Solar panel for new AW6 ?

[Zapdoc]

Just saw the Garmin Solar range and wondered if Apple would bring out solar assisted charging to new AW's ? Could really improve battery life

 

[Monkswhiskers]

It is possible, but the current screen is hungry so probably won't make much difference unless they pull some groundbreaking tech out of the bag. The solar on the Fenix range doesn't really add much but the Instinct on the other hand benefits greatly from solar (due to very basic screen)

 

[Dulcimer]

Would be an interesting way to mitigate AOD energy use. Although I wonder how much it really could extend the battery life.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Maybe in 5 years.

 

[bobob]

**How much power does the Apple Watch 5 consume?

***How much power does 1 square inch of solar panel produce when it isn't covered by your sleeve?

(**The Apple Watch battery capacity is 296 mAh @ 3.76 volts which Apple specifies lasts for up to 18 hours. Calculator: mAh->Wh (watt-hours))​

(***An average solar panel produces ~ 0.1 watts per square inch (15 watts per square foot / 144 square inches)​

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

Given how little time most of us spends outside in the sun, and keep our arm perpendicular to the sun, this would likely be pretty pointless.

 

[waw74]

there was a post a while back about similar,
they were also asking about kinetic charging. (that was about 22 years of movement to charge battery fully)

I did some quick math then, and it would take a panel twice the size of the watch about 7-8 hours to charge the watch fully. So triple width watch (1/3 display, 2/3 solar) and your wrist facing the full sun the entire time for a full charge.

or a 5 watt solar panel (the same output as the watch charger) could charge in an hour or so, but the panel is 9.5" x 7"

Series 6 Should Be Using The New Battery Design From 40mm Series 5

kinetic what I've found is a kinetic watch charger puts out 1.5microamp, Series 5 Apple Watch holds 245/296 milliamp hours. (2 numbers for 40/44mm) so the 44mm Series 5 battery would take about 22 years to fill with vigorous arm moment. The article stated, it would take 2 days to fully charge...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[44267547]

Just saw the Garmin Solar range and wondered if Apple would bring out solar assisted charging to new AW's ? Could really improve battery life

Nope. I doubt Apple Will invest into solar charging. That requires direct placement for the watch to accrue the energy from the sun in order to actually hold a sufficient charge, but the question is, how much exposure does the watch actually have outdoors where it’s efficiently charging? It’s a quandary of a problem that probably never has an a definitive answer. What I would consider, are so many other changes that will benefit the Apple Watch with display technology with micro LED, the continuation of efficiency through the
S-Chip, and even a different/more efficient charging process versus the inductive charging we have now.

 

[DontGetTheCheese]

My Fenix 6 has it. It, actuallyf kind of does something on longer runs / workouts. It's better than I expected.

On the other hand,

1. It's only about 13% if you get it sun every day for 3 hours.
2. How often do you wear sleeves?
3. What happens in the winter when you aren't even going outside some days?

I don't see it for the AW because even 13% is barely a nudge. The Fenix is a different thing where that extra 13% can matter for some people. I'm not one of those but I wanted the larger watch, something that didn't have sapphire, and I like toys. But, it's not worth the $250 that Garmin charges for it, at least for me. I should have gotten the non-solar.