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Opinion: Why iPod nano’s three-week battery life is and isn’t a fair benchmark for Apple Watch longevity

Over the past month, I spent several weeks testing the battery of an Apple watch. Not the Apple Watch, of course, but the first product Apple released with the option of being worn like one: the sixth-generation iPod nano. Back in 2010, Steve Jobs mentioned during the “instantly wearable” nano’s introduction (video at 26:30) that one of Apple’s directors planned to use it as a watch. That brief aside directly inspired the creation of nano watchband makers Lunatik and Hex, as well as simple, cheap bands from Apple accessory specialists including GriffinIncipio, and SwitchEasy. A year later, Apple updated the nano’s software to expand its watch functionality, adding “16 new digital clock faces and improved built-in fitness features.” The nano-as-watch test was at least somewhat successful; Hex even shared pictures showing Snoop Dogg and Justin Bieber wearing its nano watch bands.

Today, Apple is three weeks away from releasing the “real” Apple Watch — a product that clearly shares the old iPod nano’s DNA, but was thoroughly redesigned from top to bottom. Yet despite including a battery that’s around twice as powerful as the nano’s, the Watch is promising only 18 hours of typical battery life, maxing out at three days if used solely as a watch in a low-power mode. So when I ran a “watch-only” test of my used four-year-old nano and found that it ran for just over three weeks, keeping perfect time without ever touching a charger (or synchronizing with an atomic clock), I was genuinely surprised. It turns out that Apple really optimized the nano to work well as a timepiece without requiring constant recharging. So what happened with the Apple Watch?…

Though this point has been obscured by the Apple Watch’s fashion-focused marketing, it’s true: the Watch is an iPod under a different name. It was developed by Apple’s iPod Software team, one of its code names was “Nano,” and — despite being based upon iOS rather than the iPod nano’s Pixo OS — the Apple Watch SDK contains numerous Nano references (as shown above). If the iPod name wasn’t synonymous with years of declining sales, and Tim Cook was less interested in launching “new product categories” than resuscitating old ones, the Apple Watch could easily have been called the iPod Watch. It still has the core features of the nano, albeit with a substantially new interface.

It’s also important to understand what Apple was and wasn’t attempting to do with the iPod nano back in 2010. At the time Steve Jobs introduced it, the new nano was pitched as the first wearable version of a popular, fitness-friendly media player. Jobs noted that the nano’s built-in pedometer and Nike+ support were bolstered by its built-in clip — “no more armbands,” he said — and could play music for 24 hours. Like every prior nano, this one was an iPod first and foremost, so even though Jobs pointed out the clock functionality, there wasn’t any discussion of the device’s lifespan if it was purely used as a watch. Instead, he just lit the fire of possibility under that one, letting watchband makers experiment with all kinds of form factors and price points. With the $130-$140 Lynk (now $35 to $38) at the top of its lineup, Lunatik was the rare developer willing to sell bands that were nearly as expensive as the nano itself.

Given Apple’s design heritage, it’s not shocking that the $149 square-faced nano actually has a lot in common physically with the $349 Apple Watch Sport. The nano’s aluminum body, glass face, and side-mounted, pill-shaped button all found their way into the entry-level Watch, as did its basic dimensions. At 1.48″ tall by 1.61″ wide by 0.35″ deep including its clip, the nano is pretty close in size to the 42mm Apple Watch, which measures 1.65″ tall by 1.41″ wide by 0.41″ deep without a clip. They look most different from the front because Apple shifted from a square screen to a taller rectangle, and from the side because wrist wearability, water resistance, and simple charging became design priorities.

Apple’s designers and engineers didn’t spend years of development time just to give the Watch softer, more organic edges and the ability to attach wrist straps — they actually changed almost every external component of the nano to something either better or more appropriate for a watch. For instance, the screen lost Multi-Touch, which was useless on the nano’s tiny display, and gained a more meaningful alternative in Force Touch. Two small hardware volume buttons gave way to the Digital Crown, which is a more natural and universal interface for the Watch’s various functions. Apple’s Dock Connector was replaced with a sealed magnetic charger, and the headphone port was dropped in favor of Bluetooth, both changes foreshadowed by the 2012 release of the Lightning- and Bluetooth-equipped seventh-generation nano.

The Apple Watch received an equally comprehensive overhaul internally. Even though the 8GB storage capacity is the same, the screen was upgraded from a square 240×240 display to a higher-resolution 272×340 display in the 38mm Watch, and a 312×390 display in the 42mm model, both using OLED rather than LED screen technology. While the sixth-generation nano had no wireless features, the Watch has 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 4, and NFC inside — it’s purely wireless for data — plus both a microphone and speaker built in. And beyond switching from the nano’s Pixo OS to a stripped-down iOS variant called Watch OS, the Apple Watch ditches the nano-class CPU for a new S1 processor that rivals Apple’s A5 in performance. For reference, a similarly capable A5 is found in the current iPod touch, and can run the most current version of iOS. With a bigger battery and screen, the Apple Watch probably could, too.

