How to check your Apple Watch battery health in a few taps

Where to find the battery health screen

Apple Watch owners can check the state of their battery in a few taps. According to Engadget, the path is Settings, then Battery, then Battery Health. That screen shows the maximum battery capacity and lets you switch on optimised battery charging.

Maximum capacity matters because lithium-ion batteries, used in the Apple Watch just as in the iPhone and iPad, weaken as they age. A lower figure usually means fewer hours of use between charges.

When a battery needs service

As with an iPhone, a trip to the Genius Bar may be needed once the watch's maximum capacity falls below 80 percent, Engadget notes. That threshold is a common sign the battery can no longer hold a useful charge.

People who rarely open the settings menu are not left in the dark. The watch sends an alert when the battery requires service, so the problem is flagged without manual checks.

What optimised charging does

Optimised battery charging adapts to your usual charging habits to extend the battery's lifespan. Engadget reports that it delays charging above 80 percent, holding the level between 75 and 80 percent, with the aim of reaching a full charge by the time you take the watch off.

The feature is not limited to recent models. It is supported on hardware as old as the Series 6, the Apple Watch SE and the first Ultra.

How to preserve battery life day to day

Keeping watchOS up to date is a good starting point. Beyond that, Engadget suggests turning on Low Power Mode, which switches off background oxygen monitoring, the always-on display and other features that drain power.

During workouts, the Power Saving option in the Workout section of the Apple Watch app on iPhone disables the heart rate sensor. Engadget cautions this may reduce the accuracy of some health metrics, but it helps preserve the battery.

Another option is to disable Wake on Wrist Raise. Press the Digital Crown, go to Settings, then Display & Brightness, and scroll down to Wake. For a temporary fix, Theater Mode stops the screen lighting up when you move your wrist.

Why it matters

Battery life is a headline feature of modern Apple Watches. Engadget points to the new Ultra 4, which the company says lasts 50 hours of normal use per charge and 84 hours in low power mode. Even so, no lithium-ion battery lasts forever.

Apple says models from the Series 5, SE and Ultra onwards include software that reduces the risk of poor performance as batteries age. Checking capacity occasionally, and using the charging and power settings above, can help a watch stay useful for longer before a replacement or service becomes necessary.