Apple Watch Series 9 battery and charging

Unsurprisingly, due to the unchanged overall design, the battery size of the Apple Watch Series 9 is the same size as the one on the previous Apple Watch Series 8, which also had 45 and 41mm versions, boasting 282mAh and 308mAh batteries, respectively. 

What does this mean for the potential battery life of the Apple Watch Series 9? For years, Apple's wearables have struggled to last more than a day on a single charge, with even frugal use depleting their batteries in less than 24 hours. Apple usually claims an 18-hour battery life estimate for its smartwatches, and we probably shouldn't expect a much larger estimate for the next wearable.

Well, Apple gives the same 18-hour battery estimate for the Apple Watch Series 9 as well. In low-power mode, this estimate jumps to 36 hours. That's essentially the single-day battery life we've come to expect of Apple's regular smartwatches, so the new chip hasn't really vastly improved the battery endurance of the smartwatch.

And just as you might imagine, the Apple Watch Series 9 delivers mostly the same battery life as previous Apple Watch devices. You can expect roughly a full day of battery life before you have to recharge the device. You can squeeze out more if you resort to a more frugal usage, but don't expect that to work out wonders.  

In terms of charging, Apple hasn't improved things at all. The Apple Watch Series 9 has inherited the same USB Type-C charging puck of the Apple Watch Series 8 that tops up the watch in roughly an hour and 15 minutes or so. Surely, faster charging would make it that much more appealing, but we don't see Apple changing its tune in this regard.