Battery Life - How Does the Watch Face Affect It?

[eloderung]

I've only had my Moto 360 for a little bit, but if anyone has done experimentation: do watch faces drastically affect battery life?

My favorite face has a heavily animated look to it across a black background. My battery life doesn't seem like it's as strong as it should be, given my usage level, amount of notifications, and my desk job compared to what other users see. I haven't eliminated apps yet, though I don't think any of the few apps I have run in the background.

Also, how much navigation can be done on the watch for those who have experimented? The one time I used navigation, on day one, the battery drain was somewhere around 50% in 30 minutes which seemed a tad excessive.

 

[SpookDroid]

Wow! That sounds awful!! 50% in 30 minutes :S

I heard from the AC Podcast that the watchface does impact battery life, but it really doesn't make that much of a difference unless you're constantly looking at it or use the ambient thingy option.

I'm really eager to try this watch out but the constant battery reviews and comments keep pushing me back I don't want to have 4 chargers for my watch!

 

[mr_nobody]

Definitely. Just like on a phone, a misbehaving watchface can have a negative battery impact. Speeds (in the play store) is the one I experienced this with (lg g watch).

[edit]: I also had some weather watchface from the play store and it caused huge wakelocks _on my phone_. So I uninstalled it...

 

[SpookDroid]

I think he meant more in terms of animated/colorful VS static/sober. But yeah, just like a phone will drain a bit faster with a dynamic wallpaper or too many bright spots, the same should stand for a watch.

 

[turnerm]

The Speeds watchface was KILLING my battery. I know that for a fact. Too bad because it's a really nice looking watch face.

 

[atg284]

I get far more battery life with the Moto watch faces. Google needs to release the API soon so developers can make efficient ones!

 

[DanPLC]

I've been loving some of the 3rd party watch faces, but now I'm staying away from them. Over the past 3 days I've stuck with the built-in faces and have had great battery life (lasted my full day until I go to bed with plenty to spare). I don't know for sure if it's related or just luck, but I'm going to play it safe for now.

 

[eloderung]

I ran a test today. Using another third party watch face (Secret Agent Watch Face), my battery life ended up at 60% remaining after 11 hours of light use even with more notifications than normal, compared to about 35% remaining at the same point in the day with the Matrix watch face. Didn't change any other apps on the phone or even restart the watch between tests, so I guess it can have a really substantial impact.