Galaxy Watch 6 Classic : Battery Life Could be Better
I think it’s fair to say that you should expect the best when you invest in a high end smart watch, and after testing the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic for battery life, I was hoping that the battery life would be at least better than it’s predecessor, or the Galaxy Watch 5 PRO.
In the end, I managed to get 2.5-3 days battery life. There is a reason why I have two results, and in I will present two sets of results, one in the normal watch mode and power saver mode, so you can see how much of a difference this can make in terms of user experience . Here is a short summary of my final results for battery life,
| Category | Normal | Power Save |
| Battery Economy Without GPS Tracking | 1/5 | 1/5 |
| GPS Battery Consumption Rate Per Hour | 4/5 | 5/5 |
| Final Score | 5/10 | 6/10 |
After taking the time to reflect back on my test results, I do believe it’s a true representation of the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic’s battery life. It’s also strange to see that the battery life performance is actually far worse than the Galaxy Watch 5 series, and I will provide the evidence in my test results.
In this article I will also provide the testing system that I use to rate each device that I test, and how it compares to other devices in the market. If battery life matters to you, and you are thinking of buying the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic, please read through this article first.
My Typical Usage
Something to read first before you see my final test results, and this is my typical usage for the battery life test. I have been consistently using this system so that the devices are compared at the same level, which is important for fair comparisons. The test criteria are as follows.
Test 1 : Battery Life Economy
- All day heart rate tracking including sleep tracking
- AOD : 20-25 screen activations
- 50 minutes workout tracking
- 20 messages
- Test ends once 90% of battery used
Test 2 : GPS Battery Consumption
- Battery life economy (same as test 1)
- Include exactly 1 hour of GPS tracking
- Test ends once 90% of battery used
This maybe a crude way of testing for battery life, nor is it the industry standard, but at least this way you can look at my typical usage and compare it to your own, or better yet make judgement for your self to decide if the device is worth buying.
Battery Life Economy is Weak
| Feature | Result | Power Save |
| Strength | Weak | Weak |
| Battery life Economy | 40% per day | 30% per day |
| No of days | 2 | 3 |
| Star rating | 1/5 | 1/5 |
Battery life economy is an important test, because it’s a true representation of your typical usage (or in this case mine). The Galaxy Watch is very heavy in smart features, and if you did not know, this is a massive battery burner, which is why I like to show you my typical usage to yours.
Now Im a very low user when it comes to smart features, imagine someone who likes to make phone calls, the battery life will surely burn a lot quicker. In comparison to it’s predecessor’s the Galaxy Watch 6 did not fair well against it’s predecessors. I will show you this next.
How Do I rate Battery Life Economy
Rating a device is important, and the table below is something that I have constructed based on the devices that I have tested over time, and it gives a fair representation of what’s out there in the market. Since the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic uses 40% per day on normal mode and 30% on power saver mode based on my typical usage, you now see how I rate a device.
| No Of Stars | Economy |
| 5 Stars | Up to 6% |
| 4 Stars | 7% – 10% |
| 3 Stars | 11% – 13% |
| 2 Stars | 14% – 16% |
| 1 Star | 17% and over |
How Does the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic Rank in the Market
Over time, I have re tested a lot of devices to the same testing standard that I use and the comparison across the broad is very interesting considering the least. I have added the power saving test results to the ranking table however this is far less than the Galaxy Watch 5 series.
The Galaxy Watch 5 PRO is 180% more efficient than the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic, which I find very interesting. Another close rival at the same level is the Huawei GT3 PRO, which is 300% more efficient, which is staggering considering that the price is in the same range also.
