Apple Watch Series 4 Revealed To Have Smaller Battery Capacity Than Predecessor

Despite what a third-party teardown claimed earlier this week, the official specs sheet for the new Apple Watch Series 4 revealed that the new models have smaller battery capacities than last year’s Series 3 models.

MacRumors pointed out Tuesday that Apple’s Product Information Sheet apparently contradicts what iFixit’s teardown claimed. It was stated in iFixit’s report that the Series 4 44mm model has a slightly bigger battery. However, the comparison was not fair since it was done with the 33mm model of the Apple Watch Series 3.

In the official specs sheet, the Apple Watch Series 4 models are listed as having less battery capacities than their counterparts from the Series 3. For instance, the 44mm Series 4 model has a 1.12 watt-hours capacity while the 42mm Series 3 model has a 1.34 watt-hours capacity. The 40mm Series 4 model is rated at 0.86 watt-hours while the 38mm Series 3 model has 1.07 watt-hours.

Based on the data presented, the 44mm Series 4 model has around 16.5 percent less battery capacity than the 42mm Series 3 model. Similarly, the 40mm Series 4 model has around 19.7 percent less battery capacity than the 38mm Series 3 model.

However, the smaller battery capacities seem to be not a big problem here. The reduced capacities reportedly do not affect running time. Apple even boldly markets its Series 4 smartwatches as having the same 18-hour battery life as their predecessors.

According to AppleInsider, the battery life of the Apple Watch Series 4 models are just as long as that of the Series 3 models because of the improved power consumption of the former. The adoption of LTPO (low-temperature polycrystalline oxide) for the display of the Series 4 models has proven to be a beneficial move.

Aside from the new display technology, the Apple Watch Series 4 has more efficient cores that presumably consume less power than the cores found in the Series 3. Other components of the new Apple Watch are believed to be more efficient, as well.