The
Apple
Watch
has
never
been
known
for
having
long
battery
life.
Case
in
point:
Apple
never
budged
from
the
18-hour
battery
life
estimate
until
it
launched
the
Apple
Watch
Ultra.
In
2022,
the
company
introduced
a
new
Low
Power
Mode
when
it
launched
the
Ultra,
and
now,
it
has
extended
the
time
between
charges
for
Apple
Watches
using
watchOS
9
and
later.
Previously,
the
Apple
Watch
had
a
Power
Reserve
mode,
which
shut
off
any
functions
aside
from
your
ability
to
tell
time
and
turned
your
smartwatch
into
a
normal
watch
until
you
could
get
it
to
a
charger.
This
mode
is
different
—
it’s
more
like
the
iPhone’s
Low
Power
Mode.
When
enabled,
you’ll
still
be
able
to
use
your
Apple
Watch,
but
certain
power-hungry
features
will
be
turned
off
or
limited
to
conserve
the
battery.
On
the
Apple
Watch,
Low
Power
Mode
disables
the
always-on
display
and
limits
sensor
readings
like
background
heart
rate
and
blood
oxygen
monitoring.
(You
should
be
aware
that
it
also
disables
irregular
heart
rhythm
notifications
as
well
as
high
and
low
heart
rate
notifications.)
Low
Power
Mode
also
curtails
LTE
and
Wi-Fi
connectivity.
While
you’ll
still
be
able
to
send
messages
or
make
calls
from
your
watch,
it’ll
only
fetch
notifications
about
once
an
hour.
As
a
result,
you
might
miss
timely
texts
and
emergency
alerts.
However,
if
you’re
in
the
middle
of
a
workout,
don’t
worry
—
heart
rate
and
GPS
will
be
unaffected.
Another
option
that
reduces
heart
rate
and
GPS
sampling
is
also
in
the
works
but
is
currently
unavailable.
Low
Power
Mode
allows
you
to
still
use
the
Apple
Watch
while
disabling
power-hungry
features.
This
mode
is
a
great
option
if
you’ve
got
an
aging
Apple
Watch
but
aren’t
looking
to
upgrade
(since
battery
life
is
often
why
people
buy
new
watches).
Your
mileage
may
vary,
however.
Battery
life
depends
heavily
on
individual
usage,
and
your
watch’s
battery
health
is
also
a
factor.
You
can
only
squeeze
so
much
out
of
Low
Power
Mode
if
your
battery
has
significantly
degraded
over
the
years.
As
with
the
iPhone
version,
you’ll
be
automatically
prompted
to
turn
on
Low
Power
Mode
once
your
battery
power
hits
10
percent.
But
some
people,
especially
those
with
Ultras,
might
want
to
be
more
intentional
about
how
they
use
the
feature
—
for
example,
if
they’re
participating
in
an
Ironman
and
need
at
least
12
hours
or
so
of
GPS
and
activity
tracking.
On
the
Ultra
and
Ultra
2,
Apple
says
Low
Power
Mode
can
stretch
battery
life
up
to
60
hours.
(Though,
based
on
our
testing,
you
may
get
well
beyond
that.)
First
things
first
—
again,
to
use
Low
Power
Mode,
you’ll
need
to
have
watchOS
9
or
later.
(Currently,
we’re
on
watchOS
10,
but
it’ll
still
work
on
watchOS
9
if
you
don’t
like
how
the
latest
version
updated
the
Apple
Watch
interface.)
That
also
means
you’ll
need
at
least
a
Series
4.
If
you
have
an
older
watch
and
you
think
this
feature
is
worthwhile,
you
may
want
to
consider
upgrading.
In
any
case,
assuming
your
Apple
Watch
is
equipped
with
compatible
software,
you
can
enable
the
feature
in
two
ways.
The
quickest
way
is
through
your
watch’s
Control
Center.
Enabling
the
mode
via
the
Battery
menu
gives
you
extra
context
about
your
charging
history.
You
can
also
view
battery
health.
You
can
also
turn
on
Low
Power
Mode
by
going
to
Settings
>
Battery
>
Low
Power
Mode.
The
benefit
of
doing
it
this
way
is
that
you
get
extra
context
about
your
battery
life.
Not
only
can
you
see
how
your
battery’s
been
draining
since
your
last
charge
but
you
can
also
see
what
times
you
may
have
previously
enabled
Low
Power
Mode.
And
you
can
tap
Battery
Health
from
this
menu
to
check
how
much
the
battery
has
degraded
and
enable
optimized
battery
charging
settings.
Update,
March
12th,
2024,
12:03PM
ET:
This
article
was
originally
published
on
October
14th,
2022,
and
has
been
updated
to
include
information
about
watchOS
10
and
how
to
access
the
control
panel.
(Originally posted by Victoria Song)
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