch, as the Watch differs from the sixth-generation iPod nano in lacking pinch to zoom capabilities: it registers touches and movements up, down, left, and right. There is no keyboard at all on the device; all forms of input are handled with pre-populated options and voice dictation. Speaking of dictation, the menus within the Apple Watch label all voice control features as “Voice Control,” rather than as Siri. As we reported earlier, this initial version of the Watch OS does not support replying to emails, even by voice. Users will need to access the Mail app via Handoff on their iPhone to conduct replies.
Speed, Display, and Bands
People who have used the Apple Watch say that the device feels very fast overall, which is in line with our report that the S1 chip is comparable with the current iPod touch’s A5 chip. But there are limits. One source said that an Apple Watch with over 200 WatchKit applications became noticeably sluggish on the Home screen. It is unlikely that the majority of users will ever install 200 WatchKit applications, so this should not be a typical concern. The sources say that the display will light up when the iPhone is locked for all of the phone’s notifications, but if the iPhone is unlocked, the Watch will not light up for new alerts.
A designer familiar with the quality of mobile device screens who has used the Apple Watch says that the “screen is the best [smartwatch] screen I have ever seen,” noting that “it’s like vibrant digital paper, and does not look rendered,” with especially “great” black levels. The source thinks that the smaller, 38mm version is “tiny,” but of course this will differ between users of different sizes. Apple’s Sport Band, the default on the $349 aluminum Apple Watch, is said to “take time” to get used to as it is somewhat difficult to put on at first due to the pin-based closure system. As for the stainless steel link bracelet, a source says that “Apple have seemingly got around [hair getting stuck between links] by having the case expand the links flexibility from the outer rim only.”
Powering Off, Force Quitting and Settings
Some users have wondered how the Apple Watch will be powered off without a dedicated power button. Our sources say that it’s turned off by long pressing the large “communication button” on the right side of the Watch. When this is pressed, a confirmation slider akin to the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch is shown, letting a swipe finish the shut down. Users can also Force Quit an unstable application by accessing the shut down screen and then quickly pressing the button on the right side. The Apple Watch also includes a Settings application that includes various toggles including Bluetooth and Airplane Mode. There is not a dedicated Wi-Fi settings panel, which instead will likely be controlled by the accompanying iPhone.
Apple will officially announce Apple Watch pricing and availability on Monday, March 9, starting at 10:00AM Pacific/1:00PM Eastern Time. 9to5Mac will offer coverage of the event in the hours leading up the keynote, during the presentation, and afterwards, so please join us for more news and commentary then.
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Longer battery time is always a plus – but I’m not too concerned about charging every night. It’s not really a “Watch” at all and it’s more like a mini iPod with more functions – but then again, nobody would buy into a “mini iPod”. I will buy into the first generation, but I’m ready for a second generation “sports “Watch”” with gps and tracking information without the use of my iPhone.
I’m right there with you. I’ll get the first gen because I’m a nerd and I want to play with it, but the second gen will probably be the device everyone wants.
When they first announced it back in September, my first thought was “WOW Generation2 is going to be awesome!” I’ll probably still get the first gen anyway since my Jawbone UP3 order from November STILL hasn’t shipped. At this point might as well spend a little more for he Apple Watch.
But but… I don’t sleep! I need it 24/7.
one of the most interesting feature with all those fitness bands and watches is sleep tracking. that requires 24 hour tracking, as you may imagine. so whether you sleep or not, more than a day battery is really nice to have.
I just hope the nightly doesn’t degrade over time and OS updates. Which is why, really, I want something that lasts more than one day to begin with.
I’m more worried about waterproofing, though I’m sure Apple has this covered.
Can’t wait to see it in person.
Try the Pebble Time Steel – with a reported “up to 10 days” battery life !
You could probably get Pebble’s battery life of Power Reserve mode allows you to turn off all the features so it’s on par with the Pebble.
Agree 100%. Just like iPhone is not a phone, I fact for me, the phone is the least used feature. I just wAnt it for payments, some health apps and some new and creative usage eg gps with different taps on my wrist for directions or sending taps to my wife’s watch to nudge her to stop shopping and come home.
excited to get one – wearing a pebble for now and am thinking of where my old treo now sits
Mark, you don’t need to keep the secret anymore. Everyone here knows that your source is Tim Cook.
Exciting stuff! Good to hear the battery life appears to have been improved. The high quality of the screen also sounds very cool.
I am interested to hear how long it takes to charge from low to full.
According to Techcrunch it takes 2hr to fully charge.
