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'Reserve Strap' Debuts New Design Focusing on Apple Watch Diagnostic Port

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Originally announced by third-party developers Lane Musgrave and John Arrow back in early March, one of the biggest concerns of the battery-boosting accessory "Reserve Strap" was its use of the Apple Watch's heart rate sensor as a way to provide power to the wearable. Although it was unconfirmed, there was always a possibility of the Reserve Strap obstructing normal functions of the heart rate sensor, or causing the Watch to not function altogether by interfering with skin contact completely.

Last week, after getting their hands on an Apple Watch, Musgrave and Arrow have gone back to the drawing board on the design of the Reserve Strap, coming up with a new look that acts as more of a traditional Apple-made band without blocking the heart rate sensor at all. The new Reserve Strap aims to use the 6-pin diagnostic port - hidden inside of the band port on the bottom of the Watch - as the main source of providing power to the device, shirking the heart rate sensor's magnetic inductive charging altogether.

reserve-strap-change.jpg
The Original Reserve Strap design (left) vs the new design (right)​
​
Finally getting our hands on the Apple Watch has further confirmed the immense value of the Reserve Strap. Since release day, we've been executing series of tests on the Apple Watch and have some really exciting news to share today.

We've developed and tested a completely rethought design that takes advantage of the 6-pin port underneath the band slide of the Apple Watch. This port hadn't been deciphered by anyone until now but we've been able to make significant enough observations so far to warrant shifting our development focus to this new method. We're looking forward to sharing more design details and technical specification of this new Reserve Strap as soon as we can.
Click to expand...
The company claims in its blog posts that its engineers have "been able to independently confirm that the 6-pin diagnostic port underneath the Apple Watch case can be used for charging." They continue by also noting the diagnostic port will allow for not only a higher charge capacity, but faster, more efficient charging times. The blog post also notes that the new method should improve durability of the strap as a whole and eliminate "any interference with Apple Watch functionality including taptic feedback and heartrate sensors."

reserve-strap-port-sketch-800x255.jpg
Initial renderings of the new design (left) vs fully realized 3D model (right)​
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No word was given on the planned Kickstarter for the Reserve Strap, but those interested can still pre-order the device from the company's official website for $249.99. Color options will include white, gray and black, and customers will be able to choose between 38mm and 42mm strap sizes to fit their preferred Apple Watch size.

Article Link: 'Reserve Strap' Debuts New Design Focusing on Apple Watch Diagnostic Port
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2015/05/04/reserve-strap-new-design/
It won't work. Look at the connector. Those of us who have our watches already know that the way to attach a strap is to slide it in. Straps won't slide with a big connector sticking out of them.
 
If they do get it to work without kinks , how long before Apple blocks them with an update?

Kind of reminds me when apple restricted the voltage output on the ipad port to stop people from using usb devices through the camera kit.
 
The Bogeyman said:
It won't work. Look at the connector. Those of us who have our watches already know that the way to attach a strap is to slide it in. Straps won't slide with a big connector sticking out of them.
Click to expand...

It looks like there are buttons on either side of the strap that you would pinch to insert/release. Perhaps as you pinch them, the connector will retract and then will connect to the port when you release them?
 
The Bogeyman said:
It won't work. Look at the connector. Those of us who have our watches already know that the way to attach a strap is to slide it in. Straps won't slide with a big connector sticking out of them.
Click to expand...

No? It looks like you press the side button on the strap to pull the pins in, slide in the strap, and release.
 
The Bogeyman said:
It won't work. Look at the connector. Those of us who have our watches already know that the way to attach a strap is to slide it in. Straps won't slide with a big connector sticking out of them.
Click to expand...

What if the 6 pin adapter recesses in to the band and snaps in place when it is in the right spot? In their drawing they do show the band sliding in to place.
 
The Bogeyman said:
It won't work. Look at the connector. Those of us who have our watches already know that the way to attach a strap is to slide it in. Straps won't slide with a big connector sticking out of them.
Click to expand...

The drawings seem to have a button on the left, prob to retract the connector.

I think this is cool, but I'm not yet comfortable with the concept of wearing a bracelet made of combustible material. Sure, my phone could blow up in my pocket and do far more damage, but I find this concept disconcerting.

Edit: beaten by three posters in the time it took to write this.
 
DannyT2011 said:
It looks like there are buttons on either side of the strap that you would pinch to insert/release. Perhaps as you pinch them, the connector will retract and then will connect to the port when you release them?
Click to expand...
This.
 
surf2snow1 said:
What if the 6 pin adapter recesses in to the band and snaps in place when it is in the right spot? In their drawing they do show the band sliding in to place.
Click to expand...

I've been thinking about this some more. Imagine for example this strap does have a connector which recesses into the strap when you plug and unplug it; I can see that it would be quite flimsy and prone to breaking. I expect you would need to keep removing it in order to charge the strap (charge the watch in the usual way) otherwise you would need yet more ports on it somewhere to charge the strap itself. Constant removing of the strap would fatigue the mechanism and over time the connector would work loose, not make proper contact and causing problems. I also doubt it would do the watch's own strap mechanism much good either.
 
dannys1 said:
Which begs the question, why didn't they launch with battery bands?
Click to expand...

My best guess is, they determined they didn't need them. As someone who has been using the watch for several days now, I'm using it constantly and have yet been able to deplete the battery before going to bed.

I'd much rather take a nice looking or comfy strap than a bulky one to solve a problem that I don't have.
 
dannys1 said:
Which begs the question, why didn't they launch with battery bands?
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Because that would imply to users that the battery life is not sufficient, which in reality it is more than enough to get through a day.
 
We all know the watch needs the iPhone to operate, and the iPhone doesn't last more then 18 hours so why does the watch need to? If you have to recharge your iPhone every night, it should be easy enough to charge the watch as well.
 
One day battery is enough .. what do you get with that band .. 2 days battery? no difference for me
 
The Bogeyman said:
It won't work. Look at the connector. Those of us who have our watches already know that the way to attach a strap is to slide it in. Straps won't slide with a big connector sticking out of them.
Click to expand...

It will depress and extend when it hits the port
 
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