Technologies

I Missed Out on Hours of Apple Watch Battery Life Before I Learned These Tricks

7 Apple Watch settings you can change right now that will drastically improve battery life.

I’d pretty much resigned myself to the fact that my Apple Watch needed a nightly charge right alongside my phone. Placing it on the charger at the end of the day was as much a part of my nightly routine as brushing my teeth. I’d place my phone and my watch on their chargers, disconnect from screens and settle in for a night free of tracking and notifications.

That is, until sleep tracking complicated everything. The Apple Watch can record several important health metrics during sleep and look for indicators of sleep apnea, hypertension and even early signs of illness. It’s gotten too good to ignore.

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My biggest challenge with this new sleeping arrangement has been battery life. The Apple Watch needs at least seven consecutive nights of sleep tracking to start analyzing the data. And even though the current Series 11 and last year’s Series 10 can last through a full day and a night of sleep tracking, they leave me with a dead watch around lunchtime if I don’t recharge.

After too many days of not receiving credit for midday workouts and obsessively watching the battery percentage drop, I began searching for every trick to maximize my Apple Watch’s battery life. And I’m guessing I’m not alone. Here’s what’s helped.

1. Charge as fast as possible

The first thing you can do without sacrificing any features is make sure you’re actually getting full fast charging speeds. The Series 10, Series 11, SE 3 and Ultra 3 all support superfast charging but I realized I wasn’t using the right wattage wall adapter.

Apple doesn’t include a charging brick anymore, so if you plugged your cable into whatever spare charger that was lying around your kitchen (like me), you’re probably not charging your watch as quickly as you could. Apple recommends a 20-watt or higher USB-C power adapter, which should charge newer models from empty to full in less than an hour or provide enough juice for a full night of sleep tracking in five minutes — about as long as it takes to brush your teeth.

2. Gain a few more hours with a small trade-off

Extending your battery won’t come without some compromises, but the easiest sacrifice for me is turning off «Wake on Wrist Raise» and «Wake on Crown Rotation» in Settings. On watches with an always-on display, this simply means that the screen remains in its dimmer «resting» state until you intentionally tap it, instead of lighting up every time you move your wrist or brush the crown.

It won’t work for older models that lack an always-on display, but if you do have a compatible watch, it can easily add four extra hours of use. The only caveat is that you won’t see your notifications immediately. You’ll still receive the haptic alert, but you’ll need to tap in to view the notification, rather than simply tilting your wrist to see it appear.

To disable it, open the Settings app, go to Display & Brightness and then scroll all the way to the bottom and toggle off both options.

3. Dim the lights

Lower your screen brightness — it’s another small trade-off, but only on a sunny day. The watch comes out of the box with its brightness set around two-thirds of its peak level. The screen’s brightness will automatically adjust based on your environment but you can force it to stay at the lowest setting. In the Display & Brightness settings, reduce the Brightness level to one bar.

Dimming your watch’s display can add one or two extra hours of battery life between charges, depending on where you spend your day and how often the screen wakes. The only times I miss having a bright screen are during outdoor runs in blazing sun. But sacrificing brightness for a longer battery life is by no means a deal-breaker.

4. Go for a bare-bones watch face

Switching to a simpler watch face can also help squeeze more life out of the battery. The more pixels your watch has to light up (think photo faces) or the more animation involved (hello, Memojis), the faster your battery drains. The same applies to complications that constantly update, such as the weather or your heart rate.

Apple doesn’t offer a battery-use score for its watch faces the way some Android watches do, but as a general rule of thumb, darker, simpler faces with fewer active elements last the longest. My go-tos are Activity Digital, which displays only my rings, or X-Large, which shows only the numbers.

5. Getting through Day 2 will cost you

A few extra hours of battery life are great but sometimes even that isn’t enough to get me through the day. My biggest issue is running out of juice when I’m away from home and a charger is nowhere in sight. Even if your weekday routine includes an office charge, weekends are unpredictable, and it’s best to make it to the evening when you’re closer to your charger.

For me, the next-level compromise is turning off the always-on display. You’ll need to raise your wrist to wake the screen, but this feature adds up to six hours of battery life, depending on your model.

To turn it off, go to Settings, then select Display & Brightness and toggle off Always-On. Note that it also affects workouts, so if you prefer training with your heart rate zones or other stats visible at a glance, this might not be the best option.

6. Turn on low power mode as a last resort

If I really need to squeeze every last drop of battery life, I switch to low power mode once when the watch hits 15%. It’s actually easier to toggle on and off than the always-on display because it’s accessible in the control panel by pressing the side button. Tap the Battery Percentage button and then press Low Power Mode.

