Just yesterday, Apple rolled out watchOS 4.1 enabling Apple Watch Series 3 owners to stream music and radio over the device’s LTE connection.
Now Apple has outlined just how much battery life users can expect when using the LTE connection to enjoy their favorite tunes via Apple Music.
Perhaps most tellingly, fitness enthusiasts can only expect 3 hours from a fully-charged Apple Watch when streaming audio over LTE while using GPS.
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With a race under three hours a pretty high standard for marathon runners, most will want to ensure their tunes are synced for offline playback before the race, rather than rely on LTE.
Apple says its methodology consisted of: “Outdoor workout with streaming audio, GPS, and LTE tested in October 2017 with a playlist using the default cellular streaming quality setting. Battery life varies by use, configuration, cellular network, signal strength, streaming quality settings, and many other factors; actual results will vary.”
That’s compared to 10 hours of battery life when tracking indoor workouts without streaming, GPS or LTE use.
Without GPS in play, the Apple Watch Series 3 can manage seven hours when streaming a playlist over LTE service.
If you’re listening to Beats 1 radio via the new, dedicated Radio app, you’ll get five hours of live streaming.
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The picture isn’t so rosy when using talk services over LTE. Apple says calls made directly from the watch over LTE will kill the watch in around an hour.
Apple says the device can mange up to 18 hours of battery life overall.
The firm says: “All-day battery life is based on 18 hours with the following use: 90 time checks, 90 notifications, 45 minutes of app use, and a 30-minute workout with music playback from Apple Watch via Bluetooth, over the course of 18 hours. Apple Watch Series 3 (GPS) usage includes connection to iPhone via Bluetooth during the entire 18-hour test. Apple Watch Series 3 (GPS + Cellular) usage includes a total of 4 hours of LTE connection and 14 hours of connection to iPhone via Bluetooth over the course of 18 hours. Apple Watch Series 3 models also provide up to 18 hours of battery life on a Wi-Fi connection.”
Are these numbers consistent with your experiences of using the Apple Watch Series 3? Drop us a line @TrustedReviews on Twitter.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
