After Apple released watchOS 10.1, users started reporting a significant decline in battery life. The issue is not limited to the latest Apple Watch models only, but older models suffer from the same problem. The good news is that Apple has acknowledged the issue and will be sending out a new update that fixes the issue soon. As 9to5Mac points out, you can find reports of low battery life all over Reddit and Apple’s support forums. There are some users who report that they lost 25% of battery life in just half an hour, while others say that their watch stopped completely after three hours. This is significantly less than the 18 hours cited as battery life for the new-generation Apple Watch Series 9. In our review, we noted that the Apple Watch lived up to those promises despite the screen being brighter than previous models. But that was before watchOS 10.1 was released. The latest update introduced a highly anticipated feature, double tap, but it’s not clear if this is the source of the problem. Apple claims that only the Series 9 and Ultra 2 models can handle a double tap without a dip in battery life, thanks to the newer processors. So in theory, this shouldn’t be an issue, especially since older models also suffer from battery degradation. Unfortunately, while Apple acknowledged the issue, it only did so in an internal memo it sent to Apple authorized service providers. That note doesn’t provide any details about the issue or a timeline for when Apple will release the update. For now, all we have is the promise of “soon.” It’s not clear how many watch owners are affected by the issue. If you are among them, now there is no need to take your watch to an Apple store. Just wait for the next update.
