Nomad's 'Pod' Battery Provides Four Full Charges for Apple Watch

MacRumors · Mar 17, 2015

Accessory manufacturer Nomad today revealed the Pod, a mobile battery and cable management device that promises to provide the upcoming Apple Watch with up to four full charges, no doubt aimed at users unsure of the Watch's confirmed 18-hour lifespan (via TechCrunch).

The Pod houses a small but powerful 1,800 mAh battery as the source of the four full charges claim, but added USB and USB-C ports mean virtually any device powered by either USB connectors can find charge from the unit. Still, the Pod's specifically designed functionality, housing a base aimed at organizing the Watch's MagSafe charge cable, means Nomad is definitely targeting early adopters of Apple's upcoming wearable.

The company is also known for the NomadClip, which houses a USB and smartphone charger in its small carabiner frame, and even announced an Apple Watch stand of its own. Although pre-orders are open, as TechCrunch points out, Nomad is still awaiting a few specifications from Apple before going into production.

Nomad says it's been in communication with Apple, and is simply awaiting the final physical dimensions of the Apple Watch charger to it can get the Pod to production. Of course, you could always just use existing power banks with the cable to achieve the same results, but Nomad's design gets points for space-saving creativity.

Many well-known accessory manufacturers have announced products for the Apple Watch recently, including Griffin, Pad and Quill, and Twelve South. Those announcements mainly focused on docks and stands for the wrist-worn device, with not much revealed in the vein of a mobile battery solution for the wearable akin to the Nomad Pod save for the Reserve Strap, which aims to keep the Apple Watch charged while still on the wrist.

The Nomad Pod will come in Silver, Space Grey, and Matte Black Plastic, costing those interested $59.99 upon pre-ordering on the company's official website. Nomad says the devices will begin shipping on June 15 and notes that only 5,000 units are planned to be made for the first run of the mobile charging pod.

Article Link: Nomad's 'Pod' Battery Provides Four Full Charges for Apple Watch

poppe · Mar 17, 2015

I've been debating on a stand for awhile now. While I definitely want one, I think I'll be waiting until after it's released so that there are more options and ones that aren't rushing to be first out the door.

Plus I think a nice beautiful wood stand will really make the watch look beautiful.

Supacon · Mar 17, 2015

Hmm... Nomad Pod. I can't think of anything ironic about the name of this product.

On a serious note, that certainly says something that the Apple Watch already has an ecosystem of accessories and the thing hasn't even been launched yet. And boy, these guys are sure on the ball with a USB-C connector when there are all of three products on Earth (that I'm aware of - Nokia N1, Chromebook Pixel 2015, and MacBook 2015) that use it so far. I think USB-C will be super common by next year.

dannyyankou · Mar 17, 2015

I was intrigued until I saw the price. I'll wait for Anker to make something similar.

Tankmaze · Mar 17, 2015

Of course, you could always just use existing power banks with the cable to achieve the same results

I think i'll stick with this, there are much cheaper 50000 mah powerbanks that could charge the watch hundred of times, while also charge the ipad and iphone... pass...

mistafro · Mar 17, 2015

Still waiting for a solution that will allow us to wear it over night and wake up with a full charge! I don't want to take it off lol!

doelcm82 · Mar 17, 2015

Elon Musk promised a solution to "range anxiety" on Thursday.

Here it is, two days early.

macduke · Mar 17, 2015

The below photo really puts into perspective the upcoming challenge for the Apple Watch. Considering that the original iPhone ran for a day, and the iPhone 6 runs for maybe slightly longer than a day, and the iPhone 6 Plus sometimes runs for about two days with a much larger device, I have my doubts that we will see anywhere near week long battery in the Apple Watch in this decade. Especially since Apple loves to slim down everything. Ironically this makes me want to just buy the current model, so I was hoping the second or third gen would have much better battery life. Probably not!

Including the internal charged battery of the watch itself, this is what five days of Apple Watch charge usage looks like in 2015:

dfs · Mar 17, 2015

What about this?

If you look at some of the link bracelet bands -- such as come with some Rolex models -- with large, thick links, you begin to wonder whether a watch's power might be stored in such a band as well as in a battery housed within its case.

macsplusmacs · Mar 17, 2015

dfs said:
If you look at some of the link bracelet bands -- such as come with some Rolex models -- with large, thick links, you begin to wonder whether a watch's power might be stored in such a band as well as in a battery housed within its case.

http://reservestrap.com

kerosene · Mar 17, 2015

Lol, where's the wrist strap for this?

extricated · Mar 17, 2015

I do like the singular design/portability factor, but like others here have mentioned, there are a lot of higher capacity powerbanks on the market for a lower price.
I've entertained thoughts of getting a bank for camping trips and such, but was never compelled to make a purchase. Now that I'll be getting the watch, I may just go for it.

piker944 · Mar 17, 2015

Doesn't look like this will work well for the link bracelet or milanese loop. I guess you'd have to disconnet the bracelet from the face, which seems like a pain.