Low power mode does more than just disable the always-on screen. It also delays notifications (only slightly), turns off auto-start for workouts (so you’ll need to start them manually) and pauses background measurements. Heart rate zone alerts, high/low and irregular rhythm notifications, and loud environment alerts are all disabled, too. However, when a workout is running, heart rate and pace are still measured.

7. Check the health of your battery

If you’re still experiencing poor battery life after trying all these troubleshooting tricks, it may simply be time to check your battery’s health. Even with the best habits, a worn-down battery can only do so much, and at a certain point, an upgrade or replacement is the only real fix.

Older models tend to show wear sooner, but it’s not guaranteed. Charging patterns and overall use can take a toll on newer models, too. Having Apple replace the battery costs about $99, or you can put that money toward a newer model, like the SE 3, which starts at $249. If you have AppleCare Plus and your battery capacity is below 80%, the repair or replacement (if needed) is included.

To check your battery health, go to Settings, then Battery, tap Battery Health and scroll down to Maximum Capacity. Anything around or below 80% can start to cause noticeable issues.

Which Apple Watch model you have also matters for battery life

If you do decide that upgrading is your best choice, the Apple Watch Ultra line (especially the Ultra 3) has the longest battery life by far. Apple says 42 hours per charge but I consistently hit closer to 48 hours without disabling features. The Series 11 is rated for up to 24 hours, although I typically get about 30 hours with a full night of sleep tracking and a 40-minute GPS workout.

Apple doesn’t advertise it, but larger-sized models generally last about two hours longer than smaller ones — so the 46mm Series 11 outperforms the 42mm. Models like the SE 3 or the Series 10 and older are rated for 18 hours with the always-on display enabled but I’ve pushed mine past the 22-hour mark.

Whatever mix of tricks you use (or whichever new model you start fresh with), here’s hoping you crack the battery routine and get the full benefit of everything the Apple Watch can do for your health.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for March 18, #1011

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for March 18 #1011.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle is pretty tricky, but musicians might find the blue group easy. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Time between two things, maybe.

Green group hint: That smarts!

Blue group hint: Rockers know these well.

Purple group hint: You might write one out to pay a bill.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Interval.

Green group: React to a stubbed toe.

Blue group: Guitar effects pedals.

Purple group: ____ check.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is interval. The four answers are patch, period, spell and stretch.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is react to a stubbed toe. The four answers are curse, hop, wince and yell.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is guitar effects pedals. The four answers are delay, reverb, wah and whammy.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ____ check. The four answers are blank, coat, rain and reality.

Toughest Connections puzzles

We’ve made a note of some of the toughest Connections puzzles so far. Maybe they’ll help you see patterns in future puzzles.

#5: Included «things you can set,» such as mood, record, table and volleyball.

#4: Included «one in a dozen,» such as egg, juror, month and rose.

#3: Included «streets on screen,» such as Elm, Fear, Jump and Sesame.

#2: Included «power ___» such as nap, plant, Ranger and trip.

#1: Included «things that can run,» such as candidate, faucet, mascara and nose.

Technologies

My Kid Wanted Video Games. I Was Against It. This Console Gave Us Both the Win

The movement-based Nex Playground might be the antidote to parental screen time guilt.

When our 8-year-old started asking for video games, I knew we were about to engage in an uphill battle. Anytime we’ve been to friends’ houses with gaming consoles, he goes full zombie mode, then has an epic meltdown once the sensory overload wears off. And since he inevitably ropes his 6-year-old brother in, we’re essentially sealing both their fates.

So when our neighbors started raving about a movement-based gaming console called Nex Playground, my first instinct was to shut it down. The words «gaming console» alone were enough to put me in a mental block. Add in my own memories of Wii tennis sessions where I nearly took out the ceiling fan, and I was firmly in the «no» camp.

But after doing a little more research, I was intrigued enough to try it out.

Screen time isn’t something I take lightly. With three kids ages 2 to 8, my husband and I have always been intentional about how and what they watch. They don’t have their own tablets, and most of their screen time happens on our family TV, which means whatever the oldest is exposed to quickly trickles down to our toddler. So anything we bring into the house has to work for all of them. Tall order, I know, but the Nex Playground gets surprisingly close.

Getting started is easy

The console itself is refreshingly simple. It’s a small cube, slightly larger than a Rubik’s cube, with a circular camera and motion sensor, a light indicator and two ports for power, and an HDMI connection to the TV. There’s no controller beyond a basic remote for navigating menus. For most games, your body is the controller.

Setup is quick. Plug it in, connect it to your TV, and you’re ready to go. It doesn’t store video or upload footage to the cloud, which was an immediate plus. It also comes with a magnetic privacy cover that you can put on the lens when it’s not in use.