That’s longer than it takes to charge my iPhone 6 using the iPad charger. Hmmm. 2hours for that small of a battery isn’t that good. I was hoping it would be less than 1 hour for a full charge.
According to this piece it takes 4-5 hours… I don’t get how this can take longer than 60 mins, though… even with a 500mAh battery, efficiency would have to be lower than 25%… With 2-5 hours, (much) lower than 10%… I thought inductive charging was 70% efficient in 2015…
@lagax you may want to re-read the article
@o0smoothies0o:
From the above article:
“We’re told that some test units took between four and five hours to charge up to 100% from 0% via the wall-attached MagSafe charger.”
The TechCrunch article you’re referring to mentions that it takes about 2 hours to fully charge, but they also allude to charging from 25% not 0%. They don’t specifically say how long it takes from 0% to 100%
Hmm I didn’t see that maybe they edited it in. That says test units though, at least.
I wish the iPhone had a low power mode toggle switch or did automatically at 20%.
The only switch it needs is ‘automatically turn off and lock user out of Facebook at 100%’ setting. People need to be made aware of how apps like that absolutely destroy battery.
deleted facebook from my iphone for lent and i can’t believe the difference in battery life. i’ve heard in the past that it was a battery killer but i had no idea it could suck so much life out of my phone.
I don’t like the idea of not having any control over the “glances” but this is typical Apple as we all know.
I’m only surprised that a stock widget “glance” isn’t also included and ENFORCED and that some kind of forced homage to California and the USA isn’t included.
What are you talking about??? You can customize which glances are in your glances section. You know that right? It allows 10 or so glances you can customize which go there, and I’m sure the order in which they are in.
The article states that a lot of the glances are pre-loaded and can’t be deleted.
I was comparing this to Apple’s policy of leaving us with apps that we don’t need and can’t delete, widgets we don’t need and can’t delete, etc., and then (tried) to make it FUNNY by referring to the idiotic way in which they always force Stocks information on us as if everyone was a rich Apple employee or J. Paul Getty or something.
I am still relatively certain that somehow they will find a way to slip in a humblebrag about California though. It wouldn’t be an Apple product without it. :-)
Gazoo…the article doesn’t mention anything about how the glances can’t be deleted. You can customize them to your heart’s content.
You might have misread – Glances can be added and removed as decided by the user and include those provided by apps. The ones listed in this article are just included with the OS and don’t necessarily need to be enabled.
I am also surprised there isn’t a stock widget with APPL preloaded ;)
Personally, I think it’d be nice if Glances worked like Google Now cards and could present themselves by context and remove from the Glance-list when irrelevant. Maybe in the future?
Good news if true. I would argue that the language in the article about the “default” glances is ever so slightly misleading then if you can in fact, choose to use or not use all of them.
I’m happy to be proven wrong about this. It’s minor thing, but having to swipe through glances everyday that you don’t need or want (in my case “Maps” and “Calendar”), would be a pain.
“Default” here only means “set up before you buy it.” You can change them however you like.
Well that sounds just about what I expected if accurate. If it can perform the full range of notification, fitness and health, and a dash of fun, functions, comfortably from morning to bed time, I’m happy. My only consideration now is Sport, or Watch, I’d like the rose gold Edition but that will be well out of my price range, though it won’t be $10,000, but still a bit rich. I’m probably going to have to sell a one of my kids for the stainless steel as it is :-)
5 hours is 20.8% of the day!
5 hours per day it’s 12 minutes per hour!
If you pass 20.8% of your life feedling with your tiny watch, then you have no life, and you don’t need a fashion accesory/gadget like this.
Thats only if you are one of those weirdos who live on a world with 24 hours in a day. On Venus our days last 243 times longer so…..
this isn’t just some “watch.” anyone with a hint of common sense and fine taste for watches wouldn’t blow their money on something that will be replaced by an Apple Watch 2 next year.
this is a wearable device. it’s meant to be played with. and if you think people shouldn’t waste their lives on devices too much, then you should also check out how often people run out of battery on their iPhones. i’d say quite a few people have no lives.
I have a couple of “fine watches” (3K € the least expensive)
What you say, makes no sense.
349€ is not even 10% of a “fine watch”, and at lease me, I buy the watches for me, doesn’t matter if I wear them or not, wearing them is just an extra. In fact, sometimes, I wear my old classic all-steel LCD casio, just because I like its simplicity.
I’m waiting the Apple Watch with big expectations, it’s a watch for wearing and using, not for admiring or status symbols.
