New one is 24 hours is that still atrocious

klardotsh 6 days ago | parent | next [-]

Yes. My Pebble Steel got over a week of battery in 2015, had physical, tactile buttons that worked even wearing thick winter gloves, and had an always-on-no-matter-what screen that was clearly readable in full sunlight.

Every smartwatch that hasn't met that bar, which is almost all of them ever made, is a joke to me. I'd have ordered a RePebble had I not moved back to analogue dumbwatches instead just before they were announced (and were iOS not actively hostile to competing watch implementations).

	▲	brookst 6 days ago \| parent \| next [-]
		And motorcycles get way better gas mileage than cars. But it’s still odd to frame a (totally understandable!) preference for one product category in those terms.
	▲	qwezxcrty 6 days ago \| parent \| prev \| next [-]
		If you are okay with less smart smart watches, and okay with no hackability, Garmin should have a few with black and white display and >1 week battery life (even indefinite with sufficient solar).
	▲	qwertytyyuu 6 days ago \| parent \| prev \| next [-]
		That’s not really the same category of device
	▲	wahnfrieden 6 days ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		Isn’t that a laggy b&w screen, with no ability to respond to notifs, no cellular. I guess those are ok for some users

▲

monkeywork 6 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

depends which camp of apple watch (or smart watch in general) users you are asking.

the camp that sees the smartwatch as an accessory to their smartphone that does fitness tracking and maybe a few other useful things to avoid pulling their phone out constantly - those people want MUCH longer battery life.

the camp that sees the smartwatch as a REPLACEMENT to their smartphone, they are perfectly fine with the current battery life.

▲

Oreb 6 days ago | parent [-]

I am closer to the first camp than the second, and I don’t understand why I would need longer battery life. The watch charges very quickly, and there is never a day when I don’t have the chance to charge at some point. I usually do it during my morning shower.

▲

wooger 5 days ago | parent [-]

1. People use these GPS watches for Ironman triathlons, ultra running & cycling events etc. They can't and won't charge before the battery is done - and remember the battery with a daily charge will degrade significantly. If it's borderline on release, it'll be inadequate after a year.

2. Just for general convenience, having to take another special cable for every late night or overnight trip is maddening. I always have a phone anyway for any actual interactions.

I find it hard to believe many people are writing texts on their watches, it's just a nice to have gimmick feature that everyone I know has stopped using.

	▲	gf000 4 days ago \| parent \| next [-]
		> and remember the battery with a daily charge will degrade significantly. If it's borderline on release, it'll be inadequate after a year. That has not been my experience though - having used both an Apple Watch and a Pixel Watch for years on end every single day. Absolutely outside my area of expertise, but I would imagine that you can design batteries to have a much longer lifetime (no of recharge cycles) when their capacity is smaller.
	▲	NetMageSCW 4 days ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		That’s not how Lion charging works - degradation and lifetime (to a first approximation) depend on full charges. If you charge daily from 80% to 100% or charge every 5 days from 1% to 100%, your battery degradation and lifetime will be the same.

▲

ericd 6 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Yep, easily the worst part of mine, especially since it has to charge at a different time than my phone to allow for sleep tracking.

▲

brewdad 5 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

My biggest complaint with my Apple Watch is that I have to choose between sleep tracking and being able to wear my watch all day.

▲

KiwiJohnno 6 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Yes, my 5 year old Garmin still lasts about 10 days. And thats with using GPS tracking + bluetooth audio for multiple recorded activities.

▲

whatevaa 6 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Yes. Simply yes for a lot of people.

▲

wahnfrieden 6 days ago | parent [-]

Are those people who don’t need interactivity, ability to respond to notifs, cellular, etc or are you comparing with something comparable

	▲	michaelt 6 days ago \| parent [-]
		I think a lot of people reach into their pocket and get their phone out if they need "interactivity, ability to respond to notifs, cellular, etc" But if you want to leave your smartphone at home, but you still want cellular and notifications, I agree the apple watch is the only game in town even if the battery life sucks.

▲

zdw 6 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Most of this is because of the always-on screen. If you can live without it and switch back to the motion or button to wake mode, you get 30-50% more usage before the battery runs out, which is not a huge improvement but is a legitimate option.

A side effect is that this makes your watch look less new, and therefore less of a theft target.

▲

numpad0 6 days ago | parent | prev [-]

real watches last like 24 months minimum

	▲	swores 6 days ago \| parent [-]
		And bicycles go much further without needing petrol than cars. I agree that Apple Watches don't last long enough between charges, but comparing them to a completely different class of device that's technically the same broad category is pointless.