How does Low-Power mode work?

[Howard Brazee]

I have an app (USGA GHIN) that I use when I play golf. I run it on my phone and watch.

But I can't run it for 18 holes before my battery runs out. This started when my battery health maximum capacity was 90%. It's down to 84% now, still to much to get replaced.

Yesterday, I turned my watch's Low-Power mode on before I started. I was able to finish my round with about 1/4 of my charge remaining. I turned low-power off and noticed that the complication on its face showing my steps showed hardly any steps. A few minutes later it updated to a large amount. (In normal use, it only updates periodically).

What did I lose by having low-power mode on?

(It would be nice if it was easier to turn it on every time I ran the GHIN app, and off whenever I was finished).

 

[MacInWin]

Use Low Power Mode on your Apple Watch - Apple Support

Low Power Mode in watchOS 9 and later reduces the amount of power that your Apple Watch uses so that you can save battery life.

support.apple.com

Apple pretty much has everything on line and easily searched.

EDIT: Also, try turning down the brightness of the watch display to see if the battery life is better. Yes, it will be harder to read in direct sunlight, but the reality is that most of the power used by the watch goes to the display.

 

[RadDave]

Hi Howard - do you take a break after 9 holes (lunch, a beer, etc)? If so, you could do a quick charge of the iPhone - below are some 'small' batteries that plug directly into the phone's charging slot (Amazon LINK) - cheap and a possibility? Dave

.

 

[vansmith]

To add to Dave's suggestions, you can get soem battery packs that have multiple USB ports which works well here since you can charge your watch and phone on the go during the move from the 9th to the 10th hole.

Howard, the irregular updating of data across devices is a function of low power mode. Transmitting data takes up a lot of power (relatively) so cutting this down is an easy way to cut back on power usage.

 

[Howard Brazee]

Use Low Power Mode on your Apple Watch - Apple Support

Low Power Mode in watchOS 9 and later reduces the amount of power that your Apple Watch uses so that you can save battery life.

support.apple.com

Apple pretty much has everything on line and easily searched.

EDIT: Also, try turning down the brightness of the watch display to see if the battery life is better. Yes, it will be harder to read in direct sunlight, but the reality is that most of the power used by the watch goes to the display.

Turning my watch to low-power mode before I start does the job. The only difference I found was that my steps didn't update while that happened (even though they were counted). And the app lasted 18 holes with my watch 1/4 charged.

 

[Howard Brazee]

To add to Dave's suggestions, you can get soem battery packs that have multiple USB ports which works well here since you can charge your watch and phone on the go during the move from the 9th to the 10th hole.

Howard, the irregular updating of data across devices is a function of low power mode. Transmitting data takes up a lot of power (relatively) so cutting this down is an easy way to cut back on power usage.

I have one of those for my phone. It's the watch that won't last 18 holes unless I turn it to low-power.

 

[Howard Brazee]

To add to Dave's suggestions, you can get soem battery packs that have multiple USB ports which works well here since you can charge your watch and phone on the go during the move from the 9th to the 10th hole.

Howard, the irregular updating of data across devices is a function of low power mode. Transmitting data takes up a lot of power (relatively) so cutting this down is an easy way to cut back on power usage.

The watch app does communicate with my phone app.

 

[MacInWin]

About all I can think of is to find something similar with just a USB-C port, then carry a watch puck with a USB-C plug and at the turn you can throw the watch on the charger for a few minutes to give it a bit more. I don't know how much it will pick up unless you have a long break, but it might help. Or you can just continue with low power and let the steps communicate once you can exit low power mode.

 

[vansmith]

You can bring a watch charging cable with you and plug that in. It wouldn't take long to add enough juice to get you through a few hours.

And yes, the watch will communicate but low-power mode cuts back how often the watch will transmit data.