Apple Watch to Feature Time-Only 'Power Reserve' Mode, Prototypes Disguised as Samsung Watches

[mrxak]

That's absolutely brilliant! None would suspect them doing that lol.

Cupertino is probably flooded with Samsung spies and paid informants. Any report of seeing a Samsung smartwatch is going to be ignored by whoever they report to, or by the spies themselves. It's a good way to keeping your number one dirty competitor in the dark about what you're up to.

 

[jordanst]

As I recall, 80% of power on the iPhone is powered by the screen. After that, GPS is the next biggest consumer at 16%. Then cellular at 3%. Everything else is a rounding error (but of those rounding errors, Wifi is highest.)

Maybe disabling touch/force touch interactivity makes the difference.

 

[nagromme]

They probably hide Apple Watches inside Samsung units, inside Pebble watches, inside Motorola models.

That way if the outer shell or two happens to break, there's still some concealment.

 

[masteroflondon]

I wonder how much it can do in the power reserve mode.

Time only seems like such an arbitrary limit. Time only still involves running the screen, which, if I had to guess, is by far the biggest power consumer within the Apple Watch.

If it only tells you the time, you'll use it (and the screen) less. That's where the power is saved.

 

[thekeyring]

Sign me up for a 42mm Apple Watch, Space Black stainless steel, with links bracelet.

 

[Keirasplace]

I wonder how much it can do in the power reserve mode.

Time only seems like such an arbitrary limit. Time only still involves running the screen, which, if I had to guess, is by far the biggest power consumer within the Apple Watch.

As I recall, 80% of power on the iPhone is powered by the screen. After that, GPS is the next biggest consumer at 16%. Then cellular at 3%. Everything else is a rounding error (but of those rounding errors, Wifi is highest.)

So after running the screen, the next most power intensive tasks are related to using radios, and the longer distance the signal has to travel, the more power it requires. Since the Apple Watch only uses NFC and Bluetooth for radios, I don't think either of those will be a major power draw. I feel like the Apple Watch will devote 95% of power to the screen, ~2% to each of those radios, and everything else will be a rounding error.

Which means a power reserve mode, while making some slight sense on a phone (stretch the battery by 25% by turning off radios), it makes little sense on the Apple Watch (stretch the battery by 6% by turning off radios.)

Maybe my memory of how much different components consume on the iPhone is wrong and someone can correct me. I seem to recall it being in the Stanford iOS Programming course, when talking about how to make your app consume as little power as possible (it boiled down to not having frivolous radio communication.)

That must mean the screen is off when you don't watch is (as before), or even the watch face is only showed on demand, a special low power watch face (mostly black), probably lower intensity display. CPU/GPU in low power mode (lower refresh rate), the opposite of turbo . Reducing the animation (maybe forgoing the seconds).

Wonder if getting the time by sound instead of screen would use less power?

I'd say the watch would be under 5% when this mode steps in. That's when the I always fear taking calls on my phone .

 

[Lepton]

On an OLED screen, the power consumed by the screen varies according to the number of turned on (non-black) pixels. So if the screen shows time-only, with a simple clock face, that might save a great deal of power. Recall that on full bore, the watch can fill the screen with pictures, having every pixel turned on. Even some of the standard watch faces use a lot of pixels.

 

[hobbbz]

How do you let employees like that go? What was Google offering that Apple couldn't?

working at a different company

 

[apolloa]

Looking at all the smart watch designs announced at MWC today, I still find the Apple Watch to look the best.
Although I have great kudos for the new Web OS watch by LG because it's Web OS and is something different and cool.

 

[MH01]

That's absolutely brilliant! None would suspect them doing that lol.

Never thought I would see the day apple pretended to be an samsung product....... Similar shape I guess

When samsung does it, they are bashed on MR, Apple does it, it's brilliant .... Meh...

 

[Cayden]

Sign me up for a 42mm Apple Watch, Space Black stainless steel, with links bracelet.

This is all I've wanted since the first release was shown. Too bad it will likely be the most expensive model besides the Edition line

 

[MH01]

How do you let employees like that go? What was Google offering that Apple couldn't?

Money, promotion...... Better projects ? Maybe those leaving did not believe the product would be a sucess.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

Never thought I would see the day apple pretended to be an samsung product....... Similar shape I guess

When samsung does it, they are bashed on MR, Apple does it, it's brilliant .... Meh...

Yes, but you fail to see the substantive difference.

Samsung mimicked Apple product for actual product because they didn't have an original idea of there own at the time.

Apple is putting it's product in a Samsung case as a "trojan horse" so that no one notices it's an Apple test mule. Apple isn't copying Samsung design to sell product, just hide.

----------

'Hope it is not that clock in the pic. Those hands are awful.

That's what she said.

P.S. the user has the option of multiple style faces. Or had you not really don't any research on the Apple Watch yet? I don't think going into power save mode is going to change the face. That would be silly.

 

[Rogifan]

Looking at all the smart watch designs announced at MWC today, I still find the Apple Watch to look the best.
Although I have great kudos for the new Web OS watch by LG because it's Web OS and is something different and cool.

