14 DAY TRIAL // Apple will not use solar power for its iWatch, industry sources said, according to a new report from Korea. Instead, the company will employ a “stepped battery” design, which apparently fulfills the powering needs of the smartwatch.
The Korea Herald reports (emphasis ours) that “Contrary to recent news reports of solar-powered smart watches, Apple has confirmed that it will stick with lithium-ion batteries for its upcoming iWatch.”
Key suppliers in the deal will be Samsung SDI, LG Chem, and Tianjin Lishen Battery, industry sources added.
One of the sources actually noted that “Apple will utilize LG Chem’s stepped battery since it offers better longevity than others and can be applied for different shapes.”
Apparently, these layered-battery cells are capable of holding around 16 percent more energy than traditional Li-ion batteries, “as the step-like design reduces unused space in the battery pack,” says the report.
One of the sources added that, contrary to rumors, Apple will not implement solar-powering panels. If anything, partial solar charging will be pursued.
“‘Since the energy efficiency of solar-charging technology is one-tenth of the lithium-ion battery, it doesn’t make sense to run a gadget with solar power,’ he said, adding that the solar panel could be used as supplementary power at best.”
The device will be finalized and launched towards the second half of the year, the sources added.
Editor’s note The report certainly falls in line with most rumors regarding Apple’s ongoing development of a revolutionary smartwatch, but it is important to note that the Cupertino giant never offers information in advance about unreleased products.
Perhaps the report was initially written in Korean and then something got lost / added in the translation, but under no circumstances is any of this “confirmed,” as the newspaper seems to indicate.