If you are an Apple Watch owner and you want to know at what percentage you should charge your Apple Watch, this guide is for you.
Apple Watch is a premium smartwatch and if you use it properly, you can use it for years. In the Apple Watch, the battery is a component that degrades faster as compared to other components.
If you don’t take proper care of it, it can go dead and you will ultimately need to replace it. But, what if I tell you there are ways you can use to keep your Apple Watch’s battery healthy for a long time? Excited, right? If you are interested, keep reading because I’m going to tell you about them.
In this WearToTrack Guide, I’ll discuss the following topics.
- The Type of battery you get with Apple Watch
- The right percentage to charge your Apple Watch
- How to store the Apple Watch for the long term in the right way?
- And many more
The secret behind keeping your Apple Watch’s battery healthy is the charge cycle and I’ll mainly focus on it because it will determine how long your battery is going to last. I’ll also share other factors which play an important role in determining the overall battery life of your Apple Watch.
So, without any further ado, let’s get started.
Table of Contents
Which Type Of Battery Does The Apple Watch Use?
Let’s start with discussing the type of battery the Apple Watch uses because it will tell you a lot about its battery life and other attributes. Like most smartwatches, Apple Watch also uses a Lithium-ion battery, arguably one of the most efficient battery technologies available in the market.
The thing with Lithium-ion batteries is that their holding capacity decreases every time you charge them, and this whole process is known as chemically aging.
As you charge your battery more often, its ability to hold its charge will decrease, and once it’s decreased to its low, it will start showing signs of aging. Some of the common problems you will experience will be low frame rates, delays in the launch of apps, screen dimming, and low battery life.
At What Percentage Should I Charge My Apple Watch?
It’s a fact that aging happens to all Lithium-ion batteries, but there are two factors that play an important role in determining the health of your battery.
In the next few paragraphs, I’ll discuss these factors, and you will also get the answer to our main question, which is: At what percentage should you charge your Apple Watch?
These two factors are
- Charge Cycles
- Environmental temperature & Battery percentage at which you store your Apple Watch
Charge Cycles
Let’s start with the first factor, which is the Charge Cycle. In simple terms, Charge Cycle is when you consume your battery from 100% to 0%, and this will be considered one charge cycle. As more charge cycles are completed, the battery life of your lithium-ion battery will decrease.
However, lithium-ion battery reacts completely differently to various segments of the charge cycle. For example, if your battery discharge from 80% to 30%, it will put less strain on your battery as compared to when your battery discharge from 50% to 0% because the temperature rises in the second segment.
In my research, I came across interesting research by Battery University, where the researchers found the ideal charge cycle of lithium-ion batteries. In the study, the researchers studied the behavior of lithium-ion batteries at various battery levels and their discharging, and they concluded that the ideal charge cycle for lithium-ion batteries is 75% to 25% if you want to prolong their life.
It means that if you want to maintain the capacity of your battery, it’s important that you charge your battery to 75% and not let it discharge below 25%. In the study, they also found that the charge cycle between 100% and 25% was less effective than the above charge cycle.
They also found that the charge cycle of 75% to 65% was the best, but the researchers concluded that it wasn’t a sustainable charge cycle.
In a nutshell, if you want to maintain the current capacity of your Apple Watch’s battery, it’s important that you keep the charge cycle between 75% to 25%.
Environmental Temperature & Battery Percentage At Which You Store Your Apple Watch
The second factor which affects the battery’s health is the environmental temperature. According to Apple, Apple Watch must not be kept below 32°F and not higher than 95°F. The ideal temperature for using Apple Watch is between 32ۜ°F and 95°F.
If you use your Apple Watch outside the recommended ambient temperatures, the health of your battery life will be affected, and you will see a rapid decline in its health with time.
How To Keep The Battery Of The Apple Watch Healthy For A Long Time?
If you want to Prolong the battery life and Health of your Apple Watch, it’s important that you follow these two tips.
- The first tip is that you shouldn’t overcharge your Apple Watch. Always keep your Apple Watch’s charge cycle between 25% and 75% as it will help you keep your Apple Watch’s battery healthy.
