Apple said to be studying solar, motion charging for iWatch

The company has apparently spent a lot of time studying charging methods for the iWatch, according to a report in The New York Times.

Brooke Crothers Former CNET contributor

Brooke Crothers writes about mobile computer systems, including laptops, tablets, smartphones: how they define the computing experience and the hardware that makes them tick. He has served as an editor at large at CNET News and a contributing reporter to The New York Times' Bits and Technology sections. His interest in things small began when living in Tokyo in a very small apartment for a very long time.

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Brooke Crothers

Feb. 2, 2014 10:04 p.m. PT

A New York Times report is providing more fodder for iWatch speculation, including the purported use of solar power.

Apple has been testing both solar and wireless charging for the rumored iWatch, according to a story in Sunday's New York Times.

The wireless charging method would involve magnetic induction, according to the report.

This could conceivably involve the use of a charging plate.

Another method to juice up the watch may be to integrate a solar-charging layer in the screen, according to the report.

Yet another involves "charging the battery through movement, a method that is already used in many modern watches," the Times reported. "A person's arm swinging could operate a tiny charging station that generates and pushes power to the device while walking." Apple filed a patent for the technology in 2009.

The impetus for alternatives to the traditional battery is rooted in the fact that a smart watch powered by a sophisticated processor would run out of juice too soon to entice consumers.

In the story, the Times cited Nest co-founder and "one of the fathers of the iPod" Tony Fadell, saying Apple tried for "many years" to build a smarter battery with, for example, solar charging but failed.

The report also repeated previous rumors of a curved glass display.