Apple Testing Induction, Solar, and Motion Charging for Curved-Glass iWatch

[robvs]

My Prediction

Two big stories in a three-day period for the iWatch. Where there's enough smoke, there's fire. Here we go

In other news, the iOS 8 checklist is:
Healthbook
Fix photo management
Maps with transit
Mobile payments
Multi-user support with Touch ID

I predict that iWatch will be announced at WWDC 2014 and that multipeer connectivity will be one of the key enabling technologies.

 

[Aniseedvan]

Battery is key for me. I sent back a v2 jawbone up and v2 nike fuelband because both struggled to keep charge for much over a day. My fitbit one now goes for two weeks which means it's not cumbersome to charge (it has smaller charges whilst I'm in the shower at the weekends). I'm interested in the product but not if v1 can't deliver me a good few days real world charge. The pebble steel keeps calling to me, but I'm still concerned it'll look ridiculous on my tiny wrist...

 

[lordofthereef]

The lightning port serves more of a purpose other than charging, what happens when you need to update/restore? What happens when you want to sync it?

I imagine this can all be handled via wifi, bluetooth, or maybe even some other proprietary connection.

We already have over the air updates. I don't actually need my computer to do a full restore of my iOS device. I see no reason why this couldn't work the same.

Omitting an actual charge/sync cable would potentially make the device thinner, especially considering that waterproofing ports usually makes them thicker still.

 

[lordofthereef]

Movement based charging would not be that hard, hell Seiko watches have a Kinetic series where movement charges the battery and winds the mechanism - all they have to do is use the same idea and modify it - Im sure it would not be that hard to do. Im not a fan of induction charging because these take a lot longer than conventional AC charging due to the lower voltage / current being used. The only major difference is no direct cable from watch to wall - watch sits on a "plate" which is then connect to an AC adapter. Its "convenient" but too slow time wise.

Plus you still have a cable from from the induction charger to the wall. Solar has similar technical issues as the panels cannot charge the battery quick enough due to their low voltage / current as the sunlight is converted into a current to charge the battery. Then the battery has to hold this charge in a large capacity and not drain quickly either - Solar panels are usually slower and not as visually appealing and would need to be covered in sapphire crystal as well to protect them from damage and scratches.

So far the only charging system thats the quickest is AC based, the rest are good in theory but way too slow.

Having used some of Nokias recent flagship devices I can certainly agree that induction charging is slower. I would say where a battery takes three hours to charge, induction might take four, maybe five. I didn't find that a problem at all, especially since I always charge overnight anyway (thus there is no perceived time loss here). I imagine most users would treat the watch the same way; wear it during the day and set it in the nightstand at night.

But I see one very large boon to not having this charge through a cable, and that's the ability to waterproof. Sure this can be done with clever plugs and whatnot, but that usually makes things bulky (have a look at waterproof cases as an example). Might apple come up with something awesome? Sure. But this seems a very logical answer with tech that we already have available today. Assuming the watch can last the day, at minimum, without intermittent charges, I don't see the rate it which it charges overnight as being a problem.

 

[kerrikins]

Wow, look at all the naysayers in this thread. The Pebble and the Galaxy Gear would not exist if there was no market for this product. People looked down at the idea of the iPad before it came out, saying there was no market for a device between a phone and a computer - now look at where we are!

You cannot say that a device will fail before it's even launched, and people can't say that there is or is not a market for it based only on THEIR needs/wants. Heck, the average person back in 2006 thought that they didn't need access to the internet or email on the go, now look at the smartphone penetration.

 

[APlotdevice]

We already have over the air updates. I don't actually need my computer to do a full restore of my iOS device. I see no reason why this couldn't work the same.

You've never had your device get screwed up to the point where it won't start up. This does happen though (usually as the result of interrupting an update/restore), and when it does, connecting to a computer is the only way to restore.

 

[marvinonil]

How I think the iWatch should be.

I think it should feel as natural as possible.
I mean, there should be round and square faced versions just like conventional watches.
The band should be natural too,It can look like those casio watches that have calculators but with full touchcreen.
Apple wont have a problem with O.S. What will really sell it and make it appealing is how natural it will feel wearing it.

 

[lordofthereef]

You've never had your device get screwed up to the point where it won't start up. This does happen though (usually as the result of interrupting an update/restore), and when it does, connecting to a computer is the only way to restore.

A few assumptions are being made here.

First and foremost that I've never needed to restore via pc. I absolutely have. Apple is clearly trying to move away from needing to plug into a computer, though. Just a few years ago you HAD to have a computer to even be able to use your iPhone to its fullest extent. It's not even out of the question, if whatever OS runs on this upcoming product is small enough, to have a simple recovery partition saved on the storage of the device itself. A series of button presses boots straight to recovery and you do a restore right away. Computers (macs included) have been doing this for over a decade.

But beside that you are also assuming that whatever device apple puts out will be a standalone product running some sort of full blown OS that actually NEEDS restoring in the first place. Plenty of devices, namely handheld gaming devices (and now that I think of it, I do believe the entire iPod nano line), just off the top of my head, run a fairly light operating system and don't require full blown restores nor any sort of computer interaction whatsoever.

