How Low Power Mode will juice old Apple Watches

September 08, 2022

One of the great things about technology products is software updates.

If you bought a computer or smartphone a few years ago, it's often given new features and new life with a software update.

Apple is particularly good at this, supporting its older hardware for many years.

Many Macs, for example, are supported for seven years, and sometimes longer, before they become "obsolete" -- an official term meaning the hardware is no longer supported.

If you have an older Apple Watch, you'll soon be getting a very handy update -- Low Power Mode.

Low Power Mode is a new, battery-sipping mode in watchOS 9 that is coming to Apple Watch Series 4 and later.

Apple hasn't released details, but it should significantly boost the battery life of older Apple Watches, maybe up to twice as long.

Apple is often accused of "planned obsolescence" -- purposely making older hardware obsolete to encourage upgrades -- but Low Power Mode proves the company often provides significant updates to older devices.

-- Leander Kahney, EIC.

Apple is introducing a new Low Power Mode in watchOS 9 to boost your Apple Watch’s battery life further. The company claims the new mode will double the Series 8’s battery life to 36 hours, and let the new Apple Watch Ultra last up to 2.5 days. It's coming to Series 4 and later models.

Apple definitely over-delivered with Wednesday’s Far Out event. The rumor mill’s constant churn of leaks and speculation gave us a solid framework for our expectations, but Cupertino’s hardware and software wizards still whipped out a few surprises.

The three Apple Watch Ultra bands unveiled Wednesday look suitably rugged for the new smartwatch designed for extreme athletes. And if you want to inject a little bit of the Ultra’s rugged sensibility into your regular old Apple Watch, you’re in luck … kinda sorta maybe.

Your search for a perfect sports strap for your Apple Watch could be over. The Mifa Nylon Sports Leather Apple Watch Band might just be the ideal go-anywhere, do-anything accessory for your wearable — especially if it’s space gray. And through September 30, you can get 20% off the tactical, sporty utility band in the Cult of Mac Store.

Apple is adding a startup and shutdown chime to the iPhone 14 Pro series, similar to the iconic startup sound on Macs. The feature will help you know when your iPhone is rebooting.

iOS 16 launches on September 12, but Apple nevertheless seeded the release candidate for iOS 15.7 on Wednesday. This is – obviously – likely to be the last significant update to the operating system introduced in 2021.

All four of the newly announced iPhone 14 models reportedly come with 6GB of RAM. That’s a 50% increase for the non-Pro model over the 2021 equivalent. While the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max are supposed to keep the same amount of RAM as their predecessors, an unconfirmed report says that they will use a faster type.

Something unexpected came out of Vox Media’s Code conference Wednesday — a birth announcement for The Steve Jobs Archive. The new repository celebrates the Apple co-founder’s life and strives to share his values.

On September 8, 2003, Apple revealed that it had sold its 10 millionth iTunes song download, Avril Lavigne's "Complicated."

The name of the game here is value. Like some of EarFun's other earbuds, Air S offers quality sound and features found in more expensive earbuds. But the product is not without drawbacks.

Tweetz o' the day

One more thing ...

"I grow little of the food I eat, and of the little I do grow I did not breed or perfect the seeds.

I do not make any of my own clothing.

I speak a language I did not invent or refine.

I did not discover the mathematics I use.

I am protected by freedoms and laws I did not conceive of or legislate and do not enforce or adjudicate.

I am moved by music I did not create myself.

When I needed medical attention, I was helpless to help myself survive.

I did not invent the transistor, the microprocessor, object-oriented programming, or most of the technology I work with. 

I love and admire my species, living and dead, and am totally dependent on them for my life and well being."

-- Steve Jobs, in an email to himself in September 2010, almost a year before he died.

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