About Optimized Battery Charging on your Apple Watch - Apple Support (2024)

With Optimized Battery Charging, your Apple Watch learns from your daily charging habits to improve the lifespan of your battery. And supported Apple Watch models offer additional battery charge optimizations with Optimized Charge Limit.

Battery lifespan

A battery's lifespan is related to its chemical age, which is more than just the length of time since the battery was assembled. A battery's chemical age results from a complex combination of several factors, including temperature history and charging pattern.

All rechargeable batteries are consumable components that become less effective as they chemically age. As lithium-ion batteries chemically age, the amount of charge they can hold diminishes, resulting in reduced battery life and reduced peak performance.

Learn more about Apple Watch battery and performance and how to maximize battery performance and lifespan.

How Optimized Battery Charging works

With watchOS 7 and later, your Apple Watch learns from your daily charging habits to improve the lifespan of your battery. This feature, called Optimized Battery Charging, is designed to reduce the wear on your battery and improve its lifespan by reducing the time your Apple Watch spends fully charged. Optimized Battery Charging is on by default when you set up your Apple Watch or after updating to watchOS 7 or later.

When the feature is turned on, your watch delays charging past 80% in certain situations. In these situations, the watch's battery level remains between 75% and 80%. Your watch uses on-device machine learning to learn your daily charging routine so that Optimized Battery Charging activates only when your watch predicts it will be connected to a charger for an extended period of time. The algorithm aims to ensure that your Apple Watch is still fully charged when you remove it from the charger.

You can make your watch charge to full before it's scheduled to do so:

  1. Make sure that your Apple Watch is connected to its charger.

  2. Tap your watch to show the charging screen, then tap the circle with the green or yellow charging iconAbout Optimized Battery Charging on your Apple Watch - Apple Support (1).

  3. Tap Charge to Full Now.

Your Apple Watch takes time to learn your charging patterns before it uses Optimized Battery Charging. If your Apple Watch is new, or if you recently updated to watchOS 7 or later, the charging screen will say Charging to full.

If you want to turn off Optimized Battery Charging:

  1. Open the Settings app on your Apple Watch.

  2. Scroll down, then tap Battery.

  3. Tap Battery Health.

  4. Turn off Optimized Battery Charging.

    About Optimized Battery Charging on your Apple Watch - Apple Support (2)
  5. Choose Turn Off Until Tomorrow or Turn Off.

If you have Apple Watch Ultra, Optimized Battery Charging is always on.

Optimized Charge Limit on Apple Watch

In addition to Optimized Battery Charging, supported Apple Watch models offer Optimized Charge Limit. With watchOS 10, this feature is available on Apple Watch SE, Apple Watch Series 6 and later, and Apple Watch Ultra and later. Optimized Charge Limit learns from your daily usage to determine when to charge to an optimized limit and when to allow a full charge. Optimized Charge Limit is on by default when you set up your Apple Watch.

With Optimized Charge Limit active, an open charge ring appears when you connect your Apple Watch to its charger. If you want to charge your watch beyond the optimized limit, follow these steps:

  1. Make sure that your Apple Watch is connected to its charger.

  2. Tap your watch to show the charging screen, then tap the circle with the green or yellow charging iconAbout Optimized Battery Charging on your Apple Watch - Apple Support (3).

  3. Tap Charge to Full Now.

About Optimized Battery Charging on your Apple Watch - Apple Support (4)

Your Apple Watch takes time to learn your charging patterns before it uses Optimized Battery Charging or Optimized Charge Limit. If your Apple Watch is new, the charging screen will say Charging to full. Optimized Charge Limit changes dynamically depending on how you use your Apple Watch. Based on your usage patterns, your watch might charge to 100% on some days, and less on others.

Turning off Optimized Charge Limit can increase wear on your battery and reduce its lifespan.

To turn off Optimized Charge Limit on Apple Watch Series 9 or Apple Watch Ultra and later:

  1. Open the Settings app on your watch.

  2. Scroll down, then tap Battery.

  3. Tap Battery Health.

  4. Turn off Optimized Charge Limit.

  5. Choose Turn Off Until Tomorrow or Turn Off.

On Apple Watch SE, Series 6, Series 7, and Series 8, turning off Optimized Battery Charging also turns off Optimized Charge Limit.

Optimized Battery Charging activates only in certain locations

Optimized charging is designed to activate only in locations where you spend the most time, such as your home and place of work. The feature doesn't turn on when your usage habits are more variable, such as when you travel.

Turning on these location settings in the Settings app on your Apple Watch can help Optimized Battery Charging identify situations where it shouldn't be used:

  • Privacy & Security > Location Services > Location Services

  • Privacy & Security > Location Services > System Services > System Customization

  • Privacy & Security > Location Services > System Services > Significant Locations > Significant Locations

None of the location information for this feature is sent to Apple.

