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Reserve Strap for Apple Watch promises 30 hours additional battery life, ships in November

Following a number of teases for its third-party Apple Watch strap with a built-in battery pack, Reserve Strap, bound to be one of the first battery straps for Apple Watch, is promising an additional 30 hours of battery life for Apple Watch users as it announces plans to ship in November.

In an update on its website, the company announced that the final design for Reserve Strap will offer “more than 30 hours of additional usage,” or 2.7x or 167% of the Apple Watch’s built-in battery.

One of the biggest complaints regarding Apple Watch at launch was the necessity of charging once a day for most users. Reserve Strap will bump that up to once every three days or so, and even up to a week for some users that are using the device less frequently.

In addition to being one of the first battery straps for Apple Watch, the product will be one of the first to tap into the device’s not-so-secret hidden port, opposed to using Apple’s own magnetic, inductive charging solution. The company previously noted that using the port will allow for faster charging while allowing them to avoid interference with sensors on the back of the watch in their design.

The Reserve Strap will come in three colors — white, grey, and black— and will be available for both the 38mm and 42mm Apple Watches with the same specs for both in terms of additional battery life time. It will also be “as resistant to water as Apple Watch,” addressing one of the concerns several readers mentioned when we first told you about Reserve Strap. The company will send a micro USB cable for charging the strap (charging won’t require disconnecting the strap from Apple Watch), as well as a special tool for removing the door on the hidden port that Reserve Strap connects to for charging. You can preorder now for $249.

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Comments

  1. Andrew Messenger - 9 years ago

    I’d rather charge my watch every night than wear those.

  2. dcj001 - 9 years ago

    ” or 2.7x or 167% of the Apple Watch’s built-in battery.”

    2.7x = 270%. 1.67x = 167%.

    • michaelbeiler - 9 years ago

      48 is 2.7 times greater than 18.
      48 is a 167% increase over 18.

      • Stetson - 9 years ago

        Yeah, should have read “2.7x or a 167% increase”

      • dcj001 - 9 years ago

        michaelbeiler,

        If 48 is 2.7x greater than 18, as you say that it is,

        How much is 1.5x greater than 18?

        How much is 1.0x greater than 18?

        How much is 0.5x greater than 18?

      • michaelbeiler - 9 years ago

        27
        18
        9

      • dcj001 - 9 years ago

        michaelbeiler,

        Your answers are all incorrect.

        Your answers to the following questions are less than 18.

        How much is 1.0x greater than 18?

        How much is 0.5x greater than 18?

        But these questions asked for amounts that are greater than 18.

        You are mathematically illiterate.

  3. Jimi Wes (@jimiwes) - 9 years ago

    What stops Apple from releasing an update which includes a patch to deny access to the diagnostics port? Then that band that you paid for to back is useless.

    • Nothing. Stupid to use something that hasn’t even been acknowledged of existence by Apple. This is a disaster at $249. It’s worth $99 at most and I would never buy anything that takes advantage of technology in an Apple product that Apple hasn’t publicly announced.

  4. Howie Isaacks - 9 years ago

    I don’t mind charging my Apple Watch at night. I plug it in just before going to bed, the same as my iPhone. How is this a hassle? Also, unless Apple has approved the use of the “diagnostic” port for third party use, it would be a big mistake to buy one of these. It could either cause damage or a software update could render this strap inoperable.

  5. rnc - 9 years ago

    My Apple Watch always ends the day on an average of about 60% battery left.

    Charging it everyday is not a problem, it’s always with you, you don’t need to remember to bring it to your room like your phone. It’s just taking it off and putting it over the charger.

    Why should anyone bother with this?

    • luckydcxx - 9 years ago

      I agree with you … I also have about 60% remaining at the end of the day.

      The only thing I can think of this being useful for is for sleep detection or some sort of 3rd party sleeping app that tracks your habits without the battery dying overnight.

      • Shane - 9 years ago

        You guys are really doing well. I have never gotten mine under 22%, and generally it is about 35% at end of day.

        But your point stands, I see no reason to worry about battery. If i can wear it from 6 AM to 12:25 at night and use it frequently including multiple workout tracking and dozens of messages and map directions and still not get under 22%, what is the problem?

  6. Why is charging your watch every night a negative? Normal people with normal watches take them off at night anyway and put them on a bedside table or dresser. What’s so hard about putting it on a wireless charger?…

    • triankar - 9 years ago

      Because of trips. You have to carry the stethoscope (sorry, inductive charger) wherever you go. Even a battery-less strap with a micro-usb port would serve me just fine. Because I have microUSB cables everywhere.

      And you will have to buy a spare or two, just in case (I have spare cables in my office + vehicles). That’s $30 a pop. Lightning and microUSB are fine, they’re small and you can get cheap 3rd party spares that work just fine. Having a 15cm version of each in your bag takes no space. Having a spare of the stethoscope everywhere will cost you $$$ and will take up space in a bag.

