Third-party developers Lane Musgrave and John Arrow have long been interested in developing a battery-boosting “Reserve Strap” for the Apple Watch. Now, with the presence of the 6-pin diagnostic port in production models of the wearable, they have redesigned their accessory.
The new Reserve Strap aims to use the 6-pin diagnostic port – hidden inside of the band port on the bottom of the Watch – as the main source of providing power to the device, shirking the heart rate sensor’s magnetic inductive charging altogether.
Musgrave and Arrow says they’ve developed and tested a completely new design for the accessory that takes advantage of the 6-pin port underneath the band side of the Apple Watch. They say they’ve been able to make significant enough observations to shift their development efforts to using the port for their charging watch band. The duo says they’ll share more details and tech specs for the Reserve Strap as soon as they can.
The company claims that its engineers have “been able to independently confirm that the 6-pin diagnostic port underneath the Apple Watch case can be used for charging.” They note that the diagnostic port should allow for a higher charge capacity, as well as faster charging times. The new design is also said to eliminate any interference with the Watch’s Taptic feedback and heart rate sensors.
While the duo plan on offering a Kickstarter campaign for the Reserve Strap, they haven’t announced a kickoff date as yet. If you’re interested in the accessory, you can pre-order it for $249.99 at the company’s official website.