When the Verge first reported on Huawei's watch yesterday the photos they showed made it look really nice. But then with their hands on report today the device just looks meh. I certainly wouldn't mistake it for a high end traditional watch.

 

[d4rkc4sm]

How do you let employees like that go? What was Google offering that Apple couldn't?

sign the culture in apple is eroding. harbinger of bad times ahead for apple

 

[Tankmaze]

The report also notes that while the Apple Watch has been widely tested by Apple employees, the company did work to conceal many of those prototypes by disguising them to resemble Samsung smartwatches.

That part actually make me smile, lol.

 

[IJ Reilly]

I own a version of just about every Apple product made the past 10 years.

I fail to see a reason to own an Apple Watch. Hopefully they can convince me.

Took all of four minutes for the first of these comments to appear.

You are slipping, people.

 

[Prof.]

I still think Apple Watch is the worst product Apple has launched in recent years. There is nothing separating it from the Google Lineup of premium smart watches. In fact, the Google line up - 360 & now the Huawei - even looks lightyears better than the Apple Watch.

 

[wigby]

I own a version of just about every Apple product made the past 10 years.

I fail to see a reason to own an Apple Watch. Hopefully they can convince me.

If you are that heavily invested in their product lines and ecosystem, they shouldn't even have to convince you at this point. By not buying their latest product, you are only depriving yourself of a great interconnectedness of devices that you have already paid for.

At least that's how I convince myself that I need one

 

[apolloa]

When the Verge first reported on Huawei's watch yesterday the photos they showed made it look really nice. But then with their hands on report today the device just looks meh. I certainly wouldn't mistake it for a high end traditional watch.

Yeap, I don't know why, but the Apple watch, from the videos and photos, looks better and more premium because it's a different design? The way the glass curves slightly and fits to the body etc looks better. The design of the back looks better too.
I have no doubt the expensive premium Swiss watches will match or better the fit and finish, but so far for the lower end Android smart watches they all just don't excite me and look dull next to the Apple Watch, they lack the fit and finish of Apple.

And so I guess that makes the Pebble design good as they are also not following the crowd with a round face, they have made their own design like Apple. If you see what i mean?

 

[macs4nw]

I own a version of just about every Apple product made the past 10 years.

I fail to see a reason to own an Apple Watch. Hopefully they can convince me.

In light of the above, I'm thinking they probably will.....

 

[thekeyring]

This is all I've wanted since the first release was shown. Too bad it will likely be the most expensive model besides the Edition line

The leather and Milanese loop also look good, though so I'll wait until I see the prices

 

[Rogifan]

I still think Apple Watch is the worst product Apple has launched in recent years. There is nothing separating it from the Google Lineup of premium smart watches. In fact, the Google line up - 360 & now the Huawei - even looks lightyears better than the Apple Watch.

Here's that Huawei watch in real life.

I'm sorry but I don't think anyone is going to mistake that for a premium men's watch. Apple's watch will stand out because it doesn't look like someone tried to copy a luxury watch on a budget. I'm not saying Apple's approach is better but all these Android OEM watches are starting to look the same now.

 

[apolloa]

This is an interesting video as it shows off the Web OS LG watch, and if you remember, we had a very high quality rumoured Apple Watch mock up on this site that showed the same sort of interface, which was utterly wrong to the direction Apple did take, the mock up predicted a round watch for a start. Anyway you can see perhaps what might have been with the Apple Watch?

 

[07dodge]

I own a version of just about every Apple product made the past 10 years.

I fail to see a reason to own an Apple Watch. Hopefully they can convince me.

I wasn't sold, then they showed it. And I went "hmm.....I'm interested." Just watched the keynote again, been on the website a lot looking and reading, I fully intend to pull the trigger on the Space Gray Sport with the black band on the 9th if ordering opens up that day. I haven't worn a watch in 15 years probably, I'll see how I like it.

If not, it's a new Apple product. Probably sell it for no loss.

'Hope it is not that clock in the pic. Those hands are awful.

Looks like many watches over the last, what, two decades? Willing to bet you've never complained about it until now....:roll eyes:

Never thought I would see the day apple pretended to be an samsung product....... Similar shape I guess

When samsung does it, they are bashed on MR, Apple does it, it's brilliant .... Meh...

Totally not even remotely close to the same thing.

One poaches actual tech/features/design cues, the other uses one as a disguise.

I still think Apple Watch is the worst product Apple has launched in recent years. There is nothing separating it from the Google Lineup of premium smart watches. In fact, the Google line up - 360 & now the Huawei - even looks lightyears better than the Apple Watch.

That looks like complete crap. Yikes.

Here's that Huawei watch in real life.

Image

I'm sorry but I don't think anyone is going to mistake that for a premium men's watch. Apple's watch will stand out because it doesn't look like someone tried to copy a luxury watch on a budget. I'm not saying Apple's approach is better but all these Android OEM watches are starting to look the same now.

And it does look like crap. Looks like something you could put two quarters into a dispenser and turn the knob and that pops out in a little plastic globe.

No thanks.