Battery Life · PeekSmith 3
General
The exact battery life of PeekSmith 3 depends on a lot of factors. In general, we can say that the largest consumer is the screen. Setting the screen brightness to the lowest that works for you, and clearing the screen to turn it off can extend the usage hours by many hours.
We have done some tests with brightness level 5 and a few Bluetooth messages per minute, and PeekSmith 3 worked for more than 4.5 hours. When the screen is empty, power usage is much lower, so we think 5-6 hours of usage is realistic. Our test with brightness level 6 ended up with 3.5 hours, so it really matters.
Please read this page to understand how you can get the most out of the PeekSmith 3 battery. Make sure you are using the latest firmware, we are always working on improving the battery life.
Screen Brightness (standalone/in-app)
PeekSmith 3 has a default brightness setting for standalone mode (when it is not connected to an app), and apps can override this setting. However, if you are disconnecting the app, the brightness will go back to the default.
You can set the brightness of the standalone mode in the device settings by pressing the two front buttons and reaching the brightness setting by pressing the front-left button several times. Change it with the right button, and exit with the side button.
Also, apps might allow you to set the brightness to override this setting. In the PeekSmith app, this setting is behind the details button of the device.
We recommend using brightness 4 or 5 to achieve a good battery life.
Clearing the Screen
Keep the screen empty to improve battery life. Both the PeekSmith device and the PeekSmith app offers a solution for this.
In the PeekSmith app, you can assign actions to different “events”, like PeekSmith button press, Atom button press, etc. One of the actions is “PeekSmith standby”, which turns off the screen to save battery. To set this up, go to the Settings page and the Action Control section of the app.
In “standalone mode” of PeekSmith 3 (when no apps are connected), you can also clear the screen with a button press. To set it up, enter the PeekSmith 3 menu by pressing the two front buttons, and go to the Side Button Press / Left Button Press / Right Button Press setting and assign Clear Screen or Toggle Screen to these events. If you have an SB Watch connected, you can also assign clearing the screen to the SB Watch crown press.
Summary
There are no big secrets to getting the most out of the PeekSmith 3 battery, just follow the simple steps we talked about in this document.
Ensure to keep the screen empty and set the brightness to a lower level, as it is the main battery consumer. Make sure to install the latest firmware available for PeekSmith 3, as it can significantly improve battery performance. And when charging the device, allow it to charge for a longer time, even if it indicates a 100% charge, as there may be a bit more capacity left to utilize.
By following these rules, you can achieve optimal battery life, and you won’t need to worry about the battery running out, even during a longer night.