I tested the battery life of 3 popular smartwatches, and the results surprised me

One of nan biggest reasons that Ultra watches for illustration nan Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Galaxy Watch Ultra entreaty to truthful galore group is nan artillery life, Both of thee watches connection a important betterment complete nan regular versions. Meanwhile, for Pixel Watch lovers, location is nary Ultra version to take from.

I’ve enjoyed nan Apple Watch Series 10 truthful overmuch that I’ve ditched my Apple Watch Ultra 2. However, it falls short successful 1 area: nan artillery life. It’s a noticeable driblet from nan Apple Watch Ultra 2, and it’s easy to hide to complaint it.

After wearing nan Apple Watch Series 10 and getting accustomed to its artillery life, I wanted to fig thing out. How agelong does it last, and is it amended than its 2 biggest competitors — nan Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 and nan Google Pixel Watch 3? The answers mightiness astonishment you.

The specs comparison

Nirave Gondhia / Digital Trends

All 3 watches are priced comparatively closely, pinch akin specs and features. The Apple Watch Series 10 costs $400, nan Pixel Watch 3 costs $350, and nan Galaxy Watch 7 is conscionable $300. Here’s really nan specs comparison for nan cardinal areas: display, performance, and battery.

How I tested these smartwatches

Joe Maring / Digital Trends

Over respective days, I logged nan artillery life connected each watch astatine intervals passim nan day, including noting things for illustration slumber mode and notifications. I wore each 3 watches simultaneously and near each search and mode discovery connected automatic.

For nan charging tests, I utilized nan included charging cablegram — nan latest 1 successful nan lawsuit of nan Apple Watch Series 10 and Pixel Watch 3 — paired pinch a charger tin of delivering nan maximum supported wattage. I cross-checked immoderate outlier information points and validated nan last findings done further testing.

Samsung and Google provided these samples, but did not cognize this trial was being conducted. The Apple Watch Series 10 I utilized was a portion purchased from Apple.

How does nan artillery life compare?

Nirave Gondhia / Digital Trends

To understand a existent practice of artillery life, I wore each 3 watches for 2 weeks and aggregated information connected artillery life depletion during circumstantial activities. I besides logged nan artillery life astatine circumstantial intervals pinch each 3 smartwatches charged to 100%.

Here’s really agelong each smartwatch lasts:

Nirave Gondhia / Digital Trends

The Apple Watch Series 10 offers nan slightest endurance of nan 3 smartwatches, pinch artillery life averaging 38 hours and 30 minutes, while nan Galaxy Watch 7 almost achieves 2 afloat days astatine 43 hours. However, some are importantly worse than nan Pixel Watch 3, which surpassed my expectations astatine 52 hours and 30 minutes. That’s much than half a time longer than nan Apple Watch Series 10.

It’s besides worthy noting that I kept nan always-on show (AOD) enabled for each 3 smartwatches. Disabling nan AOD improves artillery life by astir 20%. While each smartwatch offers debased powerfulness and other debased powerfulness modes, among different features, these modes disable immoderate of nan health-tracking features.

Battery life utilized during slumber tracking

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

One of Apple’s biggest challenges — and perchance a cardinal logic that nan Apple Watch Ultra 2 exists — is nan artillery life offered by nan regular Apple Watch. It’s improved this twelvemonth complete erstwhile years, but still pales compared to competitors of nan aforesaid value and size. Overall, it’s inferior, but what astir successful 2 circumstantial areas: slumber search and workouts?

There’s thing worse than getting into furniture and realizing that your watch artillery whitethorn not past nan night, but really overmuch artillery do you request to way your slumber astatine night? Is 16% capable to spot you safely done nan night? 20%? 30%?

Apple Watch Series 10 Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

On average, each 3 watches devour akin amounts of artillery astatine night. The Apple Watch Series 10 and Galaxy Watch 7 usage betwixt 13% and 15% connected average, while nan Pixel Watch 3 uses somewhat much astatine 17%.

However, while this is nan mean usage, you will apt request acold much to guarantee your watch makes it done nan night. How agelong does each smartwatch return to complaint to full, and what if you request a speedy top-up earlier bed?

What astir charging times?

Titanium Apple Watch Series 10 pinch Milanese Loop set and Reflections watch face Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Apple has made a large woody astir nan charging capabilities of nan Apple Watch Series 10, and that’s for bully reason, arsenic it has fixed 1 of nan biggest complaints pinch its wearables. Now, you tin execute lightning-fast charges successful astir an hour, which is faster than nan competition.

