The biggest selling point of the new Apple Watch Series 11 is easily the upgraded battery life. All prior flagship Series models topped out at 18 hours per charge. The new model, however, is rated at 24 hours per charge.
Does the latest Apple Watch actually last that long? I decided to find out. My Apple Watch 11 review unit, in shiny, new Space Grey, just arrived over the weekend. As soon as I got it unboxed and charged up, I tossed the watch on my wrist and went about my day.
Exactly 24 hours later, I checked to see if the watch was still functioning, and if so, how much battery life remained. Here’s how the Apple Watch Series 11 battery life fared.
Apple Watch Series 11 — 24-hour battery life test results
Battery % used |
|
|---|---|
24 hours of wearing w/ always-on display |
32% |
71 minutes of GPS workout tracking |
11% |
In my initial 24 hours wearing the new Apple Watch 11, I essentially went about my daily routine as scheduled, with chores, errands, lounging, and all. The test period started on a Sunday afternoon and finished toward the end of Monday’s workday.
In that time, I also tracked my sleep — which was only a pitiful five hours of actual rest — as well as a lovely 71-minute walk (9,210 steps). The GPS-tracked workout proved particularly battery-intensive, draining 11% of the charge.
Overall, though, the Series 11 only burned through 32% of its battery in my first 24 hours of testing. This is with the always-on display and "Wake on wrist raise" features both turned on, and screen brightness maxed out.
That’s darn impressive. The question is, will these results persist? I plan to continue wearing the Apple Watch Series 11 for the next several weeks to find out, and will update this story if I notice any sudden drops in longevity. I'll also let you know how long it ends up lasting after my first charge.
Either way, from my initial testing, the Series 11 not only lives up to its 24-hour battery life claim, but blows right on past it. At this rate, it could even prove as long-lasting as the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic, the full-featured smartwatch battery life king at 50+ hours per charge.
Follow Tom's Guide on Google News to get our up-to-date news, how-tos, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button.
