watchOS 7 handles the battery of your Apple Watch better. The new watchOS update extends the life of your battery by means of ‘optimized charging’.
This is how optimized loading works in watchOS 7
Optimized charging could already be found on iPhones, but in watchOS 7 the Apple Watch also gets the smart charging function. The charging technology prevents wear and tear by learning when and for how long you put your Watch on the charger. For example, do you always charge your Watch in the evening? Then the battery is first charged ‘normally’ to 80 percent.
The last 20 percent is charged about an hour before you wake up. This way you can always put your Watch on your wrist again the next morning with a full battery. The distributed charging is better for your battery, so that you do not hang the battery on the charger for a long time with a 100 percent full battery.
watchOS 7 also takes into account when you do not sleep at home for an evening and therefore may also have a different charging rhythm. This works best when you have the location services of your watch turned on. These are on by default, but you can also turn them on as follows:
- Open the Settings app on your Watch and tap ‘Privacy’;
- Tap ‘Location Services’ and turn on the switch;
- Scroll down and tap on ‘System Features’;
- Turn on the switch behind ‘System Adjustment’;
- Scroll down and tap ‘Important Locations’
- Enter your access code and turn on the switch here too.
The locations will remain on the Apple Watch and will not be sent to Apple or third parties.
This is how you switch off Optimized charging
Optimized charging is enabled by default in watchOS 7, but it can of course happen that you have to charge your watch a little faster than normal. Then you can easily switch off optimized loading temporarily. This works as follows:
- Open the Settings app on your Apple Watch and tap Battery;
- Scroll down and tap on ‘Battery health’
- Scroll down and tap on ‘Optimized charging’;
Or turn the feature off completely by tapping Turn Off.
Do you want to switch optimized charging back on? Then you can repeat the steps above and turn the function back on. Under ‘Battery condition’ you can also see the capacity of your battery. Just got a new Apple Watch Series 6 or SE? Then the capacity is probably 100 percent.
As soon as this percentage goes down, your battery is somewhat worn out and you will have to turn on your smart watch faster. By using optimized loading, the capacity remains as high as possible and you will see this percentage drop as little as possible.
More about watchOS 7
watchOS 7 is the major Apple Watch update of 2020. Op iPhone we regularly share useful tips to get the most out of the watchOS update. For example, we explain how to set a sleep schedule, or how to adjust your Activity goals on your Watch, for example.
Do your kids also use an Apple Watch? Then we’ll explain how to set up Family Configuration, and how the School Time function works. Do you have an Apple Watch for the first time? Then take a look at our Apple Watch beginner’s guide.