Apple

kinda a waste of a key feature by turning it off. Ultra has good battery. no need to pick at every little thing to save more battery.

I keep it off on both my phone and watch. While I understand the need for it on the phone, I really don’t get it on the watch, and the battery drain that comes with it. I can’t see the watch unless I lift my wrist up…in which case the display lights up anyway.

I went from a S3 to a S7 and i turned off that feature straight away lol, it doesn’t take that much effort to turn my wrist to see the time, and it saves me from having to charge it as often as i’d probably have to

I've always has the AOD off on both my watch and iPhone. I personally don't find the feature useful at all, but YMMV.

Tried both.
Love the batter life. Hate the lag in what should be a micro-moment to read. (Especially if at gym and timing between sets or using maps for navigation.)

I keep AOD on by default. But if travelling or out for long periods or likely to wake up somewhere unexpected: it’s a great way to extend battery.

Someone else here mentioned making a shortcut and adding to Smart Stack. I like that idea. 👍

AOD does eat quit a bit of battery. I rarely use it on any of my watches. Also, you might consider turning off noise monitoring if it is set on, that also will further reduce battery drain.

AOD was a major factor that determined whether my old S5 could make it through a marathon or not (regular power for proper HR tracking + onboard Spotify + AirPods).

With the AWU2 battery (same as AWU), I leave AOD on, even during training. Unless you’re running ultra marathons, or don’t have accessible charging for days, AOD is such a quality of life feature that should really be left on.

It’s a little exaggerated, but buying an AWU and kneecapping its features is like buying a Porsche and driving it exclusively in school zones.

I like the aesthetic of having the AOD on though I found out I basically have to choose between that or Raise on Wake because the battery life on my AWS8 is atrocious with both enabled. I chose to go with AOD but honestly think the watch is more functional with Raise on Wake.

I prefer it off and the slower battery drain.

I turn it off - quite frankly I don't need it always on and turning it off saves battery so while I have 2 factor reasoning

It's my lack of need for it that genuinely drives why I turn it off.

I appreciate apple giving the option though either way as I know many enjoy their AOD on

AOD was the main reason I upgraded from S0 to S5. Recently did “battery replacement” (watch replacement) and while I leave AOD on, I disabled turn to wake. The AOD is plenty bright to read the time, and if I get a notification I actually want to read all I have to do is tap. I get about 30 hours of battery life with this setup.

I turn it off on days when I know I’ll be using my Ultra a lot and also won’t be able to add a bit of charge if I need to (like marathon days at Disneyland)

I turned it off and I get 3 days of battery life.

That’s pretty short battery life. People seem to think it saves a ton of battery but I don’t notice a huge savings.

If you want to save battery, turn off notifications for the countless useless apps that have them. I found that saves more battery than anything. Only keep notifications that are important on for your watch, let the rest show only on your phone.

my belief is that it's a watch and a basic necessity of such a thing is an always-on display

I turned mine off just because I don’t feel it’s necessary when you can just wake the screen. I have the S9 not the ultra though so the impact on my battery is probably greater.

After WatchOS 10 I’ve even created a shortcut to quickly toggle AOD and put it into Smart Stack, otherwise there’s a high chance my launch day S8 won’t last through the day with my regular workout schedule.

AoD is the first thing I turn off when I get a new Apple watch. For me AoD is a battery waster.

I have to have AOD turned off. Literally, I have to. My watch won’t last a whole shift at work otherwise. If I use a super simple face, like just digital time, nothing else, it’ll BARELY lasts a shift, but it’s at 7 or 8 percent when I get home. My job is physical and busy and my watch can’t hang. If I turn AOD off my watch will last a whole shift, so I turn it off.

Were you mountaineering or tracking extreme sports?

I turned it off on my S8. You can’t see the widgets or running seconds anyway, so I didn’t consider it worth the battery drain.

I wouldn’t, since it’s a waste of battery. It’s a cool feature on phones, where it’s not always in your pocket and you might want to have a quick glance at notifications or time without tapping the screen. But since a watch is always strapped to your wrist, it’s basically instant to see information on your watch just by turning it towards you. Hence, you can’t even see the always on display on your watch most of the time, it just sits there most of the time and drains battery

It's nice to know I CAN turn it off to save battery on days I need to. But otherwise I charge my watch to 80% every morning anyway and it lasts me more than 24 hours with every sensor and setting turned on.

It's a watch.

Generally my AoD is off unless there's a need for me to turn it on at any given time. I do find It can be handy to have it on during workouts so it's easier to see the information. However, 95% of the time it's a feature I just don't need.

The comments above about Taptic time are interesting, it's something I didn't realise was available so I'll have a look at that over the next few days!

Since I can fully charge my watch in a short period of time while watching a programme on the tv, I see no need to turn off the AOD.

I use automation to enable always on when I leave my home, because it’s fun to share the watch faces when I’m out and about. Back to off when I’m home, to save battery!

I never use AOD. I probably actually look at the display for less than 2 minutes a day in total. Less than a minute some days.

Mine is on because I like watching Snoopy wake up.

But honestly it doesn’t affect my battery life that much.

I’m not sure what the benefit of AOD is when it’s in my wrist. Wake to raise does everything I need. Good point on turning off noise monitoring mentioned above.

First thing I did when I got my Series 6. It’s made my battery life way better than when it’s on.

This was the main reason why I bought the S9 rather than SE. I love being able to barely move my wrist and already see time. I don’t cares about battery life, as long as it lasts me the day. Until iPhones will be able to last 2 full days without charging, I will always charge all my devices at night every day.

I turned Raise to Wake off but leave AOD on.

I have never used the always on display even back when it first came out around the Series 4 or 5, didn’t use it on the 14 Pro Max or now on 15 Pro Max. You are not looking at the watch 24/7, it’s kinda stupid to burn the battery just because you can IMO. Battery life and not having to charge as often is more of a priority than ‘look at my digital watch everyone’. Granted anyone can do what they want with their device. Just doesn’t align with my priorities.

I've had an S0, S4 and currently have an S6. On the S0 and S4, I'd be frustrated by the display not turning on. Since using the S6 I hae not had that issue and turned off AO display as I would rather have the extra battery life. I can't remember the last time I got frustrated with my AW for the display not being on when I want it to.

I have had my AWU2 for a couple weeks now and have tried both off and AOD. In off mode, the battery lasts longer and I’m so used to lift to activate that it didn’t matter there is AOD. With AOD, I notice a difference in usability but it only matters for me when I’m using it for some physical activity.

I honestly don’t understand how people live with AOD constantly on and subpar battery life.

No matter if it’s an AW3 or AWU2.

I have it OAD off by default but created a Shortcut and added it to Smart Stack as I sometimes keep it on while working out to get a quick read from my peripheral vision.

One thing I have noticed with my Series 9 & OS 10 is the time to turn on the display by turning your wrist is ever so slightly delayed compared to my previous Series 6. I could be crazy but it feels that way and if so may be intentional.

i turned it off. it looks ugly when the screen is idle. raise to wake does an amazing job already

I have an automation that turns on cinema mode, switches always on to off and sets my watch face to night mode, this comes on every night and off in the morning, that helps a lot

It would be nice if you could change aod on and off based on watchface which you are using

I just turned it on when I go outside. When I'm in the office, it's not necessary

I was going to get the SE but it not having always on display is a deal breaker for me. if i’m wearing a watch out i want it to look good, not just a blank screen