Photos suggest that the battery capacity has jumped from 105mAh in the nano to at least 200mAh and likely more in the Apple Watch, part of the reason the Watch is thicker without a clip than the nano was with a clip. So if the battery’s bigger, why is the run time so much worse? Tally up the power consumed by some of the new components, and you’ll have part of the answer. Even if the higher-resolution OLED screen consumes just as much power as the prior 240×240 LED version, the Watch’s more powerful processor, more capable software, and complete dependence on wireless communications would be battery killers. As an iPhone-dependent product, the Watch has to keep its wireless chip waiting to receive notifications from an iPhone, and the battery will take additional hits whenever notifications are registered by the screen or Taptic Engine, with much heavier drain for active use. That’s why Apple says the battery will die in 3 hours if you use it continuously as a speakerphone, or 6.5 hours if streaming music over Bluetooth. (For reference, the larger current-generation nano can stream music with Bluetooth for over 9 hours.)

This is simultaneously the first-generation Apple Watch’s blessing and curse: it spends a lot of time (and energy) doing things in the background that the sixth-generation iPod nano simply couldn’t do. It will alert you to messages, and let you respond. It will wirelessly stream music and data, as well as letting you receive phone calls. It will track your heart rate, nag you when you haven’t stood up recently, and borrow iPhone Wi-Fi and GPS data to more accurately measure workouts. Much as the iPhone was not content to be merely an Apple-branded phone, the Apple Watch is not merely an Apple-branded watch.

And that’s why the iPod nano both is and isn’t a fair benchmark for the Apple Watch’s battery performance. If you take the words “Apple Watch” literally and expect Apple’s Watch to outperform a $20 Timex as a maintenance-free time-telling device, you’re going to be disappointed after the first day. Apple can do better — and demonstrably has already done better with the nano — at creating a wearable device that continuously and accurately tells the time. But to Apple, this design and engineering exercise has been about redefining the value of watches at a point when large numbers of people are discarding them, thereby reversing an industrial decline caused in part by the iPhone. Merely tweaking the old iPod nano with a larger battery and several watch straps probably wouldn’t have been enough to turn things around.

For now, the two big questions are whether the Apple Watch’s added features are collectively capable of getting people excited about watches again, and valuable enough to justify 18-hour typical battery life. If your answer to the latter question is no, and you’re just looking for a reasonably-priced Apple product to wear, the sixth-gen nano’s three weeks of continuous watch run time make it a solid alternative. It’s still being sold on eBay and Amazon, alongside plenty of fancy bands that are now dirt cheap. But if you’re willing to buy into Apple’s vision for the future of watches, and OK with nightly recharging as a consequence, pre-orders for the Apple Watch start April 10th.

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Comments

  1. JustReboot (@justreboot) - 9 years ago

    I still have 2 nanos (6th gen) red and graphite. Pefect for the gym with a watchband. These days, I changed to a touch for Spotify (they have wifi) I have a both Mac, and an iPhone, but sticking w/Pebble for a watch. 1 day is simply useless for me.

    • sammeries - 9 years ago

      Why do you find one-day battery life to be useless?

      • J.Johnson - 9 years ago

        I use my fitbit as an alarm to wake me up in the morning. It vibrates my wrist so it doesn’t wake my girlfriend up as i get up about 4 hours before her. With it having to be charged at night this won’t be an option.

        Another thing i do with my fitbit is sleep tracking. Wont be able to do that with the watch plugged in at night.

  2. bpbatch - 9 years ago

    Really good article–comprehensive comparison. I had a nano for a watch until it was damaged by my cat! The battery life has just GOT to improve for me to consider an Apple Watch. My Pebble lasts days and does all I need a smartwatch to do.

  3. I am completely comfortable with the Apple Watch’s battery life. I charge my iPhone, iPhone, MacBook Pro, etc. every single night. Comparing the Apple Watch to the iPad nano as a watch when it comes to any aspect is silly. The iPod nano can’t do the grand majority of what the Apple Watch does and it lacks all the sensors. It is not a proper comparison.

    • I meant iPad where I said iPhone the second time. Whoops. lol

      • Jeremy Horwitz - 9 years ago

        The nano actually does do the majority of what the Apple Watch does, and even has accelerometer/pedometer/Nike+ functionality for fitness purposes. Apart from the heart rate sensor, what other sensors do you think it’s missing?

