Video proves Apple Watch can be charged through 6-pin diagnostics port
Following claims that Apple Watch can be charged through a 6-pin port hidden in its top strap slot, a video published Wednesday not only proves the concept, but shows a physical connection charges faster than Apple's inductive method.
Earlier in May, accessory maker Reserve Strap said its battery-toting charging strap was capable of powering Apple Watch via an undocumented 6-pin port thought to be included for diagnostics purposes.
At the time, Reserve Strap offered no proof to back up its claims, but today released a video comparing Apple's inductive charging method to a physical connection. As seen below, the proof of concept is rather unpolished and involves lifting Watch's display off its chassis to get to the electrical leads beneath. A finalized product would assumedly require removal of the small metal piece protecting the 6-pin connector on shipping Watch units.
A teardown of Apple's own in-store display pedestal revealed the company taps into the 6-pin port with a specialized Lightning connector cable for charging and data transfer functionality. The company has not made such functionality available to third-party manufacturers, however, and the port itself is not user serviceable.
With lack of documentation and no official word on Made for Apple Watch compatibility, the implications of accessing the 6-pin connector are unknown. Removing the protective panel may diminish device waterproofness, for example, or Watch's power management circuitry and/or battery might not be designed to handle continuous rapid charging.
With or without Apple's blessing, Reserve Strap is moving forward with plans to field the first Apple Watch strap with built-in battery and recharging features.
Earlier in May, accessory maker Reserve Strap said its battery-toting charging strap was capable of powering Apple Watch via an undocumented 6-pin port thought to be included for diagnostics purposes.
At the time, Reserve Strap offered no proof to back up its claims, but today released a video comparing Apple's inductive charging method to a physical connection. As seen below, the proof of concept is rather unpolished and involves lifting Watch's display off its chassis to get to the electrical leads beneath. A finalized product would assumedly require removal of the small metal piece protecting the 6-pin connector on shipping Watch units.
A teardown of Apple's own in-store display pedestal revealed the company taps into the 6-pin port with a specialized Lightning connector cable for charging and data transfer functionality. The company has not made such functionality available to third-party manufacturers, however, and the port itself is not user serviceable.
With lack of documentation and no official word on Made for Apple Watch compatibility, the implications of accessing the 6-pin connector are unknown. Removing the protective panel may diminish device waterproofness, for example, or Watch's power management circuitry and/or battery might not be designed to handle continuous rapid charging.
With or without Apple's blessing, Reserve Strap is moving forward with plans to field the first Apple Watch strap with built-in battery and recharging features.
Comments
Seriously, that was embarrassing- they shouldn't even have bothered with that demo considering the negligible nature of the speed increase, with all the hassle involved.
Ok, so I need to plug in the Reserve Strap to wired charger to charge its Li batteries so I can charge Watch's battery. Snoooooooze-fest.
Reserve strap would be a cooler (i.e., more sensible) product if its batteries were charged by Apple's inductive charger at the same time Watch's battery was charged.
I guess somebody would be stupid enough to buy this product, void the warranty on their $1000 ?Watch and then bitch at Apple if it became a 48mm brick. Takes all kinds I suppose. They do it all the time on the Apple discussion forums.
Say... these geniuses should hack the Samsung Galaxy S6, to see if it can be charged faster by applying voltage across some of the pins in the micro-USB socket, instead of slow inductive charging.
I guess somebody would be stupid enough to buy this product, void the warranty on their $1000 ?Watch and then bitch at Apple if it became a 48mm brick. Takes all kinds I suppose. They do it all the time on the Apple discussion forums.
Is there a Watch Plus we don't know about?
The IC that prevents overcharging is in the charger, not the watch.
Can you imagine if you had to plug an ?Watch in to charge with such a cable and someone later discovered it supported inductive charging? ????
Who denies this? That's how the hands-on displays are set up in Apple Stores.
What's with all the hate here. Let them continue their quest and see what they come up with. Lets see if it's perhaps even possible to keep the strap permanently attached and charging both, the watch, and the strap, using the inductive charger (through the pins).
You don't have to buy it, if it eventually is released.
I'm defending this not because I want to buy one, but it's never bad to improve on existing products. And yes, the inductive charger works like a charm, but remember that it's not about charging or charging faster, it's about having spare battery in your strap which can boost the battery life to a couple of days instead of 18 hours.
You can now extend the battery life by charging the watch with a strap, so I guess with the original Apple strap plus this strap the watch can be on your wrist indefinitely meaning you can now monitor your sleep at night for example.
Or maybe not, but I wouldn't want to rely on something they haven't explicitly approved.
this could work IF the port lets power flow the opposite way. i.e. you charge the watch as normal inductively but the strap also charges from here. so when you are wearing it during the day it acts as an extended battery, running down the strap battery before running down the watch battery.
if you have to remove the strap to charge it separately then it's pointless to me.
These guys aren't done yet - will be interesting to see where they go with this or what they do next.
Strange concepts can lead to many things - look at history.
Apple or Microsoft - bet many were saying 'WTF' when they first started.
What's wrong with you guys?
You can now extend the battery life by charging the watch with a strap, so I guess with the original Apple strap plus this strap the watch can be on your wrist indefinitely meaning you can now monitor your sleep at night for example.
I agree with you, but in their defense I will answer your question “What’s wrong with you guys?”. First of all you sound knowledgable enough to know that it’s very uncool to say something good about a product in a comment - obviously you need to find a way to bash it - necessarily quickly and preferably cleverly...but even just an “uhhh, yeahhhhh” if you can’t think of anything real.