2457282 · Mar 17, 2015

macduke said:
The below photo really puts into perspective the upcoming challenge for the Apple Watch. Considering that the original iPhone ran for a day, and the iPhone 6 runs for maybe slightly longer than a day, and the iPhone 6 Plus sometimes runs for about two days with a much larger device, I have my doubts that we will see anywhere near week long battery in the Apple Watch in this decade. Especially since Apple loves to slim down everything. Ironically this makes me want to just buy the current model, so I was hoping the second or third gen would have much better battery life. Probably not!

Including the internal charged battery of the watch itself, this is what five days of Apple Watch charge usage looks like in 2015:

That picture did it for me.... way too big and bulky and not something I am going to carry around. time to move on.

nick42983 · Mar 17, 2015

macduke said:
The below photo really puts into perspective the upcoming challenge for the Apple Watch. Considering that the original iPhone ran for a day, and the iPhone 6 runs for maybe slightly longer than a day, and the iPhone 6 Plus sometimes runs for about two days with a much larger device, I have my doubts that we will see anywhere near week long battery in the Apple Watch in this decade. Especially since Apple loves to slim down everything. Ironically this makes me want to just buy the current model, so I was hoping the second or third gen would have much better battery life. Probably not!

Including the internal charged battery of the watch itself, this is what five days of Apple Watch charge usage looks like in 2015:

I don't think week-long battery life under regular use is even on the radar for Apple products. Its taken Apple 7 years to make the iPhone last a full day under heavy use. If the Apple Watch can last 18 hours under a mixed-use scenario, I think we'll see the same in the second gen with a thinner profile or perhaps even 24 hours and thinner.

Charging our smartphones and laptops daily or every other day is a reality that we live with, and its honestly not much of a hassle. I think we'll see advancements in faster charging sooner than much longer battery life. If anyone has some knowledge of near-future battery tech advancements, it would be cool to hear their perspective.

dannyyankou · Mar 17, 2015

piker944 said:
Doesn't look like this will work well for the link bracelet or milanese loop. I guess you'd have to disconnet the bracelet from the face, which seems like a pain.

Oh that's right, and I'm getting the link bracelet. I'll wait for more accessories to hit the market.

macduke · Mar 17, 2015

nick42983 said:
I don't think week-long battery life under regular use is even on the radar for Apple products. Its taken Apple 7 years to make the iPhone last a full day under heavy use. If the Apple Watch can last 18 hours under a mixed-use scenario, I think we'll see the same in the second gen with a thinner profile or perhaps even 24 hours and thinner.

Charging our smartphones and laptops daily or every other day is a reality that we live with, and its honestly not much of a hassle. I think we'll see advancements in faster charging sooner than much longer battery life. If anyone has some knowledge of near-future battery tech advancements, it would be cool to hear their perspective.

You're very right about faster charging batteries being the next big advancement. I also hope some density comes with it. I've read about many amazing battery tech advancements over the years, but they never really come to fruition in product form. There was this one that I read about back in the mid-2000s about how we'd be running our laptops for weeks on a 15-20 minute charge. Never happened. However, I am quite excited about some of the things I've read about graphene. But at the moment graphene seems like the super material that is going to save everythingsuch as replacing silicon in computers. Would be neat if it did, but we'll see how it pans out. What I'm hoping is that Apple's research into electric cars will allow them to make breakthroughs in new battery tech. The layered battery in the new MacBook, for instance, is quite interesting.

doelcm82 · Mar 17, 2015

macduke said:
You're very right about faster charging batteries being the next big advancement. I also hope some density comes with it. I've read about many amazing battery tech advancements over the years, but they never really come to fruition in product form. There was this one that I read about back in the mid-2000s about how we'd be running our laptops for weeks on a 15-20 minute charge. Never happened. However, I am quite excited about some of the things I've read about graphene. But at the moment graphene seems like the super material that is going to save everythingsuch as replacing silicon in computers. Would be neat if it did, but we'll see how it pans out. What I'm hoping is that Apple's research into electric cars will allow them to make breakthroughs in new battery tech. The layered battery in the new MacBook, for instance, is quite interesting.

It does take time for battery tech to make it to consumer products, but it's not really true to say that we've never seen advancements come to market.

Back in the early 90s, the typical laptop weighed ten pounds and much of that was the huge NiCd battery that allowed it to operate for an hour or two when unplugged.

Thanks almost entirely to Jonny Ive (and other people like him) who were obsessively, pathologically, fixated on making devices thinner, while simultaneously increasing their processing power and maintaining or increasing battery life, we have incredible devices that can go most of a day on one charge, while outperforming an old Cray supercomputer and weighing in at a couple of pounds.

