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Apple Watch Low Power Mode: WatchOS 9 Extends Battery Life

A new option for the Apple Watch could make the battery last much longer.

Meara Isenberg Writer
Meara covers streaming service news for CNET. She recently graduated from the University of Texas at Austin, where she wrote for her college newspaper, The Daily Texan, as well as for state and local magazines. When she's not writing, she likes to dote over her cat, sip black coffee and try out new horror movies.
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Apple Watch showing low-power mode
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At its "Far Out" event Wednesday, Apple announced a new low power mode option for its Apple Watch. The feature will be available on all Apple Watch models from Series 4 up that run the WatchOS9 software.

This story is part of Focal Point iPhone 2023, CNET's collection of news, tips and advice around Apple's most popular product.

The low power mode feature for Apple Watch should operate similarly to how it works on iPhones and iPads. Apple says that the feature will give you up to 36 hours of battery life on a full charge for the Apple Watch Series 8, and up to five days for the Apple Watch Ultra.

While low power mode will disable certain features like always-on display, automatic workout detection and heart health notifications, Apple Watches will still maintain core features like activity tracking and fault detection. Low power mode will be separate from "power reserve" mode, which shuts down features and connectivity and only shows the time.

Watch this: Apple Watch Series 8 Can Detect Car Crashes

Read more about the products announced at Apple's events, including the iPhone 14, AirPods Pro 2, Apple Watch Series 8 and Apple Watch Ultra. We've even got a release date for iOS 16. 

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