Baffled by battery Life
My wearables just can't keep up
Is it just me or did you also think that all of our devices would have amazing battery life by now?
Sure, our laptops and phones have gotten pretty solid. "All Day" battery life is something that companies say pretty often but I guess that really depends on what your day looks like.
For me, I've been particularly dumbfounded lately by the erratic battery behavior of my Pixel Watch 2 and Oura ring. These are my two main wearables that are supposed to be super smart ways to track all of my vital signs throughout the day. There's just one problem. It seems like both devices are just perpetually out of battery!
Please excuse my rant. I think both of these wearables are pretty darn good at what they're intended to be used for. But they're one hundred percent useless when they are out of battery. I can't tell you how many times I've had to delay going to bed because I'm waiting to eek out a little more charge so my Oura ring can properly track my sleep. Or maybe I've set a vibrating wrist alarm on my Pixel Watch to get me up for something important. Even if the battery life seems good at bed time, there is no guarantee that it's going to make it through the night.
These are obviously tiny problems in the greater scheme of life but they are frustrating nonetheless.
So what's going on here? Am I doing something wrong? Are companies just cutting corners to make these wearables as sleek and fashionable as possible at the detriment of battery life? I think that's part of it.
It is worth noting that the Pixel Watch 2 successor...yep, the Pixel Watch 3, promises much improved battery life. In fact, they're also making a larger version of the watch in order to cram a larger battery pack inside. That is the version of the watch that I have pre-ordered. So maybe I will have a different perspective in a couple weeks when it arrives, but its predecessor has been fairly dreadful when it comes to battery life.
And what about the Oura ring? While I've read nothing official, the buzz on the internet believes that a new ring announcement is likely to come in the next few months. Oura now has to compete with Samsung's entry into the smart ring category. Apple is likely not far behind with their own version in the works. If Oura has any chance of survival, this next version needs to have some killer battery life. I don't think they need to add any new features really, just bolster the battery and maybe include a charging case and it should be good to go.
The odd thing about the Oura ring is that it often only tells me that the battery level is low when it's already too late. When I went to bed last night it had plenty of charge, or at least wasn't displaying the red, low battery indicator. And when I woke up this morning it still had a charge but apparently it wasn't enough juice to record my sleep date from the previous night. Confusing and frustrating. It did alert me this morning that I should charge my ring. Wonderful! Why couldn't that notification have popped up the evening before?
While I can understand the limitations of battery life, I can't really understand why these devices don't do a better job of notifying the wearer that they should probably place the thing on the charger. It's more about the ecosystem and the battery management process than it is about just having a small battery.
I'd say that most modern digital citizens have gotten into the habit of charging phones before bed. However, the routine of charging wearable devices is a bit different. The Oura ring is specifically designed to be worn at night to track your sleep. So charging it overnight isn't really an option. And it's also tracking your steps all day so you don't really want to remove it unless you're staying put in one spot for a while. You could certainly charge it while you're in the shower but that's something I often forget to do. Or if I do remember, the shower isn't really long enough to get it fully juiced up.
And for our smartwatches, even if you don't use them to track all of your sleep data, it's great to have them on at a night for a vibrating alarm clock. I wish the Pixel Watch 2 had the ability to cut all other functionality and still keep just enough power to vibrate three times to wake me up. Once I'm awake, the watch can appropriately then go to sleep!
Anyway, let's just say that battery life problems still exist in our modern world. It's a shame that I need to upgrade these two specific devices every year or two in order maintain steady battery performance. Replacing phone batteries has gone the way of the dodo but may be making a return soon. Replacing the batteries in your smart watch or smart ring was never really an option but it certainly should be. While I appreciate the opportunity to trade-in my Pixel Watch soon, I just wish they could have made a product that was able to hold its charge for more than a year of daily usage.
Anyone else feeling let down by battery life these days?
Thanks for reading, I’ll see you next week!
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