While Apple has made all manner of improvements to the Apple Watch with the launch of the Series 6, one factor which remains something of a handicap is the Apple Watch's battery life. While impressive in other areas, both the Apple Watch Series 6 and Apple Watch SE are hamstrung by batteries that struggle to last 24 hours.
Finally, however, Apple may have a solution; one that could dramatically increase the battery life of the Apple Watch Series 7. Earlier this week, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted Apple a patent for an all-new ‘Battery Watch Band.’
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The battery life of the Apple Watch is strictly limited by its size. After all, Apple can’t simply put in a larger battery without expanding the casing. Instead of trying to redesign the casing, however, the Battery Watch Band's design features a row of external batteries, each hermetically sealed within the wrist-band.
This design would theoretically allow Apple to greatly increase the battery life of its future smartwatches. It's unclear whether it would result in a longer charging time to accommodate the extra batteries, but if so, that would likely be a small price to pay for users who don't want to have to charge their smartwatch every single day.
At present, the Apple Watch Series 6 features an average battery life of around 18 hours, and a charging time of 1.5 hours. The Apple Watch SE, for comparison, has roughly the same lifespan but takes a bit longer to charge. Of course, given that some apps drain the battery faster than normal, these figures may be lower in practice.
The short battery life is even more noticeable when you compare it to the competition. One example is the rival Timex Metropolitan; a more affordable smartwatch which boasts a battery that can last two whole weeks!
While the Apple Watch may still be the top dog, its competitors are clearly capitalising on longer battery life as a principal selling point. However, Apple's newly-granted patent could be the solution that the company needs.
Of course, it remains to be seen whether the Battery Watch Band design will be incorporated into the Apple Watch Series 7, but it would certainly make sense. In fact, this could correlate with a recent insider leak that the Apple Watch Series 7 will be getting a significant redesign. Hopefully, the Battery Watch Band does come sooner rather than later, and address the Apple Watch’s current battery woes.
Source: PatentlyApple
