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]