The Galaxy Watch 6 is Samsung’s latest smartwatch, alongside the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Fold 5 . In theory, both watches have bigger batteries than last year’s Watch 5. So has Samsung smartwatch battery life launched improved?
Galaxy Watch 6 comes in two versions – Galaxy Watch 6 and Galaxy Watch 6 Classic. The Classic watch has a few key differences, such as a rotating bezel that Watch 4 Classic fans will love, and a stainless steel body instead of titanium or aluminum. Regardless of these factors, the differences between the Watch 6 and Watch 6 Classic are negligible.
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Each device has the same Samsung watch battery capacity, 300mAh and 435mAh for the small and large models of each watch respectively. Samsung also claims that both devices have the same battery life, 30 hours with AOD on and 40 hours with AOD off. For someone like me , where an always-on display is a no-brainer, I’ll settle for the 30-hour figure.
As Samsung increases its focus on sleep coaching, the Watch 6 will need to be able to last a full day of normal use and rest for a night in sleep mode, which turns off the display completely and saves battery.
Galaxy Watch 6 battery performanceDuring the pre-order phase of the Galaxy Watch 6, we had the chance to try out the watch. That means wearing it day and night, checking notifications and tracking workouts and activity. All that said, we’re very pleased with the Galaxy Watch 6’s battery life.
Samsung’s average Samsung’s battery life of 30 hours is correct. During our usage, it easily lasted a full day of normal use and ended up with about 50-60% battery left. After turning on the sleep mode, the efficiency is greatly improved, and only 10-15% of the power can be used to get through the whole night. When you wake up in the morning, you’ll have about 40% or more power left.
When the time comes, it’s best to plug your Watch 6 into its charger for a quick recharge. The included 10W charger makes it easy, giving you 8 hours of extra battery life in about 8 minutes. We found this figure to be quite accurate, considering this equates to around 30% of a top-up.
Is the battery better?Let’s compare this to the Galaxy Watch 5, which comes in two models with very different specs. The Watch 5 has a 410mAh power source, while the Watch 5 Pro has a 590mAh battery. At this power, the Watch 5 Pro is rated for about 80 hours, which is more than a reasonable estimate. Watch 5 – 44mm 410mAh – only lasts about a day and a half with normal use.
Yes, the Galaxy Watch 6 has better Galaxy Watch 6 battery life compared to the Watch 5.
Users should see an increase in their usage time, with some wiggle room for charging and recording overnight breaks. On our 44mm Watch 6 model, you can easily get through the days and nights without worrying about charging. In fact, it took another 8 hours or so before we realized the device only had so much power left. At that point, it’s necessary to consider charging, which is exactly what you’re looking for in a wearable device.
The jump in performance is certainly a result of increased capacity, and may be partially due to changes in the Exynos W930 processor over the W920 and its improved Bluetooth efficiency, which in turn affects battery life.
If you compare the Watch 5 Pro to the Watch 6 or Watch 6 Classic, then no, the Watch 6’s battery life is not that great.
Samsung’s latest version doesn’t get three days of screen time, but that’s reserved for the “Pro” version. This is to be expected, as the 5 Pro is aimed at a different audience, one that’s more focused on a rugged all-around watch. The Watch5 Pro is still the epitome of a Wear OS watch with great battery life, and will stay that way until Samsung or someone else takes it’s place.
The battery performance of the Galaxy Watch 6 and Watch 6 Classic strikes a balance between providing enough power to last a day and night while still allowing wiggle room when it’s time to recharge. Combined with the relatively fast charging speeds, the Galaxy Watch 6’s battery life is well within the “acceptable” range and is certainly an improvement over last year’s smartwatches.