14 DAY TRIAL // LG Chem, the largest chemical company in South Korea, has begun shipping a new hexagonal battery to top-tier smartwatch manufacturers. The new form factor and design apparently improve battery capacity as much as 25% compared to traditional rectangular batteries.
It is believed that Apple and LG Electronics will not benefit directly from this new design as they didn't contribute to the battery's development. Apple doesn't have a circular smartwatch design, and it is believed that it won't introduce a second-generation model until 2016, while LG's flagship smartwatch, the LG Watch Urbane, is circular, so it will probably profit from LG Chem's product.
Smartwatches usually have a very limited battery capacity, coming around of one day of normal usage. Boosting this battery capacity by 25% will probably extend the battery's lifespan to a full day for heavy smartwatch users, or even a day and a half for casual ones.
Apparently, building smaller, exchangeable modules like batteries for devices is an increasingly popular trend, as devices need to be smaller and thinner than ever before. However, looking at Motorola's 360 smartwatch logic boards and battery layout, we can see where any extra 20% of battery could fit in.
According to Korea Times LG Chem plans to introduce in the future batteries of different shapes and sizes, including an L-shaped one or a rectangular model with a hole in the middle.