At $250, it’s not cheap, but it’s less than some of the popular gaming consoles for this age range, like the Nintendo Switch 2. That gets you a five-game starter pack: Fruit Ninja, Go Keeper (soccer), Starri (think Guitar Hero for your whole body), Party Fowl (an AR emoji frenzy) and Whack-a-Mole. Additional games require a subscription: $89 a year or $49 for three months, which unlocks a library of 50-plus games and counting. New titles dropped even as I was writing this.

The library spans a surprisingly wide range. There are board game adaptations like Connect Four and Candy Land, character-driven games with Peppa Pig, Bluey and the Ninja Turtles, and sports like baseball and, yes, tennis — minus the ceiling fan hazard. There’s even parent-friendly content like Zumba workouts, which I may or may not have fully committed to on a rainy afternoon.

Even my toddler has gotten in on the action, mostly bouncing her way through Hungry Hungry Hippos when her brothers finally concede.

Gameplay is where it wins

The movements range from swinging your arms to keep a ball in motion, hopping or full-body launches that are far more aggressive than what the game actually requires. (I’m not about to tell the kids otherwise.) After a 45-minute session, my kids are tired and sometimes even drenched in sweat. The Nex Playground entertains and burns energy in one fell swoop.

The graphics also seem intentionally simple and arcade-like, which fits the minimalist play experience. There’s no POV storyline to get lost in, no leveling up into a new world at 9 p.m. on a school night. Some games keep score, which awakens my kids’ competitive streak, but the vibe is more collaborative and hasn’t been the catalyst for more fighting like other games. If anything, it’s done the opposite.

I still don’t love defaulting to a screen when my kids are bored, so we try to use it in moderation. In our house, piano practice is the only thing that unlocks weekend play time, and the fact that they’ll sit at the piano for a full hour tells you everything you need to know.

The verdict that matters most

But the real test: Does it hold up to an 8-year-old who was dead set on a Nintendo Switch?

Short answer: yes. At least for now. He’d still pick the Switch if you asked him, but not for the reasons you’d expect.

«The Playground is more tiring,» he told me, which only helped seal the deal for me. His current favorite is Homerun Hitters. «It’s basically a baseball game where you go against ranked global players. Me and my brother are really good at it.»

This from a kid whose primary hobby is annoying his younger brother. The fact that he said «me and my brother» as a collective was an unexpected bonus.

The Switch may still show up on the Christmas list this year. And realistically, I know I’m on borrowed time. As kids get older, «cool» becomes the currency, and a motion-based cube probably won’t hold up against an Xbox or a Switch once playdates turn into side-by-side gaming sessions.

The Nex Playground isn’t a replacement for those. It’s more of a detour; it gives them a taste of gaming without all the usual side effects. Even if I do eventually cave, I can still see it sticking around for the occasional family game night or as a rainy-day sibling diffuser.

In the meantime, I’ll relish this simpler version of gaming while I still can. He’s not exactly rushing me to return this review unit. More importantly, neither am I.

Technologies

Don’t Wait for New Emoji in iOS 26.4, Here’s How to Create Them on Your Own

If your iPhone has Apple Intelligence, you can create your own emoji now.

Apple will likely add new emoji to your iPhone when the company releases iOS 26.4. Those new emoji could include an orca, a distorted smiley face and more. According to Emojipedia, there are 3,953 emoji with more on the way. The current list of emoji include smileys, sports players, weather conditions and flags. But there’s no emoji for a dog wearing pajamas, a plate with burgers and fries and many other things. But if you have Genmoji on your iPhone you can create these emoji and many more.

Apple released iOS 18.2 in 2024 and the company introduced its own emoji generator, called Genmoji, to Apple Intelligence-capable iPhones at that time. The Unicode Standard, a universal character encoding standard, is responsible for creating new emoji, and approved emoji are added to all devices once a year. With Genmoji, you don’t have to wait for new emoji to appear on your iPhone each year. You can just create them as you need them.

Read on to learn how to use Genmoji on iPhone to create your own custom emoji. Just note that only iPhones with Apple Intelligence, like the iPhone 17 lineup, can use Genmoji at this time.

How to make custom emoji

1. Open Messages and go into a chat.
2. Tap the plus (+) button next to your text box.
3. Tap Genmoji.

You can then type a description of an emoji into the text box near the bottom of your screen and tap the check mark on your keyboard to enter that description into Genmoji. You can also tap different suggestions and themes that are right above the text box. And with iOS 26 or later, you can also combine and use emoji to create others rather than describing a new emoji or using suggestions.

Your iPhone will generate a series of new emoji for you to pick from according to your description, and you can swipe through these new emoji. When you find the one you want, tap Add in the top right corner of your screen and the new emoji will be available to use as an emoji, tapback or a sticker. Now you don’t have to wait for the Unicode Standard to propose, create and bring new emoji to devices.

For more iOS news, here’s what to know about iOS 26.3.1 and iOS 26.3. You can also check out our iOS 26 cheat sheet for other tips and tricks.