Apple Watch SE 2: Battery Life & Charging Times, Explained

The Apple Watch SE 2 was announced in September 2022 as a follow-up to the original Apple Watch SE, but does it bring any improvements to battery life? Battery life is one of the most crucial aspects of a smartwatch, as it decides how frequently the user needs to plug the device into a power source. Alongside the Watch SE, Apple also unveiled the Watch Series 8 and Apple Watch Ultra. While the Apple Watch Series 8 offers up to 18 hours of usage on a single charge, the Apple Watch Ultra goes up to 36 hours, which can be extended to 60 hours with the Low Power Mode.

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As it turns out, Apple promises the same battery life for the Apple Watch SE 2 as it does for the Apple Watch SE (2020), i.e., “18 hours after an overnight charge.” This includes up to 90-time checks, 90 notifications, a 60-minute workout with music playback, and 45 minutes of app use. As per tests conducted by Apple in August 2022, the Watch SE 2 is rated to last up to 1.5 hours on a call via LTE. It can provide a maximum of 10 hours of audio playback from offline storage. In comparison, the Watch Series 8 provides up to 11 hours of audio playback.

Related: Is The Apple Watch SE 2 Waterproof? Read This Before Buying

Low Power Mode Increases Watch SE 2 Battery Life

In terms of workouts, the affordable Watch SE 2 can record up to 10 hours of indoor workouts and up to six hours of outdoor workouts with GPS — an hour less than what the Apple Watch Series 8 offers. Although the company lists these numbers on its official website, the battery life depends upon usage patterns and may differ from user to user.

While the Watch SE 2 does not come with an improvement in battery life, Apple has released a new Low Power Mode for all models that support watchOS 9. The Low Power Mode should help users get more out of their Apple Watch SE. The Watch Series 8 can last up to 36 hours on the Low Power Mode by disabling features such as an always-on display and automatic workout detection. However, Apple does not mention how long can the Watch SE last in Low Power Mode.

According to unofficial reports, the Apple Watch SE (40mm) has a 245mAh battery while the Apple Watch Series 8 (41mm) has a 282mAh battery. This difference in battery capacity (about 15 percent) should also reflect users’ effective battery life on both the regular and the Low Power modes. Therefore, users should expect the new Watch SE’s battery life to fall slightly behind the Apple Watch Series 8.

Regarding the charging time, the Apple Watch SE is not as fast as other models released in 2022. When used with the 20W USB-C Power Adapter, the Apple Watch SE takes about 1.5 hours to charge to 80 percent and about 2.5 hours for a complete charge. With the Apple Watch SE, users get a Magnetic Charging USB-C Cable, but the power brick is not included in the box. In contrast, the Apple Watch Series 8 takes about 45 minutes to charge up to 80 percent and about 75 minutes to reach 100 percent.

Enable Low Power Mode On Apple Watch SE 2

If users run short on battery on their Apple Watch SE 2, the Low Power mode is easy to enable. The quickest way to enable the mode is by swiping up from the bottom of the Apple Watch’s screen to open Control Center. Tap the battery percentage icon, and then turn on the toggle next to ‘Low Power Mode.’ A warning will appear on the screen, notifying users that the mode will limit the sensors and Wi-Fi connections. It also states that incoming notifications could be delayed, and features such as background heart rate measurements and heart rate notifications will be disabled.

Scrolling down on the screen lets users tap ‘Turn On’ to enable the mode. Alternatively, users can tap ‘Turn On For’ to enable it for a specific time period, with choices of one day, two days, or three days. Low Power Mode will automatically turn on when the Apple Watch SE 2 battery dips below 10 percent, and automatically turn off when the battery is charged to 80 percent, unless users have chosen to keep it enabled for a certain number of days.

Source: Apple