I personally wouldn't expect this new product to be worth a whole lot without another iOS device to complement it. That is to say, I would expect this to be a companion product, not a standalone. Most of your data, settings, etc are actually stored on your iPhone, or iPad, or what have you. The "iwatch" is just a means of gathering measurements (like speculation about heart rate, calories burned, etc) and showing you information on the fly. Running full blown iOS requiring full blown processing power and this high battery demands just doesn't make sense in a product like this. Or maybe I am completely off and apple is planning a version of the iPhone for your wrist. I'd be absolutely shocked. But I've been wrong before.

 

[lordofthereef]

You cannot say that a device will fail before it's even launched, and people can't say that there is or is not a market for it based only on THEIR needs/wants. Heck, the average person back in 2006 thought that they didn't need access to the internet or email on the go, now look at the smartphone penetration.

The average person still doesn't need any of these things. They are all wants. Desires. Conveniences. Just about the only time you need something like technology is when it is required to do your job. Most people don't have jobs like that.

As far as saying something will fail before it launches... That's obviously an opinion. Speculation. That's sort of what this site is about, right? You can say something will fail. Absolutely. You just have to realiE your prediction might be wrong.

 

[tdale]

I suggest Apple fixes the retina screen issues, quality control is poor. PCs and Apple use the same tech, but when Apple brings in their new tech it fails. Note I am an Apple fan

 

[lordofthereef]

Apple hasn't taken this long to develop a me-too product. They don't do me-too products anyway, and if the history of the company is any guide (and why shouldn't it be?), this product won't be anything like what the rumors say it will be. I also doubt very much that it will be called the "iWatch."

I would say a lot of ios7 was a "me too" product. I have no problem with that at all. But even the most die hard fans say it borrowed HEAVILY from android. I say "it's about damn time" honestly...

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I suggest Apple fixes the retina screen issues, quality control is poor. PCs and Apple use the same tech, but when Apple brings in their new tech it fails. Note I am an Apple fan

What does that have to do with a rumored I watch?

Surely you are aware that QC and product development are completely different segments of the company. They have very little to do with one another outside of product development having to actually come up with a product that can actually be mass produced.

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I'm with those who see little benefit to induction charging.

Who wants to carry a whole induction charging pad, cable, and adapter whenever they travel with their iWatch? The beauty of the lightning port is that it is so small, easy to use, and can simply be used to charge off your MacBook's USB port or existing iPhone charger.

Induction is one of the more overrated technologies for mobile devices.

Why does it have to be some enormous (size) thing? It very well may still run off of USB power.

I'd much rather have a thinner and lighter device that is water proof due to lack of ports than worry about throwing a slightly larger charger into my bag when I travel. But then again I already carry a zagg sparq (battery back up) which is about the size and weight of Apple's MacBook charger.

 

[tdale]

I would say a lot of ios7 was a "me too" product. I have no problem with that at all. But even the most die hard fans say it borrowed HEAVILY from android. I say "it's about damn time" honestly...

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What does that have to do with a rumored I watch?

Surely you are aware that QC and product development are completely different segments of the company. They have very little to do with one another outside of product development having to actually come up with a product that can actually be mass produced.

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Why does it have to be some enormous (size) thing? It very well may still run off of USB power.

I'd much rather have a thinner and lighter device that is water proo f due to lack of ports than worry about throwing a slightly larger charger into my bag when I travel. But then again I already carry a zagg sparq (battery back up) which is about the size and weight of Apple's MacBook charger.

My comment is why go iWatch when Apple quality control is lacking ?? Iwatch is a fad, who wants one when you have to carry a celluar device to make it work??

And wifi charging ?? It HAS to be plugged in, so what benefit??. That's already been done too. Get Apple top of the tree for hardware, then look at other options

 

[bobob]

I'm with those who see little benefit to induction charging.

Who wants to carry a whole induction charging pad, cable, and adapter whenever they travel with their iWatch? The beauty of the lightning port is that it is so small, easy to use, and can simply be used to charge off your MacBook's USB port or existing iPhone charger.

Induction is one of the more overrated technologies for mobile devices.

I think we can surely say by now (as surely as possible, when all is still rumors! ;-)) that this thing will be heavily focused on health and fitness, meaning, sweat and all weather wear is a real dealbreaker! This meaning that to eliminate any openings that prevents this from being used everywhere (in the rain, in the pool) a hardwire plug is just not an option!

Why does it have to be some enormous (size) thing?

I can't imagine any induction pad will be much smaller than a Lightning plug (not to mention the size of the induction receiving tech inside the iWatch itself). Here's a recent example of a portable induction charging pad for a Nokia Lumia...

(Note how the power adapter is not shown. There are no photos with everything you need to carry - - the pad, cable and adapter - - all in one shot.)

I'd much rather have a thinner and lighter device that is water proof due to lack of ports than worry about throwing a slightly larger charger into my bag when I travel.

As I noted earlier in the thread, the Lightning connector is waterproof.

The Lightning connector is already waterproof by design (and I don't mean with a little rubber cap).

Personally, I think Lightning was designed with the iWatch firmly in mind. Hold the Lightning plug up beside your own wristwatch and tell me it's not a perfect scale.

The popularity of the iPod Nano as a wristwatch, followed by the iPod's redesign into a non-watch format, followed by the introduction of the Lightning connector, all seem to me to create a straight line to the upcoming iWatch.

 

[macduke]

Let me know how it works out, because the physics indicate otherwise.

Will do newbie! Will do.

 

[elvisimprsntr]

Will do newbie! Will do.

Exactly WTF does my status on this forum have to do with your desire for inductive charging from across the room?


Magnets, *****!