Published Date:

About Optimized Battery Charging on your Apple Watch - Apple Support (2024)

FAQs

About Optimized Battery Charging on your Apple Watch - Apple Support? ›

This feature, called Optimized Battery Charging, is designed to reduce the wear on your battery and improve its lifespan by reducing the time your Apple Watch spends fully charged. Optimized Battery Charging is on by default when you set up your Apple Watch or after updating to watchOS 7 or later.

Should I charge Apple Watch to 80%? ›

To reduce battery aging, Apple Watch uses on-device machine learning to learn your daily charging routines so it can wait to finish charging past 80 percent until you need to use it. Open the Settings app on your Apple Watch. Tap Battery, then tap Battery Health.

Should Apple Watch be charged to 100%? ›

All Apple devices use lithium batteries which control their charging to shut off when the battery is fully charged. Your iPhone and Apple Watch will not be damaged by charging at any battery state, and a full top-up ensures you begin the next day with maximum readiness and battery duration.

Is Apple optimized Battery Charging good? ›

In macOS Big Sur or later, Optimized Battery Charging is designed to improve the lifespan of your battery and reduce the time your Mac spends fully charged. When the feature is enabled, your Mac will delay charging past 80% in certain situations.

What happens if I turn off optimized Battery Charging? ›

Turning off charging optimizations can increase wear on your battery and reduce its lifespan.

Is it better to charge to 80 or 90? ›

Most of the time you should only charge an EV to 80% because charging rates slow down dramatically past the 80% mark. And two, the long-term health of your vehicle's battery pack is improved when kept below 100%.

What is the 40 80 rule for batteries? ›

It is true that not charging your battery past 80% or letting it drain to 0% all the time can extend its lifespan. It is the constant charge and discharge of electricity that wears batteries down over time.

Is it OK to leave Apple Watch charging overnight? ›

The battery technology used in Apple Watches is designed to handle nightly charging without significant negative effects on battery health.

Is it OK to charge Apple Watch every night? ›

All Apple Watches and iPhones are designed to be charged all night every night on the recommended charger. Unless you are prepared to turn them off for long term storage, "making them last" more than a day actually uses more charge and will shorten battery health.

Is it OK to charge your Apple Watch Everyday? ›

With watchOS 7 and later, your Apple Watch learns from your daily charging habits to improve the lifespan of your battery. This feature, called Optimized Battery Charging, is designed to reduce the wear on your battery and improve its lifespan by reducing the time your Apple Watch spends fully charged.

What is the disadvantage of optimized battery charging? ›

Cons. Inconvenience:If you have an irregular schedule, or if you often need to charge your phone quickly, Optimized Battery Charging can cause some inconvenience. Because it's designed to finish charging close to when you usually start using your phone, it might not always be fully charged when you need it to be.

What is the point of optimized battery charging? ›

Optimised Charging is a feature found on iPhones and Android phones. It is designed to extend the life of the battery by slowing down the rate of charge when the phone is not in use. Battery life and performance is often one of the deciding factors in a smartphone purchase decision.

Is it good to have optimized charging on? ›

Introduced in iOS 13, the Optimized Battery Charging feature is a great way to help maximize your battery's capability and improve its lifespan. Optimized Battery Charging does this by using machine learning to understand your usage habits. This includes active using of the phone, idle time, and charging time.

Is optimized Battery Charging bad for battery? ›

Using optimised battery charging can increase your phone's lifespan, but it may not be beneficial if you have irregular sleep patterns or don't charge your phone overnight. You can easily turn off the feature in your phone's settings.

What is the difference between optimized charging and 80 limit? ›

A1: Optimized Battery Charging works by learning your charging habits. It stops charging when it reaches 80%, and then completes the rest 20% before you need it. 80% Limit, on the other hand, is a way to restrict charging to a maximum of 80%.

Why turn off battery optimization? ›

If you need to keep certain apps active even when you're not using them, you can turn off battery optimization in these apps. This keeps them running in the background, but may cause them to use more battery power.

What is the 40 80 rule on iPhones? ›

But that's not true. According to the "40-80 Rule", lithium-ion batteries, like the ones inside iPhones, work best when they are between 40% and 80% of their capacity. When they are too full or too low, they experience more wear and lose their ability to hold a charge over time.

Can you replace Apple Watch battery below 80%? ›

All AppleCare plans include battery service cover, which means your battery can be replaced at no charge if we test your product and its battery retains less than 80% of its original capacity. AppleCare+ also provides cover for accidental damage from handling, and each incident is subject to a service fee.

What is a good battery health for Apple Watch? ›

Go back to Settings > Battery > Battery Health. Notice there you get a MAXIMUM CAPACITY measurement. If that is over 80 percent, you should be good. Below that, then your battery is getting suspect and you're probably noticing that your Apple Watch no longer holds its charge like it once did.

Are you supposed to charge your Apple Watch every night? ›

All Apple Watches and iPhones are designed to be charged all night every night on the recommended charger. Unless you are prepared to turn them off for long term storage, "making them last" more than a day actually uses more charge and will shorten battery health.

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