The average life span of a smartwatch is somewhere around 2 to 3 years. But it also greatly depends on the brand you got your budget smartwatch from and its usage.
If you take appropriate care of your watch and protect it from heat and damage, your smartwatch can last for an even longer time.
Smartwatches have become a necessity these days. Everyone, from workers to non-workers, tries to get their hands on the best smartwatch models on the market.
Multiple brands in the market make these inexpensive watches and provide you with many options to choose from.
But once you buy a smartwatch, one thing that might interest you is how long your watch will last. Smartwatches aren’t cheap, and some brands like Apple and Samsung make costly models. So, when you spend too much money on getting a smartwatch, it’s crucial to know everything from its functioning to its estimated life span.
For instance, if we talk about iwatches, they can easily last from 4 to 10 years. Samsung watches, on the contrary, can easily last you around 3 to 6 years. Other android smartwatches in the market feature an average life span of 2 to 3 years, after which it gets crucial to replace them.
To make things a bit more elaborate for you, I have tried to incorporate a list of all the things that might affect the average life span of your smartwatch, along with some tips for you to make them work for a longer time.
Factors Affecting the Life Span of Smartwatches
Some factors that might affect your smartwatch badly, causing a decrease in its life span, are listed below.
Damage
Smartwatches are highly exposed to damage because of cracks, drops, and other factors. Though a broken watch can be repaired, it won’t ever be able to function the same way as before.
But the good news is that if your smartwatch has just received a small crack after falling, you won’t have to buy a new device.
You need to be careful that by falling, some internal functional parts of your watch might get damaged, leading it to stop working soon.
Charging Capacity
All smart devices, from laptops to phones and watches, have an average charge cycle count, and Smartwatches’ estimated bearable cycle count is 300 to 500 charging cycles. Simply put, your watch can easily withstand 16 months of charging without any damage.
But if you use your watch too often, causing you to charge it usually, this might damage its battery. Moreover, frequent charging can heat the watch’s battery, affecting its overall health.
Also, charging the watch without the charger that comes with it can affect its health badly. So, using the charger you get in the box is always recommended.
Hardware
Another problem you might face that leads to the low life span of your smartwatch is a hardware problem. Some of the factors that make the hardware suffer over time include:
- Usage of the watch, e.g., whether you use it for causal apps or run heavy apps on it
- Does your smartwatch belong to a high-end or a low-end brand?
- Is your device first-hand or second-hand?
If you don’t run too many heavy apps, enable GPS on it or use ECG or other sensors on your smartwatch and use it just for running simple applications, the hardware will remain intact and functional for more than three years.
Once this time has passed, you might find it hard to load apps and use other features on your smartwatch, and all the apps will take too much time to work.
Tips to Enhance the Life Span of Your Smartwatch
Now that you know all the main factors that can cause damage to your watch’s overall life span, it’s time to go through some tips and tricks for you. By incorporating these tips, you might be able to use your mobile watch for a much longer duration.
Charging the Watch
If you want your smartwatch’s battery to remain strong for a long time, pay extra heed to its charging. Charging the watch to 100% is not recommended, as this may cause the battery to wear down.
These days smartwatches come with advanced technology causing them to stop charging when the battery gets full. But it’s still better to keep an eye on your watch as you put it to charge to save it from any disadvantages in the future.
Also, many users think it’s ideal for charging the watch while sleeping at night. Though it’s good to charge them overnight, this way, you won’t be able to unplug them when the battery reaches a certain acceptable level.
Keeping the Charge between 20 to 80
Another thing that many users are unaware of is the ideal battery percentage for a smartwatch. Contrary to popular opinion, it’s better to keep the charge on your smartwatch between 20% to 80%. If you charge the watch to 80% or 100%, this will strain its battery.
Similarly, a battery percentage below 20 can also damage your smartwatch’s battery. So, it’s better not to cross the 20% to 80% line. Some experts say a 40% to 70% range is also suitable for your watch’s battery. Similarly, some experts recommend 50% to 60%, but it might not be feasible for most users.
Other Tips
- Some other simple tips I have for you are:
- Use a good quality screen protector to keep your watch safe from cracks and damage
- Ensure to always use a strap case
- Don’t keep too many apps on your watch
- Get rid of the malware from your watch frequently
- Keep your device away from water and excessive heat
In simple words, the life span of your smartwatch dramatically depends on how you treat your device. So, it’s better not to be too harsh on your smart gadgets and maintain them to avoid paying for a new smartwatch.
