I just got the new AW Ultra and the battery lasted me about a day and a half. Then Without meaning to I turned off the Always On and it’s been 12 hours since last full charge and it just hit 90%…. That’s such a relief.
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It would drive me nuts to have a blank screen even for a second
If you leave it off, just get a SE
AOD was the main reason I upgraded from S0 to S5. Recently did “battery replacement” (watch replacement) and while I leave AOD on, I disabled turn to wake. The AOD is plenty bright to read the time, and if I get a notification I actually want to read all I have to do is tap. I get about 30 hours of battery life with this setup.
AOD does eat quit a bit of battery. I rarely use it on any of my watches. Also, you might consider turning off noise monitoring if it is set on, that also will further reduce battery drain.
If AOD is off does that turn off heart monitoring and other health tracking aspects?
Thanks for the reminder about noise monitoring. I tried turning it back on when I got my AWU2 but I go to very few loud places. The only times it has triggered is when it’s under a hand drier!
my belief is that it’s a watch and a basic necessity of such a thing is an always-on display
Yes. I spent three years with the Series 2 constantly frustrated during running workouts when I would glance at the watch and see nothing - my “wrist raise” apparently wasn’t strong enough. Sometimes even exaggerated wrist raise didn’t work and I’d have to tap the display. I’ve had AOD since getting the Series 5. It’s a must-have feature for me.
I turned mine off just because I don’t feel it’s necessary when you can just wake the screen. I have the S9 not the ultra though so the impact on my battery is probably greater.
I turn it off on days when I know I’ll be using my Ultra a lot and also won’t be able to add a bit of charge if I need to (like marathon days at Disneyland)
I’ve always has the AOD off on both my watch and iPhone. I personally don’t find the feature useful at all, but YMMV.
I turned it off and I get 3 days of battery life.
kinda a waste of a key feature by turning it off. Ultra has good battery. no need to pick at every little thing to save more battery.
This!
I keep it off on both my phone and watch. While I understand the need for it on the phone, I really don’t get it on the watch, and the battery drain that comes with it. I can’t see the watch unless I lift my wrist up…in which case the display lights up anyway.
AOD was a major factor that determined whether my old S5 could make it through a marathon or not (regular power for proper HR tracking + onboard Spotify + AirPods).
With the AWU2 battery (same as AWU), I leave AOD on, even during training. Unless you’re running ultra marathons, or don’t have accessible charging for days, AOD is such a quality of life feature that should really be left on.
It’s a little exaggerated, but buying an AWU and kneecapping its features is like buying a Porsche and driving it exclusively in school zones.
I prefer it off and the slower battery drain.
Tried both.
Love the batter life. Hate the lag in what should be a micro-moment to read. (Especially if at gym and timing between sets or using maps for navigation.)I keep AOD on by default. But if travelling or out for long periods or likely to wake up somewhere unexpected: it’s a great way to extend battery.
Someone else here mentioned making a shortcut and adding to Smart Stack. I like that idea. 👍
After WatchOS 10 I’ve even created a shortcut to quickly toggle AOD and put it into Smart Stack, otherwise there’s a high chance my launch day S8 won’t last through the day with my regular workout schedule.