      • garethbill - 9 years ago

        Might seem like a dumb question but why is it not possible to do some diagnostic port to micro usb adapter?

  7. kevicosuave - 9 years ago

    For those wondering who would want such a band… try doing extreme long distance stuff. That’s the one thing that I can do that will prevent my Apple Watch from lasting a full day.

    I’d be interested in a band that extended the battery life by 2.7X, for long endurance activity as well as for overnight trips, but I’m skeptical about how they’re going about this. I’d be worried that removing that port would void the warranty, reduce water resistance of the watch itself, or at the very least that Apple would disable this capability.

  8. Eric Dickson - 9 years ago

    I’m getting 2 days of use out of the battery and still having 10%-15% battery left before charging, this would be useless for me.

  9. Paul Andrew Dixon - 9 years ago

    Are people really willing to buy a big bulky battery strap for the sake of an extra 30 hours (which added to the average 19hours of the current Apple watch, i’d say it means you may reach a 3 days of use BUT will be charging it on the second night anyway — so essentially and extra day of use with some in reserve for heavier use) — but at $249 that’s more than half the price of the apple watch itself — throw in an extra $100 i can have 2 watches and 2 straps…lol

    plus… this technically voids the warranty because youve tampered with a part of the watch apple doesnt want you too… $249 is an expensive risk…

    i think people will be taking it off anyway at night due to the bulk of it…lol

  10. apogee50 - 9 years ago

    I’d rather have a light weight night band that was specifically designed to monitor and measure sleep and various nighttime health conditions like Apnea or heart rhythm variances. But one that was designed to seamlessly integrate with HealthKit etc.

  11. Charlypollo - 9 years ago

    Anybody with a 38mm watch? How does the battery behaves? The watch is out tonight at my country, and I want to give my wife the small one, but I’m worried about having a smaller battery than the 42 mm.

    • surfingarbo - 9 years ago

      Using a 38mm for over a month, I go to bed wth battery between 25% to 60%. I’ve never had an issue.

      • Charlypollo - 9 years ago

        Excellent!!! 38 for her. 42 for me. Thank you.

  12. This is completely useless. I don’t even need to charge overnight if for some odd reason it was too burdensome. I could just plug it in while I charge and change and I’ll get enough power for the whole day.

  13. Next headline: “Apple releases a Patch that denies Service Port Charging”… Goodbye 249 bucks…

  14. MR (@microrentals) - 9 years ago

    It might end up being one of the many “cash-on-the-success” gadgets available in the market. $249 is a much hyped price for that league also. Better to charge our Apple Watch every day.

  15. I don’t get it. The 42mm strap is wider than the 38mm, meaning it can house more battery, yet the battery life doesn’t improve over the 38mm when picking the bigger strap.

  16. kjl3000 - 9 years ago

    I wonder how safe these bands are.. Wearing battery cells all around your wrist could be dangerous, if you smash the band against something they could easily damage, maybe cath Fire or explode, or did I miss something here?

    • Pat - 9 years ago

      Trust me, if you smash your arm against something, the first thing you will feel will not be the strap exploding! lol

      • kjl3000 - 9 years ago

        Ok, no explosion, what a relief… lol. But damaging the cells seems very possible, i don’t know, i just don’t feel that Li-Ion cells belong in a thin elastomeric flexible strap around your wrist.

  17. Thomas Gattinger - 9 years ago

    Well for me it is hard to get the battery below 50% in a full long day. The watch is not a device to play around for hours. And sportsmen who run or bike for 4-6+ hours (with the need of continuous measuring) may have specialized devices for that.

  18. Jioannis (@jioannis17) - 9 years ago

    A solution in search of a problem I’d say. My watch is typically between 60% – 75% at the end of the day. and Charging is now a habit. hardly a problem.

  19. egnat69 (@egnat69) - 9 years ago

    quick question… that hidden port is hidden because it is covered by something, right?
    by uncovering and using that port, do you void your warranty?

  20. lkrupp215 - 9 years ago

    Wait for the official announcement from Apple that this accessory voids the watch’s warranty. Wait for the next Watch OS update that disables the function. Also wait for the cease and desist order from Apple legal.

  21. Mathias R. S. Sørensen - 9 years ago

    I would definitely buy one of those bands if the design was different. Placing a lightning (charging) symbol on top of the band just next to the watch ruined it to me.

    Though I think the product it self is one of the better third-party ideas I have seen in a long while. So well done!

Author

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Jordan Kahn

Jordan writes about all things Apple as Senior Editor of 9to5Mac, & contributes to 9to5Google, 9to5Toys, & Electrek.co. He also co-authors 9to5Mac’s Logic Pros series.