Apple Watch Battery Usage Update

Posted on May 11, 2015 by John B Byrne

It’s been a good two weeks and I have learned quite a bit about my usage patterns for the Apple Watch.

For the first few days, I was using it constantly and often getting low on battery by the night time. Then, as time as passed, I have learned to reduce things like notifications to only those I really need. And I only run apps on the Watch when it’s not convenient to use my iPhone.

By reducing my usage level to a more “normal” level of activity, I am able to end the day with upwards of 35% or more battery left on the Watch. So, I am now able to wear it to bed, and it keeps track of my heart rate all night long. I am getting a sleep quality app next to try as well.

Then, when I wake, I charge the watch for about two hours and it’s normally at 97% by then and ready for a full day.

Oh, and battery usage on the iPhone has stabilized as well. There is definitely usage, but it does not drain the battery to the point where the phone needs charging out of your normal cycle, i.e. at night.

Bottom line: Once you adopt a pattern of Apple Watch usage that doesn’t involve touching it every single minute the battery life is more than sufficient for a day and even for use at night.

Apple

Apple Watch and iPhone Battery

Posted on April 25, 2015April 26, 2015 by John B Byrne

I was noticing a real drain on my iPhone 6 Plus battery after pairing my Apple Watch. My iPhone used to make it two days between charges, but after the Watch I was looking at barely a day!

Turns out the main culprit is the Apple Watch Companion app that runs on the phone. That app can be quit and the Watch will continue to function as normal. And, suddenly, much less battery usage. Clearly, Apple has some programming to do!

So, if you are seeing a drain on your iPhone battery, try quitting that Companion App.

Back to playing!

p.s. The Watch battery is holding up great. It’s at 57% at 6pm and I attached it to my wrist at about 7am. Much better than I expected.

Update: Started at 100% on both devices at 7am. At 2:45 pm, Watch is at 74% and iPhone Plus is at 61%. I was using the iPhone Plus camera for a bit which used some battery. But, this is more battery use than normal for me, so it looks like there is still some drain on the iPhone Plus while it is connected to the Watch. Basically, I’ll have to go back to charging the iPhone Plus every night if/until this changes.

This is interesting because everyone was concerned about the Watch battery life; no one was talking about what it would do with the iPhone battery. Turns out we may have been looking in the wrong place. All that said we are at 1.0 here and I am sure things will develop rapidly.

Really gotten into using the watch and iPhone to track my activity. It works really, really well, and there is a ton of data collected. Looking forward to adding more health related apps.

Apple

Apple Watch!

Posted on April 24, 2015April 24, 2015 by John B Byrne

All I can say is….. I’M IN LOVE!!!!!!! All these years of waiting and the day has finally arrived.

This is such an amazing piece of style and technology. It just feels right. It looks great. And it is going to be infinitely useful.

And my company, Playscreen, has a game for it! Black Jack Anywhere which you can download from the App Store. Here’s a pic of the game playing on my wrist!

Off to play with some more of the cool apps!

Environ

Celebrating Earth Day

Posted on April 22, 2015 by John B Byrne

It’s Earth Day again! Time to recommit ourselves to doing what is right for the planet and our future generations. At my household, we are working hard to grow some of our own vegetables and fruits this year. Growing some of your own food, as well as buying from local farmers, is a great way to reduce your carbon footprint, while improving the nutrition content of your diet. And besides, gardening is fun and good exercise.

We’ve got lettuce and spinach growing in an Earth Box on the deck.

Just finished building the gardens around the Pole Barn where we get tons of sun. We were able to have 30ft on one side and 40ft on the other. What a great use of otherwise wasted space. Sure beat digging up the lawn. Special shout out to my buddy Russell Brooks for his help getting those in.

At one end of the garden we will be putting in berries and rhubarb. At the other end, we’ll put in tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers of various sorts. Some of which we’ve started already. The weather is looking unfavorable for planting until early May.