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Apple Watch's Hidden Diagnostic Port To Allow Battery Straps, Innovative Add-Ons
MojoKid writes: Apple's Watch launched two weeks ago to some unbelievable hype and coverage in the press. However, it appears one feature flew under the radar and Apple actually had just one more trick up its sleeve. You see, on one side of the watch face is a hidden door that exposes a 6-pin port. It's assumed that this could be used for diagnostic purposes, but with an Apple Watch in hand, a company by the name of Reserve Strap was able to verify that it could also be used for charging. This seems pretty huge and strange at the same time: why would Apple keep such a thing quiet, when the Apple Watch's battery-life isn't what most people would consider impressive? Even more interesting is the fact that Apple didn't make use of this port to release its own charging straps — watch straps that carry a charge themselves. Apple's lack of transparency here doesn't much matter, though, as the aforementioned Reserve Strap is planning to get such a product to market as soon as possible. The company says about its first offering: "The Reserve Strap will come in White, Gray and Black and will fit both the 38mm and 42mm case sizes. The first batch of straps will be shipped in the Fall.
...until Apple breaks it for unlicensed third party hardware, that is.
The diagnostic port is hidden by a cover. I'd be interested to see if removing the cover adversely affect's the watch's water resistance. Also, having those electrical connections directly exposed to water, sweat, etc. cannot be good.
"Apple Watch's battery-life isn't what most people would consider impressive"
This is yet another bullshit clickbait statement. Never gotten below 30% on mine, even when my phone has run dry.
So, while the device that actually provides real functionality to your iWatch is dead, we're not supposed to believe the bullshit clickbait statements.
There's a true Apple fan...
a year from now (or an OS update,
Or he loads up a few more of those apps for it...
I remember the first model of iMac had an undocumented card slot. People speculated that Apple used the card slot for factory diagnostics on the iMacs; third-party companies took advantage of the slot to add 3D accelerators; and then Apple revised the iMac design and left that port out.
http://www.macworld.com/article/1014902/imacboards.html
If Apple hasn't announced the port, the port may be gone from the next iWatch release.
Likely the problem is that there aren't enough patents on the port. Perhaps Apple will add a documented expansion port once they find some patents to encumber it.
lf(1): it's like ls(1) but sorts filenames by extension, tersely
Because it's a sealed diagnostic port for a non-end-user serviceable product, not a feature. They aren't wishing anything up, it's just not something they have a reason to publicise.
Actually, people's opinions on this are very mixed. Some people are reporting great battery life and improved battery life on their iPhone as well as they switch the screen on less. Some people report the opposite. Chances are, people who have just got a new gadget are playing with it all day, which obviously isn't representative of normal usage patterns or battery life.
Why are you describing lack of publicity about a sealed diagnostic port for non-end-user serviceable goods as a "lack of transparency"? That is bizarre. You wouldn't expect that for any other company, let alone Apple.
Bogtha Bogtha Bogtha
Not really. Full disclosure: I've got a Pebble Time ordered with 7 days battery life.
"My Apple Watch never gets below 90%! Sure I'm charging it every 15 minutes, but it's battery life is a non-issue"
For a watch where a regular watches battery lasts years, a watch with a battery life of a single day at best is hilariously bad.
Most people get at least "a couple hours" of sleep every night. How is "Twist the knob to wind it up, then sleep for 6 hours," all that different from "Connect watch to charger, then sleep for 6 hours"?
While it'd be nice if the watch got a lifetime of use on a single charge... given the typical schedule most people keep, I fail to see how "charge it every night while you sleep" is all that onerous. I do the same thing with my phone already, so if I bought one of these, I'd have no problem sitting it right next to my phone on its charger on the night stand next to my bed.
I mean, I get that Slashdot is full of overgrown man-children who can't find their own ass with both hands and a flashlight, but not everybody needs mommy to remind them to charge their stuff up at night - some of us actually manage to lead productive lives full of enough self discipline that we can manage not to end up showing up to work with no pants on because nobody reminded us to put them on.
I'm seriously struggling to find any reasonable sense of moral outrage over a "mere" 18 hours of battery life on an electronic device that straps to my wrist.
But nobody needs a watch battery to last years though - the comparison is meaningless. People don't use their watches while they sleep - charging every night in exchange for the extra functionality is a good deal for most people.
Bogtha Bogtha Bogtha