It looks like the Apple Watch will need to be charged nightly
One of the biggest questions still surrounding the Apple Watch focuses on battery life. But a new report from Re/Code doesn’t paint a very rosy picture.
According to the site, the watch’s battery can currently last for around a day before needing to be recharged. But Apple is hoping to improve that spec before the device arrives sometime in early 2015.
Apple didn’t specifically talk battery life during yesterday’s special media event, but the company seems to be admitting the watch won’t impress:
Reached for comment, Apple spokeswoman Nat Kerris declined to provide an estimate on expected battery life, but said the company expects users will charge their Apple Watches once daily. “There’s a lot of new technology packed into Apple Watch and we think people will love using it throughout the day,” Kerris said. “We anticipate that people will charge nightly which is why we designed an innovative charging solution that combines our MagSafe technology and inductive charging.”
I’m hopeful Apple can work some magic by the time the watch hits the market, but I’m not holding my breath. We knew even last week the battery life probably wasn’t going to impress. As I said on Friday, shrinking down those components do come with some compromises.
And while the Apple Watch has been hyped for more than a year, first-generation Apple products often come with some specific down sides.
The original iPhone in 2007 didn’t offer 3G connectivity and couldn’t even send an MMS message, which were standard features for other handsets of the era. The first iPad was slow and bulky.
It will take time, but with each successive generation, the hardware will continue to get better. And developers will need time to find the watch’s killer use.
The watch will start at $349 when it hits the market. Apple will offer three different models, each with two different sizes. Buyers will also be able to select from a number of bands for each version of the watch.
For other Apple Watch news, see: Left-handed? Don’t worry: Apple Watch can be set up to be user-friendly to lefties, AppAdvice goes hands-on with the newly announced Apple Watch, and Watch all of the promo videos from Apple’s iPhone 6 and Apple Watch event right here.
