Apple has acknowledged a battery drain issue affecting some Apple Watches after updating to watchOS 10.1. The company confirmed this in an internal memo distributed to Apple Authorized Service Providers.
The memo, obtained by MacRumors from various sources, reveals that Apple is working on a fix that will be included in an upcoming watchOS update. However, the memo did not specify the root cause of the problem, the number of affected customers, or if all Apple Watch models are impacted.
Since the release of watchOS 10.1 in late October, users have voiced their concerns on platforms like the MacRumors Forums, Apple Support Community, Reddit, and X. The battery issue seems to span across multiple Apple Watch models, from the older Apple Watch Series 5 to the recent Apple Watch Ultra 2. We can confirm the battery life on our Apple Watch has been terrible.
Some have noted their Apple Watch battery life going from full charge down to 50% in under one hour.
While Apple’s developer notes for iOS 17.1 mentioned a fix for “increased power consumption” when pairing an Apple Watch with watchOS 10.1 to an iPhone running iOS 17, it appears the battery issue on the Apple Watch persists, requiring a separate watchOS update.
MacRumors previously indicated that Apple is gearing up to launch iOS 17.1.1 for the iPhone. It is anticipated that the Apple Watch battery problem will be addressed in a watchOS 10.1.1 update. However, the resolution might be deferred to watchOS 10.2, currently in beta testing, with a projected release in December.
