[Updated: Aug 9] Apple Watch users hoping watchOS 7.6 update fixes excessive battery drain issue in watchOS 7.5

New updates are being added at the bottom of this story…

Original story (published on July 15, 2020) follows:

Over the years, Apple has dominated the smartwatch niche with the Apple Watch. The state-of-the-art hardware combined with watchOS is what sets them apart.

Even though they are packed with great features and advanced sensors, the battery life on these smartwatches has at times been mediocre at best.

Having said that, Apple has had bad luck with watchOS updates. Whenever the tech giant releases an update to watchOS, users have reported about battery drain.

A few weeks ago, we reported that users who updated to Apple watchOS 7.4.1 complained of excessive battery drain.

While most of the issues are resolved after a few days, users have been relentlessly complaining about the Apple Watch battery drain ever since the release of the watchOS 7.4.1.

And the battery drain isn’t limited to a device or series. Everyone from Series 3 to Series 6 is affected by the issue.

With the release of watchOS 7.5, Apple Watch users were hoping that the issue would be fixed. As it turns out, that was not the case.

I updated my AW 4 to WatchOS 7.5 in the afternoon yesterday. The update went well. At lunch today, I took a 50 minute walk and just now, at 1440h in the afternoon, the watch hit 10%. The battery is basically new and I normally have 60% when I go to bed so something’s afoot. Has anyone else noticed increased battery drain in 7.5? Cheers Philip
(Source)

after the latest software updates the batteries have had a drastic drop in life. iPhone 12pro and Apple Watch 6.
(Source)

Nevertheless, users are hopeful that the watchOS 7.6 will fix the battery drain issue on their Apple Watch.

We wonder why Apple is taking so much time to even acknowledge the issue, let alone work on a fix.

Since Apple hasn’t officially acknowledged the issue and there is no mention of any battery drain fix in watchOS 7.6 RC, chances are pretty slim that Apple is working on the same.

But we cannot say anything for sure. They might be aware of the issue and working on a fix in the background.

Either way, users are crippled by the current battery performance of the Apple Watch. With the watch lasting for a couple of hours, it certainly does not feel like a smartwatch.

Here’s to hoping that watchOS 7.6 update finally addresses battery drain issue for affected Apple Watch users once and for all.

IST 02:02 PM: New reports now indicate that this bug continues to afflict users and still persists even on watchOS 7.6.2.

I did not have any issues with battery in watch os 7.5, or 7.6, but since I went to 7.6.1, 50% of the life is gone. Meaning my battery used to last from 7am until 10pm, without doing a workout or streaming music. By 10pm it would be about 35%, now it goes from 100% to 50% in like 4 hours.

We shall continue to keep an eye on this bug and report back with new info as we get it.

Note: We have more such stories in our dedicated Apple Section so be sure to follow them as well.

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