Apple Watch battery news: 1,000 charge cycles

Apple.com

Just like any other device, people would be concerned on how often they can properly maintain their Apple Watch through proper charging. With the hefty price it comes with, it is highly unlikely that folks would want to change it as often compared to the Apple smartphones once a new version comes out.

After a teardown by the people over at iFixit, it was found that the battery of the Apple Watch was only a 205 mAh battery. The battery was pretty small particularly if you compare it to the battery used by Android Wear thus raising concerns on how long it would be reliable and when would the battery start to degrade.

Despite its small nature, Apple says that the battery has 1,000 charge cycles. This means that it can retain up to 80% of the original capacity thus allowing Apple Watch owners to enjoy a fully charged wearable 1,000 times before losing 20% of its maximum capacity charge.

Compared to the iPhone (500 charge cycles) and iPods (400 charge cycles), having 1,000 charge cycles does seem pretty impressive and should give some people a sigh of relief.

With that number of charge cycles, the Apple Watch battery should be reliable for at least 2 to 3 years, though it may still depend on the frequency of charging that a person would apply on it.

For now, there is no word on how much reduction in battery usability could happen after using up those allotted 1,000 charge cycles. The best way to find out is in a couple of years though it would be wise to heed Apple's warning and apply the proper techniques in charging your phone.

The Apple Watch, which is priced starting at $549, is a wearable device that is not expected to be replaced as often as smartphones. Thus, the given lifecycle for the battery should be enough, at least before trying to resell or upgrade to a new one by that 2 to 3 year window.