watchOS 9 will fix a battery capacity issue with the Apple Watch

News
By Joe Wituschek
published

Apple Watch SE using Reflect in watchOS 8
Apple Watch SE using Reflect in watchOS 8 (Image credit: Luke Filipowicz / iMore)

What you need to know

  • Apple is improving the maximum battery capacity estimate for the Apple Watch.
  • The feature showed up with the second developer beta of watchOS 9.
  • It specifically applies to the Apple Watch Series 4 and Apple Watch Series 5.

If you have an Apple Watch Series 4 or Apple Watch Series 5, Apple has good news for your battery life.

In the release notes for the second developer beta of watchOS 9, the company has announced that it is improving the estimation of the maximum battery capacity for the Apple Watch Series 4 and Series 5. According to the release, updating to watchOS 9 will recalibrate its battery capacity estimation automatically.

After updating to watchOS 9, your Apple Watch Series 4 or Series 5 will recalibrate and then estimate its maximum battery capacity more accurately.

Apple Watches showing Control center

Apple Watches showing Control center (Image credit: iMore)

This is great news for any owner of an Apple Watch Series 4 or Series 5 that have felt their battery capacity estimation is off based on their battery life experience. Since the update seems to focus in on those two particular models, Apple must feel confident in its calculations for the Apple Watch Series 6 and Series 7, its most recent model.

watchOS 9 is still only available as a developer beta with the public beta expected in July. The new software will be available to all Apple Watch owners (well, at least the Apple Watch Series 4 and later) in the fall.

If you want to get a jump on the best deals on an Apple Watch now, check out our list of the Best Apple Watch deals for Prime Day 2022.

Apple Watch Series 7 Gps Green
Apple Watch Series 7


Bottom line: I love the Apple Watch Series 7, and its small upgrades make for a big difference on most previous models.

Joe Wituschek
Joe Wituschek
Contributor

Joe Wituschek is a Contributor at iMore. With over ten years in the technology industry, one of them being at Apple, Joe now covers the company for the website. In addition to covering breaking news, Joe also writes editorials and reviews for a range of products. He fell in love with Apple products when he got an iPod nano for Christmas almost twenty years ago. Despite being considered a "heavy" user, he has always preferred the consumer-focused products like the MacBook Air, iPad mini, and iPhone 13 mini. He will fight to the death to keep a mini iPhone in the lineup. In his free time, Joe enjoys video games, movies, photography, running, and basically everything outdoors.