Since Apple Watches have poor battery life in general, wouldn't it make sense for Apple to release a solar powered version at some point?
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Solar Apple Watch?
- Thread starter Zest28
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No, the amount of panels needed would require several sq inches to maybe a sq foot to offer any usable amount of power under average lighting conditions. So install them on a hat and wear it around with a cable connecting to your watch?
I wath an RTG powered by plutonium. That should last about 100 years.
there's a thread here somewhere, where this was asked before, I was bored and did some math.
the panels were about double the size of the watch, so you would need a watch, plus a panel that's double that size, so a triple wide watch, and that would take about 8 hours of direct sunlight to charge enough for a day.
they also asked about kinetic charging, and that was 20+ years of movement, to charge for a single day of use.
Solar panel for new AW6 ?
the panels were about double the size of the watch, so you would need a watch, plus a panel that's double that size, so a triple wide watch, and that would take about 8 hours of direct sunlight to charge enough for a day.
they also asked about kinetic charging, and that was 20+ years of movement, to charge for a single day of use.
Solar panel for new AW6 ?
Since released in 2015 all models of AW have featured 18hrs of battery life, and they are the best selling smartwatches, so how come people buy them if battery life is as poor as you say? and then there is the Ultra @36hrs ...
Not just the best selling smartwatch, but the best selling watch.
That is the power of the Apple logo.
If the same watch was made by FixBit, it would not have been the best selling watch.
I even have girls commenting me about my Apple Watch Ultra 2, while it is a cheap watch.
Do you even listen to yourself? Are you seriously suggesting that the number of sales is negatively correlated with battery life.
People buy it for the Apple brand, not because it has excellent battery life (it is one of the worst in terms of battery life).
As long as the watch gets through a full day I'm happy - in fact I get through a day and a half most of the time.
While I wouldn't mind a solar based charging accessory, I wouldn't want to spend any extra on solar on the actual watch, considering mine is covered by my shirt sleeve most of the time.
While I wouldn't mind a solar based charging accessory, I wouldn't want to spend any extra on solar on the actual watch, considering mine is covered by my shirt sleeve most of the time.
If your home has solar panels as many folks do then I have to assume the Watch on the charger in a solar powered home would also be solar powered.
There are serious physical limits to how much electricity a solar cell can generate by exposure to light (and current cell tech is approaching that limit). And the watch would be rarely pointed at direct sunlight in ordinary usage. So the watch would have to sip electricity for the solar cell to generate anything significant. At that point though, today's lithium ion batteries would already store enough juice to run the watch for weeks or maybe even months, so what would be the point of putting in a solar cell?
Solar power works for mechanical watches because it takes literally less energy than the blink of an eye to move those teeny tiny slivers of metal that are the watch hands.
In stark contrast, an Apple Watch is a highly sophisticated electronic device, with computing power literally on a par with the Cray supercomputers of the ’90s. And it’s a smartphone that’s actually superior to the original iPhone. And a GPS navigator with an inertial compass and a pulse oximeter and and and. And, even if you ignore all the computational and communication and other wonders going on … oh-by-the-way, it’s got a display that’s typically at least as bright as, and often brighter than, the ambient light falling on it. (In case you’ve forgotten, the laws of thermodynamics prevent getting more energy out of a system than goes into it.)
Everybody loves car analogies. There are solar-powered cars, really ingenious designs of super-high-efficiency single-person vehicles that can go basically indefinitely in the Australian outback in summer. Seriously impressive, amazingly cool things. But you’re never going to see a solar-powered commuter econobox, let alone a family sedan — and the Apple Watch is the monster high-performance SUV of wristwear.
If you want a solar-powered watch because of battery life, get an Ultra. Pop the watch on the charger when you jump in the shower (I’ll hazard a guess you’d take off a solar-powered mechanical watch when you shower, too) and that’s about all the charging it’ll ever need. It’ll go a couple days without charging if need be.
If you want one because you spend more than a couple days away from an electrical outlet, first and foremost, it might not be the device for you — but, if it is, there’re all sorts of very small battery backup chargers that’ll let you go a week or more with daily charging.
And if you want one just because you want to use green energy … cover your roof in solar panels. Le voilà: solar-powered Apple Watch. And solar-powered oven, solar-powered water heater, solar-powered air conditioning, solar-powered lighting … even a solar-powered car, too, if yours is already electric.
Cheers,
b&
In stark contrast, an Apple Watch is a highly sophisticated electronic device, with computing power literally on a par with the Cray supercomputers of the ’90s. And it’s a smartphone that’s actually superior to the original iPhone. And a GPS navigator with an inertial compass and a pulse oximeter and and and. And, even if you ignore all the computational and communication and other wonders going on … oh-by-the-way, it’s got a display that’s typically at least as bright as, and often brighter than, the ambient light falling on it. (In case you’ve forgotten, the laws of thermodynamics prevent getting more energy out of a system than goes into it.)
Everybody loves car analogies. There are solar-powered cars, really ingenious designs of super-high-efficiency single-person vehicles that can go basically indefinitely in the Australian outback in summer. Seriously impressive, amazingly cool things. But you’re never going to see a solar-powered commuter econobox, let alone a family sedan — and the Apple Watch is the monster high-performance SUV of wristwear.
If you want a solar-powered watch because of battery life, get an Ultra. Pop the watch on the charger when you jump in the shower (I’ll hazard a guess you’d take off a solar-powered mechanical watch when you shower, too) and that’s about all the charging it’ll ever need. It’ll go a couple days without charging if need be.
If you want one because you spend more than a couple days away from an electrical outlet, first and foremost, it might not be the device for you — but, if it is, there’re all sorts of very small battery backup chargers that’ll let you go a week or more with daily charging.
And if you want one just because you want to use green energy … cover your roof in solar panels. Le voilà: solar-powered Apple Watch. And solar-powered oven, solar-powered water heater, solar-powered air conditioning, solar-powered lighting … even a solar-powered car, too, if yours is already electric.
Cheers,
b&
