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Apple's long rumoured iWatch could feature solar-powered, wireless or even kinetic based charging if a report from The New York Times is to be believed. Early last year The Verge reported that Apple was apparently having trouble with battery life on the upcoming wearable device, so it is possible that the company has been forced to get creative with charging and battery technology.
According to the Times' source, Apple is thinking about putting a solar charging layer underneath the iWatch screen in order to top up battery life throughout the day while outside, that said, this kind of technology could be years away. Apple's wearable could also feature a curved glass display, one anonymous source said that the iWatch may feature wireless charging, a feature the company has yet to include on any of its devices to date. Apple's Senior marketing VP, Phil Schiller, has doubted the usefulness of wireless charging in the past: “Having to create another device you have to plug into the wall is actually, for most situations, more complicated,” he told All Things D at the iPhone 5 launch.
Apple has hired battery engineers from the likes of Toyota and Tesla in the past, the company also has various battery related patents at its disposal such as, flexible batteries as well as tiny components that generate kinetic energy from external movement.
KitGuru Says: I'm rarely in a position where I can't glance at my phone for notifications or quick access to information so I'm a little lost on the whole ‘wearable tech' concept, what do you guys think of wearables?
So am I to assume that once they decide to release this idevice everyone including them will say they invented the smart watch just like they did with the tablet’s. But anyone that actually knows better will know the first tablet actually existed back in the late 60’s or was it early 70’s but according to Apple and others they invented them…lol
Kinetic charging makes a lot of sense as the mechanism can be very small like in those Japanese Seiko watches from years back that uses kinetic self winding mechanism. Effectively winding up a spring to store kinetic energy to be slowing converted by a small dynamo to charge a lithium battery. The key to power is display tech and if used with Qualcomm’s Mirosol tech, it might just not need any recharging at all if worn all day and even worn sleeping. Yes, there are people who wear their watches to sleep as well. That way the sleep sensor can measure movement for health monitoring.
I think Apple will release a simplistic watch and not a fancy looking timepiece as many would expect.