| Rank | Brand | Series | Specialty | Economy | Stars |
| 1 | Garmin | Forerunner 55 | Multi Sport | 4% | 5 |
| 2 | Fitbit | Inspire 3 | Health | 9% | 4 |
| 3 | Huawei | Watch GT3 Pro | All round | 10% | 4 |
| 4 | Huawei | Watch Fit 2 | All round | 10% | 4 |
| 5 | Huawei | Band 7 | All round | 10% | 4 |
| 6 | Xiaomi | S1 Active | Smart Features | 14% | 2 |
| 7 | Fitbit | Versa 4 | Health | 15% | 2 |
| 8 | Fitbit | Charge 5 | Health | 15% | 2 |
| 9 | Samsung | Galaxy Watch 5 Pro | Smart Features | 17% | 1 |
| 10 | Huawei | Watch GT3 | All round | 18% | 1 |
| 11 | Polar | Ignite 3 | Fitness | 23% | 1 |
| 12 | Samsung | Galaxy Watch 5 | Smart Features | 25% | 1 |
| 13 | Samsung | Galaxy Watch 6 Classic | Smart Features | 30% | 1 |
GPS Battery Consumption is Strong
| Feature | Normal | Power Saving |
| Strength | Strong | Very Strong |
| GPS battery consumption | 10% per hour | 5% per hour |
| Star rating | 4 | 5 |
GPS battery consumption is another massive battery burner, and this is important to people who like to track there GPS workouts like running, hiking, cycling or running. At 10% per hour, it’s not too bad however the power saving mode provided very strong results gaining a 5 star rating.
Although the battery economy results didn’t fair well, but at least the GPS battery consumption did, as the final test results matched the Galaxy Watch 5 PRO performance, including it’s other fierce rival, Huawei GT3 PRO.
How I rate GPS Battery Consumption
Just like the battery economy rating, the below table is something that I have created based on the devices that I have tested in the past. I know you are looking for a black and white answer, and this is my way of providing that for you.
| No of Stars | GPS Battery Consumption Rate |
| 5 | Up to 7% per hour |
| 4 | 8% to 12% per hour |
| 3 | 13 to 15% per hour |
| 2 | 16 to 19% per hour |
| 1 | 20 % or more |
How Does The Galaxy Watch 6 Classic Rank in The Market
In the end I have added the power saver mode results to the overall GPS per hour consumption rate table. These are all of the devices that I have re tested to align with the testing system that I am currently using. It also gives you an idea how the devices measures across the market.
There are many devices in the list below that cost 50% less and perform at the same level, for example, Xiaomi S1 Active and Huawei Watch Fit 2.
| No | Brand/Smart Watch | Consumption Rate | Star Rating |
| 1 | Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro | 5% | 5 |
| 2 | Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic | 5% | 5 |
| 3 | Garmin Forerunner 55 | 5% | 5 |
| 4 | Huawei Watch Fit 2 | 5% | 5 |
| 5 | Xiaomi S1 Active | 5% | 5 |
| 6 | Huawei Watch GT3 Pro | 6% | 5 |
| 7 | Huawei Watch GT3 (power saver mode) | 6% | 5 |
| 8 | Polar Ignite 3 | 6% | 5 |
| 9 | Fitbit Versa 4 | 7% | 4 |
| 10 | Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 & 4 | 9% | 4 |
| 11 | Huawei Watch GT3 (performance mode) | 13% | 3 |
| 12 | Fitbit Charge 5 | 20-22% | 1 |
GPS Battery Consumption Results
| Feature | Normal | Power Saver |
| Battery life Economy | 40% per day | 30% per day |
| GPS battery consumption | 10% per hour | 5% per hour |
| Total battery consumption | 50% | 35% |
| No of days | 1.5 days | 2.5 days |
This here is my typical usage if I include 1 hour of GPS tracking towards my typical usage. If you use power saver mode you can get an extra day out, which makes all the difference. The Huawei GT3 PRO is one of the best devices that I have tested, can get around 6 days, which is an even bigger difference, which goes to show, the difference in terms of performance from a average device to a strong device.
I also never really had an issue with the Galaxy Watch 5 PRO, because I can go about my day without the stress of managing your battery life for a workout later in the day. It just seems strange that the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic does not perform at the same level of better.
The Final Conclusion
Thank you so much for reading my article and I hope you have learnt a lot about the battery life of the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 classic. From a testing perspective I was a little shocked on the final results, as I was predicting the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic to be at least on par or better than the Galaxy Watch 5 PRO.
During testing I would aggregate at least six days of testing before presenting this article. I could not believe my eyes that numbers was a little less than the Galaxy Watch 5 series. I just found that so hard to believe, and thats coming from somebody that always supported the Samsung Brand.
However the numbers dont lie, and therefore it’s only fair that I present the results as it is, and I think you need to know this before you decide to spend your hard earned cash on the new Galaxy Watch 6 Classic.
I will be doing a re test in the future, with the hope that battery life will eventually improve. The battery life of the Galaxy Watch 5 series did improve with updates over time (based on my typical usage) so hopefully the same goes with the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic.
