Apple Watch users running watchOS 27 this fall will start receiving a new type of notification that automatically identifies unused features draining their battery and offers to turn them off.
The feature, called proactive battery extension notifications, works by monitoring which built-in functions a user never actually interacts with.
If watchOS 27 determines that certain features have been sitting idle, the system flags them, prompts the user to disable them, and then turns them off unless the user opts to keep them running.
Which Features Get Flagged
The features watchOS 27 can disable include Raise to Speak, which lets users trigger Siri by lifting the watch toward their mouth, custom gestures, and Start Workout reminders.
All three run background processes continuously, which chips away at battery capacity throughout the day even when the user never touches them.
For someone who relies on any of these, nothing changes. The alert appears only when usage data indicates the features have gone untouched. Users who regularly activate Raise to Speak or use workout reminders will not receive any notifications.
Also: The Apple Watch feature people use when they’re panicking just got a major upgrade in watchOS 27
How the Alert Works in Practice
When the notification appears, it gives users a clear choice: allow the system to shut the features off, or keep them active.
Apple has not published specific numbers on how much additional battery life users should expect from the change, but the decision to build a dedicated notification system around it suggests the gains are meaningful enough to act on.
Users who skip the notification can still manage this manually. Opening the Settings app on the watch and disabling these features individually produces the same result without waiting for the system to prompt them.
Battery life has been a persistent complaint among Apple Watch owners across multiple generations of hardware.
Rather than addressing the issue only through hardware improvements, Apple is now using behavioral data already collected on the device to reduce unnecessary background activity for users who will not miss it.
watchOS 27 is scheduled to release this fall alongside other updates to the Apple Watch platform, including two new apps and a redesigned default home screen.
