As mentioned earlier €1900 with wireless tank pressure transmitter. (1500 for the watch, 400 for the transmitter)
So around 1500 would be nice.
(and that would be just about the price of an apple watch and the divecomputer I intend to buy combined)
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Bloomberg: Apple May Launch Rugged Apple Watch Model for Extreme Sports as Soon as This Year
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So around 1500 would be nice.
(and that would be just about the price of an apple watch and the divecomputer I intend to buy combined)
If Apple makes a "ruggedized" model, it needs a few things:
Better battery life
Integrated solar charging
Larger screen
Better off-grid/backwoods GPS
Cell service free short range P2P voice communications
Stand-alone cell service that does not require attached iPhone account
Possible BlueTooth connection capability for external antenna (like the GoTenna Pro, more P2P range / cell service independant mesh data network capabilities)?
Better battery life
Integrated solar charging
Larger screen
Better off-grid/backwoods GPS
Cell service free short range P2P voice communications
Stand-alone cell service that does not require attached iPhone account
Possible BlueTooth connection capability for external antenna (like the GoTenna Pro, more P2P range / cell service independant mesh data network capabilities)?
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Three of the factors why this is unlikely:
- limited surface area for solar panel
- high power consumption rate of smartwatches compared to basic LCD watches
- limited time with solar panel exposed to direct sun
I guess all the other solar-powered smart watches out there are doing it wrong then...?
See above...
Uh, we are talking about a "ruggedized" Apple Watch, with the intended consumer being someone who is more active outdoors, so...
"Solar-powered" is a massive overstatement. It would be more accurate to describe them as solar-tweaked.
Reviews report that the Fenix 6X gets about 1% charge in 4 hours if left in full direct angle sun - much less if worn on the wrist at sub-optimal angles in varied lighting conditions such as outdoor areas with trees or if the user is wearing winter clothing with sleeves. In reality, a Fenix 6X user may only be getting 10% of the full charging rate, and a 0.5% total charge/day wouldn't be a surprising real world result.
It's a cute feature and perhaps fun for posers to brag about, but if you are serious about backcountry use, you'd be far wiser to get an Apple Watch portable power bank which gives you up to 10 full 100% charges.
"Solar-powered" is a massive overstatement. It would be more accurate to describe them as solar-tweaked.
Reviews report that the Fenix 6X gets about 1% charge in 4 hours if left in full direct angle sun - much less if worn on the wrist at sub-optimal angles in varied lighting conditions such as outdoor areas with trees or if the user is wearing winter clothing with sleeves. In reality, a Fenix 6X user may only be getting 10% of the full charging rate, and a 0.5% total charge/day wouldn't be a surprising real world result.
It's a cute feature and perhaps fun for posers to brag about, but if you are serious about backcountry use, you'd be far wiser to get an Apple Watch portable power bank which gives you up to 10 full 100% charges.
The 6X lists 21 days of battery life and the 6X Solar lists 24 days with moderate sun exposure. So the delta is significant.
Will that charging stick give you 24 days of battery life on the Apple Watch?
Therefore, according to the manufacturer** on a 24 day trip, you might gain 3 days of use compared to onboard battery life. Compared to that 3 days on the Fenix, the Apple Watch portable power bank adds 10 days of battery life.
Comparing the base battery life of a true feature-rich smartwatch like the Apple Watch vs the Fenix (a glorified Casio) is apples and oranges.
(** The Fenix 6X review reported an actual 1% gain of battery life for every 4 hours of full direct sun. Therefore the optimal charge that a user who was able to keep their arm directly facing the unobstructed sun for 12 hours a day might hope to achieve is 3%/day in the real world (vs manufacturer marketing materials).)
People don't spend $500 to $2,500 for a glorified Casio.
I'll take the 24 days without the spare battery pack to 12 days with the Apple Watch and the spare battery pack.
I'm glad to hear it!
(Though it still doesn't have anything to do with the usefulness of solar panels on smartwatches.)
I'm glad to hear it!
(Though it still doesn't have anything to do with the usefulness of solar panels on smartwatches.)
It may give someone another day or two of battery on a polar expedition. The Garmins can work with Satellite-based GPS and communications too. Garmin has a rather sophisticated system in place for navigation, location and communications. I don't plan to get the solar model but would look for a solar power brick if I were outdoors a lot more.
AW is not going to get a solar charge. Not with technology out there now, or on next 5-6 year horizon.
If you are going on a polar expedition, take something else than an Apple Watch.
A ruggedized Apple Watch will be simply that. A ruggedized Apple Watch. Not some batman utility belt on your wrist.
People do spend that much (and more) on casios.....and they are all far more rugged and resilient than anything Apple can hope to put together.
I've never seen these before. Looks like they went luxe. I haven't had a G-Shock since the 1980s or 1990s.
I’ve been saying to a friend, if they had a model that looked like a g-shock I would have bought one already. This way I’m still on the fence on the Apple Watch.
Reason I picked up the Spigen case because it gave me those G-Shock vibes. I wish there were some watch faces that looked like G-Shock digital but for now I use the Numerals Duo outline format in green/blue. Simple but I've done all the full face complications thing and didn't like it.
Thanks for that. I wasn’t aware of those cases. Some of those look neat!