Nirave Gondhia / Digital Trends

The Pixel Watch 3 does good successful keeping up pinch nan Apple Watch Series 10, but location is simply a notable quality successful full charging time. The Apple Watch Series 10 charges to afloat successful 57 minutes, while nan Pixel Watch 3 takes 1 hr and 19 minutes. The Galaxy Watch 7 is overmuch slower, pinch a full charging clip of 1 hr 42 minutes.

Many companies do not want you to complaint your artillery to afloat to prolong its lifespan, truthful they often beforehand charging speeds astatine circumstantial intervals. At nan communal 30-minute mark, nan Apple Watch Series 10 reaches 64% of artillery life, while nan Pixel Watch 3 is astatine 55%. The Galaxy Watch 7 continues to lag astatine 36%.

A speedy (or not-so-quick) burst charge

Joe Maring / Digital Trends

Sometimes, you only person clip for a speedy 15-minute complaint while getting fresh for nan day. What tin you expect from a speedy burst if your watch is wholly drained? For nan Apple Watch Series 10, you should execute astir 32%, while nan Pixel Watch 3 gets to 26% and nan Galaxy Watch 7 hits conscionable 17%.

Nirave Gondhia / Digital Trends

These numbers are conscionable percentages, but what does that mean for artillery life? How agelong will that speedy burst complaint past connected each watch? The Apple Watch Series 10 artillery was astatine 32% and our elaborate logging suggests it will past astir 12 hours from that point. That’s much than capable to get you done a night, but it apt won’t way your slumber astatine night. In comparison, nan Pixel Watch 3 lasts astir 2 hours longer astatine 14 hours, while nan Galaxy Watch 7 lasts astir 8 hours.

Fact-checking advertised charging claims

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Every institution promotes awesome artillery life for its products, whether it beryllium reaching an 80% complaint successful X number of minutes aliases artillery life that will past a day, nary matter what you propulsion astatine it. Often, these numbers are reached nether laboratory conditions, truthful do they unrecorded up to nan advertised claims erstwhile utilized pinch each features enabled?

Apple says nan Apple Watch Series 10 tin execute an 80% complaint successful conscionable 30 minutes. In our testing, it’s person to 65%, which is simply a marked betterment complete each different Apple Watch and moreover betters competitors from Google and Samsung’s. This 65% will past you conscionable complete 25 hours, pinch each search and sensors enabled, which ensures you’ll ever get a afloat day’s usage pinch a 30-minute complaint aliases less.

Nirave Gondhia / Digital Trends

Samsung makes nary notable claims astir nan Galaxy Watch 7’s charging speed, truthful there’s thing to comparison it with. That said, it’s worthy noting that successful 30 minutes, it charges to astir 36%, which should past astir 23 hours. It’s not rather a afloat 24 hours, but it’s still capable to get done a afloat day.

Google makes aggregate claims astir nan Pixel Watch 3’s charging speeds. It claims that nan 45mm exemplary tin complaint up to 50% successful 28 minutes and up to 80% successful 50 minutes. In our testing, it was faster than claimed, astatine astir 27 minutes and 45 minutes, respectively. It’s awesome that Google not only lived up to, but exceeded its charging claims.

Which smartwatch wins?

Nirave Gondhia / Digital Trends

Each of these smartwatches is backed by shaper claims that it tin past a afloat day, and while these are technically accurate, location are a fewer cardinal takeaways to note.

The Apple Watch has nan worst artillery life of nan three, but is importantly faster to charge. If you tally retired of complaint conscionable earlier bed, it would return 15 minutes to complaint to much than 30%, nan level that Apple itself promotes arsenic basal to get done nan night.

Meanwhile, for Android users, nan Galaxy Watch 7 is nan slowest to complaint and 2nd successful nan artillery life results. The Pixel Watch 3 has nan champion artillery life and nan 2nd fastest charging, and it’s nan wide victor here. Even though nan Apple Watch Series 10 is supremely accelerated to charge, nan Pixel Watch 3’s endurance ensures it wins this artillery showdown.

It’s astonishing that Apple is truthful acold down successful artillery life, though nan accelerated complaint times surely thief alleviate nan issue. And contempt making smartwatches longer than Google, Samsung trails nan Pixel Watch successful some artillery life and charging. I can’t opportunity these were nan results I was expecting, but they surely are enlightening.