- The second tip is that you shouldn’t expose your Apple Watch to extreme temperatures. If you live in an area with extreme temperatures, try to protect your Apple Watch from rapid temperature changes as it will affect the battery’s health.
What’s The Safe Way Of Storing The Apple Watch For The Long Term?
If you want to store your Apple Watch for the long term, it’s very important you do it the right way, and I’ll explain in the next few sections. According to Apple, if you want to safely store your Apple Watch for the long term, it’s important that you follow these four steps.
Step 1
The First step you need to do is to make sure that your Apple Watch isn’t fully charged. The company recommends that you charge your battery at 50%.
If you charge at a fully discharged level, it’s possible that your watch might go into a deep discharge state, which makes your battery useless as it won’t be able to hold a charge.
Similarly, if you store your battery at 100%, with time, the capacity of your battery will decrease, and it will reduce the battery life. So, the ideal charge level for storing your watch is 50%.
Step 2
The second step is that you turn off your smartwatch so that the watch doesn’t use the charge of the battery.
Step 3
The third and very important step is that you keep your smartwatch in a temperature-controlled and moisture-free environment. It’s also very important that you keep your smartwatch at a temperature below 90°F.
Step 4
Last but not least, once you store your Apple Watch, it’s important that you take it out every six months and recharge it back to 50% to keep it in good condition.
Frequently Asked Questions [ FAQs ]
Should I Charge My Apple Watch To 100%?
No, Experts don’t recommend that because it will reduce the battery capacity of your Apple Watch. According to research, the ideal charging cycle is 75% to 25% which will prolong your battery capacity, and you will keep getting good battery life.
Should I Charge Apple Watch Daily?
If you are an avid Apple Watch user and you wear it most of the time, you can surely charge it daily. However, make sure that you don’t charge it to 100% daily and keep the charge cycle between 75% and 25% for better results.
Do You Have To Fully Charge Your Apple Watch Before Use?
No, there’s no hard and fast rule about fully charging your Apple Watch before you use it. So, if you are using your Apple Watch for the first time, you can charge it up to 75% and start using it.
Can You Charge Apple Watch Too Much?
No, Apple Watch comes with many safety mechanisms which prevent users from charging their Apple Watches too much. The first safety switch is that once your Apple Watch is charged to 80%, the charging speed will get slower. According to experts, you shouldn’t let your Apple Watch on charge for longer periods as it can affect its health.
Is It Ok To Charge Apple Watch Overnight?
No, it’s not recommended because if you leave your watch on charge overnight, the health of your battery will decrease. The average charging time of the Apple Watch is 90 minutes, so It’s recommended that you recharge your Apple Watch before you go to bed.
How Low Should I Let My Apple Watch Battery Get?
The experts recommend that you shouldn’t let your Apple Watch battery get below 25% if you want to prolong the battery life and keep your battery healthy.
Can I Charge My Apple Watch With Magsafe Duo Charger?
Yes, you can use Magsafe Duo Charger to recharge your Apple Watch. According to Apple, Magsafe Duo Charger can be used to recharge Apple Watch and iPhones.
Can I Use Third-party Chargers To Charge My Apple Watch?
Yes, as long as the third-party charger has Apple’s MFi Certification, you can use it to recharge your Apple Watch. However, make sure that it has the MFi certification because it’ll be proof that the hardware has been approved by Apple and you can use it with your Apple Devices including Apple Watch.
Conclusion
Apple Watch comes with a high-quality Lithium battery and it’s currently the standard when it comes to smartwatch batteries.
In this guide, I’ve shared the factors which affect the health of the battery and shared tips that you can use to prolong its life. I’ve also shared the right way you can use to store your Apple Watch for a long time.
I hope that you found this guide helpful and if you have any questions, please let me know in the comments. Also, if you experience a battery drain issue with your Apple Watch and you want to fix it, check this guide where I’ve shared various tips which you can use to fix the issue.
As a professional trainer and a gadget lover, I’ve spent a lot of money and time buying wearable activity trackers, smartwatches, and gadgets, and checking them out. My site is focused on helping you with your activity tracking and smart technology journey. I try to provide the most helpful updated content on this subject. Hopefully, you will love my blogs and be a regular around here.
