Apple's smartwatch has finally unveiled itself in all its glory, with the Apple Watch starting at $349 (roughly Rs. 2,185), and the 18-carat gold Edition priced at a luxury level. But who would want to spend that kind of money on a device that has a lifespan of only two or three years?
But as far as the battery is concerned, Apple Watch users have the option to extend the life of the device. An Apple spokesperson confirmed to the TechCrunch website that the device's battery is replaceable, it's just not clear how much a new one would cost.
Another thing that could affect the lifespan of the Apple Watch is the processor. It's unclear whether Apple will offer CPU or RAM upgrades to existing Apple Watches. But given the different pricing strategy, it's possible that Apple will only offer CPU and RAM upgrades to the premium Apple Watch.
Battery life, however, is the first issue Apple will have to address. The need for power in such lightweight wearables is limited by their functionality. Apple wants to rely on "curated" notifications and "limited" communications to reduce power consumption.
The report comes on the heels of a media report that Apple has provided guidance to app developers on how to keep users from using apps for more than 10 seconds at a time, which can improve the user experience and, more importantly, save energy.
The most power-hungry aspect of Apple's wearable device is probably the sports function, which uses a lot of sensor technology. Therefore, the Sports version of the Apple Watch is naturally the cheapest, and replacing a new battery will be less painful for users.
Apple claims that it's best for users to use the device "in tandem". According to Apple's website, in 18 hours of battery life, users can check the time 90 times, 90 notifications, 45 minutes of application use, and 30 minutes of exercise while listening to songs via Bluetooth. In addition, Apple said that the Apple Watch's battery can support 6.5 hours in the music playing state and 3 hours in the phone call state. If users use the Apple Watch as a watch only, the device can last up to 5 days. Not only that, this device only needs 1.5 hours to charge 80%, and a full charge takes 2.5 hours.