Devs Are Already Using The Apple Watch’s Hidden Port To Charge It Faster

Developers just illustrated that the Apple Watch’s six-pin accessory port is not only capable of charging the wristable — it actually charges it faster than the inductive charger.

When we shared first shared news of the the hidden port a while back, we told you about Reserve Strap, a startup that is developing a $US250 battery strap for the Apple Watch. Now, a demonstration video shows that the product could actually be viable. The video starts with two dead watches, and sets them both to charge — one via the regular charging base, and one via the six-pin port. The pins win! Although not by much.

We’ve been following the saga of the Apple Watch’s six-pin accessory port with interest since the hidden connection was discovered a few weeks back because it holds a lot of unlocked potential. Smartwatches suck for a lot of reasons — but one of them is terrible battery life. If you could find a way to create a charging strap for the Apple Watch, that would make the product a lot more appealing, though unfortunately, the Watch is basically an underdeveloped beta to begin with.

Now the big question is whether Apple will let this kind of third-party customisation happen. The company could easily make it very annoying or even impossible to use unauthorised six-pin accessories with the Watch. Given how disappointing the Watch is, though, you’d think it would be eager support the people willing to pay for — and even improve — it.

[9to5Mac]


The Cheapest NBN 50 Plans

It’s the most popular NBN speed in Australia for a reason. Here are the cheapest plans available.

At Gizmodo, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. We have affiliate and advertising partnerships, which means we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. BTW – prices are accurate and items in stock at the time of posting.