BlueParadox · Mar 17, 2015

If anyone's interested to buy the Nomad Apple Watch stand (which is pretty damn sexy!) or the Battery Recharger unit, one can use the coupon code: WATCH30 to receive 30% off the total order (today only), with free postage - both domestic and international - on orders over US$75. So, both products come in at just under US$84 (without discount is US$120). Not bad. And the coupon works, no worries. Food for thought...

pughimag49 · Mar 17, 2015

nick42983 said:
If anyone has some knowledge of near-future battery tech advancements, it would be cool to hear their perspective.

I have had an $80 CITIZEN watch that uses solar cells to stay charged for the past two years - no problems whatsoever. Perhaps solar cells could be built into a strap for example. My watch has them built into the face. Four cells (one quadrant each).

Some make the argument that Apple watch is not primarily a watch but more a convenient iphone interface. If I have to remove my watch for charging I would need a replacement watch.

Also, I don't know how interested I would be in whatever else I could use the 8GB of storage on the Apple watch for. I do know the following about cost of ownership which says "no way" I'm going to buy an Apple watch.

To use an Apple watch ($390?)I need an iPhone ($600?). To use an iPhone I need wireless service ($1,200 a year?). I have to remember to charge my watch every day and cut back to my old watch if I forget or I forget to charge my iPhone.

My Motorola phone cost $100 and the service is $10/month (Republic Wireless). I do own an iPad and a MacBook Pro and a 2006 Mac Pro (upgraded to SSID, 5TB, 8 cores, eSATA and a new video card). My 2006 Mac Pro still rocks! I don't get the Apple Watch but maybe it's Apple pride.

My $80 watch has lasted 2-3 years so far with nothing but the sun to power it - never missed a beat.

Now 25 quality TV channels from Apple plus the Sling TV service to replace DIRECTV I can handle. Bring it on Apple! June delivery?

lazyrighteye · Mar 17, 2015

Stand. Space Grey. Ordered.
The WATCH30 discount code email I received this morning won over my $46.97.

fallenjt · Mar 18, 2015

pughimag49 said:
I have had an $80 CITIZEN watch that uses solar cells to stay charged for the past two years - no problems whatsoever. Perhaps solar cells could be built into a strap for example. My watch has them built into the face. Four cells (one quadrant each).

Some make the argument that Apple watch is not primarily a watch but more a convenient iphone interface. If I have to remove my watch for charging I would need a replacement watch.

Also, I don't know how interested I would be in whatever else I could use the 8GB of storage on the Apple watch for. I do know the following about cost of ownership which says "no way" I'm going to buy an Apple watch.

To use an Apple watch ($390?)I need an iPhone ($600?). To use an iPhone I need wireless service ($1,200 a year?). I have to remember to charge my watch every day and cut back to my old watch if I forget or I forget to charge my iPhone.

My Motorola phone cost $100 and the service is $10/month (Republic Wireless). I do own an iPad and a MacBook Pro and a 2006 Mac Pro (upgraded to SSID, 5TB, 8 cores, eSATA and a new video card). My 2006 Mac Pro still rocks! I don't get the Apple Watch but maybe it's Apple pride.

My $80 watch has lasted 2-3 years so far with nothing but the sun to power it - never missed a beat.

Now 25 quality TV channels from Apple plus the Sling TV service to replace DIRECTV I can handle. Bring it on Apple! June delivery?

Did your watch and phone do any of these: e-payments, social media, net surfing, media streaming, banking, check deposits, document editing, video, games, health and fitness tracking, video recording, video calling? These are basic functions of smart devices + tons more. Don't compare your dumb devices with these because they share some names (watch, phone).

ftaok · Mar 18, 2015

mistafro said:
Still waiting for a solution that will allow us to wear it over night and wake up with a full charge! I don't want to take it off lol!

A potential solution for Apple would be to make the apple watch able to charge from the screen or sides. That way, an external battery could be attached while still wearing the watch. After all, you don't need to see the screen when you're sleeping, so obscuring the phone isn't a big deal.

A couple of issues.

1. Does the apple watch work when charging?
2. Is it a good idea to sleep with a charging device on your wrist?

Carmenia83 · Mar 18, 2015

Love the magnetic "pod" idea, but they should make a smaller version that has a battery similar in size to the one inside the apple watch just to get me through the day if I work a long shift. Realistically, I don't see myself needing to recharge the watch four times between the time I take it off the nightstand and when I put it back. If that's the case, it's getting returned. If you're going camping/hiking/off grid for a few days that's great, but as other posters have said, there's much better options for battery packs. I want something I can carry in my pocket, around the size of a large coin (or Pog Slammer if you remember those haha).

Gasu E. · Mar 18, 2015

dannyyankou said:
I was intrigued until I saw the price. I'll wait for Anker to make something similar.

A $60 accessory is too much for a $400+ device? If so, you should save your money and not buy the watch.

Nomad's 'Pod' Battery Provides Four Full Charges for Apple Watch

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