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Apple Reportedly Testing Wireless Charging Coils for iWatch Ahead of Fall Launch
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Yup. I just imagine it's a standard prototype for the next generation of hardware and they're testing it in a range of devices.
1. Well, Otterbox Defender cases (an example) aren't industrial-garde/sized. Real industrial cases are even thicker, much more expensive and (splash) water-resistant etc. These are still consumer cases - love them because of the drop protection and high quality. And a lot of people do use them - the above-linked Amazon entry has no less than 9,507(!) reviews.
2, as I've pointed out above, I have very good results with the Qi + thick Nexus 7 2013 faux leather case. While the Defender cases are somewhat thicker than my N7 case, I think a Qi recharger could still recharge a phone in them. (And much more so with traditional, much thinner iPad cases.)
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Even Qi support would be great. I hate using cables for recharging, particularly with my iPhones in their Otterbox Defender cases.
Lol you don't understand how Apple works do you.
You can't test->ship. You forgot about several stages, including tooling, mass producing, etc. You can't just go from testing to shipping.
I'm excited to see what Apple does.
When ever Apple releases a new product they generally do it right
So why do they then change the design the following year ?
Considering the integration this will have with the iPhone, it'd seem like they'd include it there so the phone could charge the watch as well, but who knows.
Honestly, it doesn't really make a difference to me whether I put my phone on a pad I plugged in somewhere or I just plug the phone in (especially now that the lightning connector is really easy to plug in). It probably saves me like a second on a process I do once every day. Don't really see the benefit. I guess wireless charging is useful when you don't have to think about it any longer.
For / to you, it may not make a difference. For people having a protective case like the above-discussed Otterbox Defender, Qi would be a godsend.
While inserting / removing Lightning is far easier / faster than microUSB, reharging would be easier / neater on tables (no cables needed to be removed / paid attention to when answering a call) - and all this even without cases (like the Otterbox Defender) making cable insertion / removal much harder.
That's a godawful mockup.
This is much better.
Oh god these are terrible. Let's hope it looks more like the one in the OP.
Those look too much like a women's bangle bracelet and I can't see how they could be comfortable as a watch on a wrist.
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IWatch wireless charging must have a range of about 1.5 meters. You have the charging device on your nightstand and it charges while you sleep without ever taking the watch off.
Charging coils are charging coils, though they can come in slightly different shapes and sizes. I assume they are trying to make ones small but powerful and still have a nice design.
OMG! And wake up with a fried brain. I suggest you pick up and digest a good book on how electromagnetic radiation works.
They can't possibly be doing basic product design now for something launching in 6 months. Not even Apple could pull that off.
I'm hoping for a more innovative design. I'd buy it anyway for its rumored capabilities but great design would be an added plus.
I'm hoping for a more innovative design. I'd buy it anyway for its rumored capabilities but great design would be an added plus.
All things that are done in parallel.
You test up to the day before you plan to ship, and hope to find no problems that would keep you from shipping in the last days. You still test. If there's a huge problem, it's better to have tested and delay shipping than to have a recall.
And Samesung will copy it right.
The second or third time around. Whenever Apple unveils a new feature, Samsung unveils a halfassed copy of it 6 months later, a better copy of it 18 months later, but often it's not until 30 months later that they finally copy it right.
I think it's possible to get that 1.5 meter range if you put a coil like this next to your nightstand.
*honey what is that humming noise, I keep getting headaches and nose bleeds lately.
Oh that's my new iWatch wireless charger.
Such as...? I haven't heard much of anything particularly interesting about this so far. Largely the lack of rumors about a killer app for it are what has me both interested (because I can't imagine Apple launching without a killer app) and bored (come on, how many articles on this are going to be written? All that's been said is vague things about how it'll track your health).
In related news, it appears Samsung is close to acquiring Xerox for an undisclosed sum. Rumor has it they are interested mostly in the copier side of the business.
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