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The Apple Watch Battery Will Be Replaceable

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macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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New details are still emerging about the Apple Watch following yesterday's big "Spring Forward" event in San Francisco, with a new report pointing to a completely replaceable battery for Apple's new wearable.

Following the event yesterday, an Apple spokesperson disclosed to TechCrunch that the Apple Watch "battery is replaceable." The big missing piece of information of course relating to how much the process will cost, if it will be done in both Apple's retail stores and online, and how long it will take.

There's still well over a month to the Watch's launch, so no doubt this will be another piece of information Apple fills out as the April 24 release date gets closer.
Well, when it comes to the battery at least, owners of Apple Watch will be able to extend its lifespan. An Apple spokesman confirmed to TechCrunch the "battery is replaceable". Albeit, it's not clear how much it will cost to send in your wearable to Apple to get it returned with a new cell in place.

The other potential obsolescence issue relates to the processor. It's not clear whether Apple will offer any kind of CPU and/or RAM upgrade to existing owners. At the time of writing Apple had not responded to our request for clarification.
Click to expand...
There had been much talk over the Watch's battery life leading up to the event, with Apple yesterday confirming all-day battery life with mixed usage for the device. This boils down, according to the company, to 90 time checks, 90 notifications, 45 minutes of app use, and a 30-minute workout with music playback via Bluetooth over the course of 18 hours.

As TechCrunch points out, given the Apple Watch Sport's target audience, the battery itself may face the most intense usage compared to the other models, which means its lower entry point makes more sense for yearly, or bi-yearly, upgrades.

A large amount of information came out of the Apple event yesterday, including detailed prices of the numerous versions of the Apple Watch, specific information on its battery life, and the pricing tiers of the various bands. The Watch will be available for pre-order April 10 and launch officially in the United States, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan and United Kingdom on April 24.

Article Link: The Apple Watch Battery Will Be Replaceable
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2015/03/10/apple-watch-battery-replaceable/
Chrjy

Chrjy

macrumors 65816
May 19, 2010
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I'm presuming you'll just be able to take into any Apple Store and have it replaced while you shop and then pick it up again once you're done....that would be handy.
 
Tankmaze

Tankmaze

macrumors 68000
Mar 7, 2012
1,707
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Everything is replaceable, just the difficulty level thats different. but good to know its easy to come to apple store and asked for battery swap.
 
johnnyjibbs

johnnyjibbs

macrumors 68030
Sep 18, 2003
2,964
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Great. Hopefully as battery technology improves they will be able to plug in more and more powerful cells.

As for processor upgrades, I'd say unlikely. There would be too many limitations for Apple to keep such back compatibility.

My preference would have been for a link bracelet version but given the prices I am now looking at potentially a sport version, so that I can just replace the device in a few years and don't throw away such a big investment. Maybe a third party will come up with an affordable link bracelet at a fraction of the cost.
 
Agent OrangeZ

Agent OrangeZ

macrumors 68040
Mar 17, 2010
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Dagless said:
Define "investment".

(not angling for anything, I'm genuinely curious! Do you think it's going to raise in value?)
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Well... in this case, the investment may not be designed for a monetary form of return. The return on investment could be in the form of increased productivity the features/services of the Apple Watch might provide. That rate of return may seem miniscule to you, but it would be well worth it for other people.
 
BMcCoy

BMcCoy

macrumors 68000
Jun 24, 2010
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Surely THIS is the sort of information that would have been useful in the keynote yesterday..
 
roadbloc

roadbloc

macrumors G3
Aug 24, 2009
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This is the first bit of good news to come from this :apple:Watch thing. Now they just need to do the same for the iPhone and iPad.
 
A

Ateam043

macrumors member
Jan 8, 2015
91
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No idea why Apple didn't mentioned it yesterday. This is huge.

I wasn't planning on getting the watch, but now I might just give it a go if Apple confirms this as true.
 
L

lk400

macrumors 65816
Aug 26, 2012
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630
roadbloc said:
This is the first bit of good news to come from this :apple:Watch thing. Now they just need to do the same for the iPhone and iPad.
Click to expand...

I walked into an apple store and had my old iPhone 5 battery swapped out in about half an hour. Is this not common?

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Who only works out for 30 minutes?
 
0098386

0098386

Suspended
Jan 18, 2005
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1080p said:
Well... in this case, the investment may not be designed for a monetary form of return. The return on investment could be in the form of increased productivity the features/services of the Apple Watch might provide. That rate of return may seem miniscule to you, but it would be well worth it for other people.
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Absolutely, that's why I have a Pebble watch - getting notifications and music controls on my wrist is valuable. I wouldn't call that an investment though. An investment is where you put something in to get more out.

I ask because some jeweller friends have been talking about how the gold one might rise in value (at least for the very first Apple Watch).
 
Reason077

Reason077

macrumors 68040
Aug 14, 2007
3,606
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Dagless said:
Define "investment".

(not angling for anything, I'm genuinely curious! Do you think it's going to raise in value?)
Click to expand...

He's referring to the overall value derived from ownership. i.e. the perceived increase in social status, self-esteem, and general smugness that comes from owning Apple products.

Not just the pure financial value of the object - although resale value is a valid consideration, too.
 
Gasu E.

Gasu E.

macrumors 603
Mar 20, 2004
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Mildredop said:
How is it an investment?!
Click to expand...

As with nearly every word in the English language, "investment" has multiple meanings. (Obviously, you can look it up in an online dictionary if you are interested.) :)

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green94 said:
Wow.. great news!

This makes me feel a lot better about the investment.
Click to expand...

Good news do far. The question is, would this be economic for a watch model that I would choose to buy? Obviously, it's great for those who buy the Edition.

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Ateam043 said:
No idea why Apple didn't mentioned it yesterday. This is huge.

I wasn't planning on getting the watch, but now I might just give it a go if Apple confirms this as true.
Click to expand...

It's not terribly interesting unless they also provide the price for the service. And who knows if they have even finalized that?
 
extricated

extricated

macrumors 6502
Jul 14, 2011
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Arkansas
Good to know.
Though unlikely, it gives me a glimmer of hope regarding processor and and sensor upgrades. It makes sense that the battery will be accessed through the back, so if you have to take the sensors off to replace the battery, why not put a whole new sensor package in?
Probably just wishful thinking.
 
M

Mildredop

macrumors 68020
Oct 14, 2013
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Gasu E. said:
As with nearly every word in the English language, "investment" has multiple meanings. (Obviously, you can look it up in an online dictionary if you are interested.) :)
Click to expand...

If the word investment only had the one meaning, I'd would fully understand the phrase. However, it's the fact it has several meanings that I asked for clarification.

It could be a financial investment, an investment in one's daily workflow, an investment as a collector etc.

I don't think it's unreasonable to request further information. I hope that's ok with you?
 
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