      • Kai Cherry - 9 years ago

        The ones that actually use power. Wireless radios.

        This whole piece was quite a head-scratcher…

      • Jeremy Horwitz - 9 years ago

        Those aren’t sensors.

      • thomasskyg - 9 years ago

        Jeremy: an ambient light sensor for one, and I’ll bet it has a proximity sensor too.

      • Jeremy Horwitz - 9 years ago

        Thomas: It doesn’t have a proximity sensor, and the ambient light sensor is only there to help the screen improve power efficiency. There were originally going to be enough sensors inside to use the words “all the sensors” in a meaningful way, but they got trimmed out for the first-generation model. Maybe next year?

    • bpbatch - 9 years ago

      So says you–big whoop. Not everyone wants to charge everything every night. And comparing watch capabilities and battery life/expectations is completely rational.

  4. Avenged110 - 9 years ago

    I still use one of those Nanos with a Lunatik band. I wouldn’t be opposed to replacing it with an Apple Watch though, just for the better screen quality and ability to see the time without having to click a delicate button (seriously, the lock button on those Nanos is one of the most fragile things). But as a watch, you really can’t beat that battery life.

  5. charismatron - 9 years ago

    Really great article: thoughtful and interesting.

    I’m digging on this site for its news reports and articles just like this.

    Where other sites are merely reporting without commentary or opinion (and had the time just seem like shills waiting for Apple to throw them some kind of bone for being so fawning and uncritical), you guys are really spending time putting together great opinion pieces or uncovering greats scoops.

    Keep up the great work!

  6. I think the Watch is an overkill in terms of performance and display. 18 hours really spells “city dwellers only”. If you’re venturing into the wild for the weekend, or even going for a short trip, chances are you’re leaving your Apple Watch at home, along with its bulky charger(s) and/or battery packs to keep it alive.

    I reckon it isn’t gonna be until the 3rd generation that they’ll start getting things “right”…

    • Kai Cherry - 9 years ago

      They could have gotten it “right” but it would have been the wrong product. Everything is about compromises – they compromised battery life for other aspects of usability. They are getting every drop they can out of a battery that has only stores like 300 mAh. The battery on the 38mm one is even less. Physics, man :)

    • akibbe02 - 9 years ago

      Anywhere you would go for an extended period without recharging your Watch would impose the exact same constrains on your iPhone. I don’t see people canceling their camping trips over smartphone battery limitations.

      We got over week-long dumbphone batteries and accepted daily charging as a fact of life to enjoy the benefits of smartphones. The same will happen with smartwatches.

  7. PMZanetti - 9 years ago

    Jesus Christ. Just charge it at night.

    • bpbatch - 9 years ago

      Well said, Apple Marketing Department.

    • echorausch - 9 years ago

      Mickey Mouse (your started with fictional characters). Not everybdy is happy about charging a watch every night.

      • 3devas3 - 9 years ago

        The only fictional character was the one you mentioned, because He is very much real :)

    • PMZanetti - 9 years ago

      What difference does it make in the world if you have to charge it every night or every other night? Eventually you have to charge it.

      You planning on wearing it to bed? I think you can part with it long enough to charge it while you sleep.

      Just amazes me, there has never been anything like it before, and people are already complaining that the battery in this tiny little gadget doesn’t last 2 days instead of 1.

      • bpbatch - 9 years ago

        My Pebble lasts a week between charges, and I can sleep with it, so there already is a precedent in charging expectations that we can benchmark against you miserable, ignorant, angry troll.

      • Paul - 9 years ago

        Your Pebble has a simple black and grey screen with low resolution, slow refresh rates and a much slower processor. Of course it is going to get better battery life than something with a full colour screen, more sensors and a faster processor.

      • bpbatch - 9 years ago

        Yes, Paul. And?

  8. “this design and engineering exercise has been about redefining the value of watches”

    This is more or less what I been telling people when they ask what the big deal is with the Apple Watch. Then I remind them they said the same thing when the iPhone came out.

  9. Could of picked better stock photos than Justin Beaver and Snoop Zebra or whatever they are called at the minute.

    • Jeremy Horwitz - 9 years ago

      They’re not stock photos – as noted in the text below the images, they’re from Hex’s collection of celebrities who were actually wearing its nano watch bands.

  10. Emiliano Sena - 9 years ago

    Well the watch, isn’t exactly a watch, it’s here to redefine the concept of watch. So all people saying things about the battery life, it doesn’t feel quite right.
    If you read this article: http://www.wired.com/2015/04/the-apple-watch/
    You can see the main reason of the watch.