Consumers who fork out $14,000 for a new Apple Smartwatch will only be able to get three hours talk time out of the device at best despite the hefty price ticket.
Apple CEO Tim Cook who claims that he had been waiting to make a phone call via a smartwatch since he was six failed to mention this key fact when he was bragging about the 18 hour battery life of the new Apple offering.
The poor battery life information was buried in an Apple product information page given out at the event. The only time a user will get 18 hours is when the device is in a non-perform mode.
Listening to music will get you just six-and-a-half hours of battery life and working out while the Apple Watch monitors your health will give you just seven hours.
The new Apple smart watch will cost between $499 and $14,000 in Australia could prove a major problem for users who will have to charge up multiple times in a day using the magnetic clip-on charger.
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Cook claimed on Tuesday that the new device would be “revolutionary”, but now it seems that the battery might be what one tech website described as its “Achilles Heel”.
On its website, Apple gave figures for battery life based on the smaller 38mm (1.4 inch) version. The 42mm (1.7 inch) version will last longer, though no figures were given.
Leaving it in reserve mode will last up to 72 hours, and leaving it in “Watch Test” mode will last up to 48 hours.
But should you use any of the features Mr Cook talked about in his press conference, it will last significantly less.
Apple tried to make the figures more impressive by giving an example of a typical user chewing up their 18 hours of battery life as follows: 90 time checks (five per hour), 90 notifications, 45 minutes of app use, and a 30-minute workout with music playback via Bluetooth.
But on the product page of the watch website, it also gave the lower figures for talking or using it to workout.
To charge up the device users will have to take the watch off and connect the magnetic charger to the back of the device.
They will have to leave it there for one-and-a-half hours to get to 80 per cent full and two-and-a-half hours to get to 100 per cent.
On its website, Apple says: “Battery life varies by use, configuration, and many other factors; actual results will vary.”
Maybe Apple needs to talk to Chinese smartphone producer Oppo who is set to deliver a smartwatch that fully recharges in five minutes.
The fast charging claim, would certainly work around power issues associated with the new Apple device.
By comparison, users of the LG G Watch, which runs Google’s Android Wear system, get two days before it dies.
Writing on Techcrunch.com, Matt Burns said that “Apple clearly does not foresee selling the Watch based on its battery life”.
He wrote: “Battery life could be the Achilles heel for the Apple Watch. It’s unquestionably a beautiful and capable device, but if the battery life falls short even a touch from these advertised claims, it will leave many users wearing a device that can just tell the time and not call an Uber (taxi).”
Apple Watch Sport is the cheapest and is made of custom silver anodized aluminium whilst Apple Watch is the mid-range option and is made of a specially designed stainless steel.
All three models will do a huge range of things such as checking you in at your hotel, ordering you a taxi or letting you check in to your flight that is if you have battery power.
So if you are using the device to replace the electronic key on your BMW you may want to take your spare key with you.