Every time someone gets a new gadget, they spend hours and hours playing around with all of the apps and settings and then showing other people that you come in contact with all of the features, but that’s only in the beginning. But after about a month or so, the average usage should probably drop to a more constant level that’s more like a couple of hours of actual use.
The problem with your calculation is that you are sleeping for about 8 of those 24 hours, so it’s more like 31.25%.
Yup, but you have to wake up in the middle of the night to fiddle with your AW ;)
I cannot believe you cannot reply to an email! No doubt either 6 months later with a Watch OS upgrade, or a year later on Apple Watch 2.
In order to get the email, you need to have your iPhone paired up with the Watch anyway… so why in the world would you want to struggle with a tiny screen to return an email, when at that point you can take out your iPhone and do it right??
The point of a smartwatch isn’t to replace your smart phone… not yet at least (aside from that monstrously huge and ugly Samsung thing that has it’s own cellular radio).
So no, I don’t see that feature being added because it’s missing by design.
Use your phone for emails – the watch is for quick responses to texts and notifications and blue tooth voice calls, etc so you don’t have to constantly pull out your phone for those things. Composing an email is when you pull out your phone.
Agree. We have to think of new and creative ways of using and utilizing this new firm factor. Just because it’s from Apple didn’t mean it’s an iPod or iPhone. Yes it may do similar processing but it’s not the same.
How long does it take to charge on a empty battery to 100%? Anyone figure that out?
Mark Gurman said 4-5 hours, so it’s really ‘meant’ to be charged nightly…
Not at all. He did not saying a single thing about how long it takes to charge. He said how long it lasts with heavy app usage (I.e. How long until the watch is dead from 100% charge…). There’s been one report of charge time, and it came from trchcrunch. They say around 2hr for full charge.
It could be 1hr to 80%
I’ll stick with the Pebble- I know it’s not in the same category, but it gives me what I need and doesn’t affect my iPhone’s battery life one bit. (Plus I get 4-5 days between charges)
According to the article, using the WATCH with an iPhone, the iPhone showed no additional battery drain, so it would appear pairing and using your WATCH with an iPhone won’t affect the battery life.
Until the iPhone starts powering Facebook for the watch hahaha
*shudders*
The battery life does concern me. I’d be wearing it throughout the day and using the time and fitness features. Then in the evening, I can imagine myself using the remote control for my Apple TV and more fitness and communications uses. Plus I work out three to five days a week after work when I’d really like to use it. Then, one of features I was looking most forward to is the sleep analysis. That said, maybe it’s not so much the battery life that concerns me but the really horrendous charge time. 4-5 hours? REALLY? It’s not a fair comparison considering the features but my FitBit Flex charges in less than an hour. I literally put it on the charger while I’m in the shower and dressing. And I get nearly a week of use from that short charges. I know it’s apples and oranges but considering Tim Cook “cannot imagine life without it,” I wonder what he imagines during the hours of charging it assuming he uses the sleep analysis features. I really was hoping for a shorter charge time so this may be the straw that breaks this camel’s back that’s really disappointing.
I can’t believe the 4-5 hour figure for charging. On an iPad charger, my 2,000 mAh iPhone takes about an hour and a half. The Watch charger must be extremely low power to take 4 hours to charge what must be a 300 mAh battery. I’m sure the retail version will be faster.
It’s more like 2hrs to fully charge. According to techcrunch
Mark Gurman is usually much more reliable than TechCrunch…
Except that Mark hasn’t said anything about charge time.
I see where he has said it in this article. I read the article about 10min after it was posted, maybe they edited it in.
So really, nothing different from the other watches. Just interface. I can check my hr at anytime too via android wear. The battery is nice but roughly the same and others function as stand alone. Apple paired with TAG Heuer is the only plus but then you’ll pay $5000 for those watches. I do like the 8gb, but 4 is really enough. It’s only a phone companion.
You apparently know nothing about it, or don’t understand the possibilities. It’s profoundly superior to all other smartwatches.
Considering I just did a three year projection analysis for Apple as part of my grad work i will have to disagree.
I mean they’ve done every aspect better, in my opinion. From marketing fashion aspects, to the new revolutionary force touch and Taptic feedback which are going to set this apart on a grand scale. The inclusion of Pay as well. It remains authenticated on the wrist.. It just works, it’s simple, elegant. Also the customization, I mean it’s ridiculous how much better their ideas were across the board. Not going with a round display because it makes no sense for what the product is. The list of ways it’s better than every other smartwatch is obscenely long.