New Apple Watch patent application sticks a battery-powered strap on a round body
There could there be a radically different Apple Watch in our future if Apple can make it long-lasting. Or ditches the rectangle for a circular face.
Apple may have a solution for short battery life on the Apple Watch. Put the battery in the band.
An Apple patent application dated today illustrates a battery on the strap of a wearable device, presumably the Apple Watch. The proposed patent also shows that watch's circular face, which is a different shape than the Apple Watch's usual rectangular display.
The Apple patent shows a battery in the watch's band (103), as well as a circular face (101).
Battery life has been a struggle for the Apple Watch, which is a top contender in the wearables market and broke the product's sales records during the 2016 holiday shopping season. Apple says the watch has an 18-hour battery life, but that still means you'll have to charge it every night if you don't want a dead watch the next day. Extending battery life could help the watch compete against rivals with more stamina.
It isn't clear if including the battery in the band would add significant bulk to the watch's strap. It also isn't clear how many batteries the watch would have and if the battery would be embedded into the band itself.
As for that round face, this isn't the first time we've seen Apple want to patent a watch design with a circular display. Other smartwatches, like the Samsung Gear S2 and the Huawei Watch, are made with circular displays, so if Apple ever gives the Apple Watch a round face-lift, it would join rivals in looking more like a traditional wristwatch.
Although the patent was published today, it was filed in July 2015 (around the same time the other Apple Watch patent was filed). Apple has a track record for filing patents of all sorts (like one for this paper bag), and this application here is no guarantee that we'll see the final product.
That being said, an Apple Watch -- or any smartwatch -- with better battery life is something I think we can all get behind.
Apple did not respond to CNET's request for comment.
(Via AppleInsider)