In March, developers Lane Musgrave and John Arrow announced that they were working on a battery band for the Apple Watch. Not many details were available at the time, but now that the Watch has been out for a few months, the team is ready to make things official.
Meet the Reserve Strap. It’s a band that charges your Apple Watch using embedded batteries and a connection to the device’s hidden accessory port. Musgrave and Arrow claim that their product is capable of adding more than 30 additional hours of battery life to your Watch.
The Reserve Strap weighs 65G, is 25mm wide, and measures between 3-9mm thick. It’s made of a specialized Thermoset Elastomer Silicone that comes in white, gray and black colorways; fits both 38mm and 42mm Watch sizes; and adheres to Apple’s Band Design Guidelines.
It’s also worth noting that Reserve Strap is as resistant to water as Apple Watch, and it won’t affect any of Watch’s functionality, such as its sensors. It recharges via micro USB, and features a passthrough system so you can leave it on your Watch and charge both devices at the same time.
Here’s more on how it works:
- Reserve Strap will connect to the Apple Watch similar to Apple bands. It will slide in laterally then you’ll then push forward a small switch underneath the band to engage the accessory port connection to secure the Reserve Strap on the Watch.
- At your discretion simply press the power button once to initiate charging. You can use the Watch as normal while it charges.
- Once top-off charging is complete after 60-75 minutes, press the power button again to save the rest of Reserve Strap for another time. Or if you decide to leave Reserve Strap on, Apple Watch will use the Strap’s power to keep the Apple Watch at 100% power until the Reserve Strap is depleted.
- Reserve Strap uses a minimal LED indicator to let you know how much charge you have left. When you turn the charge on or plug it in, the LED will glow either green, yellow or red indicating a high, medium or low charge.
- Recharging the Reserve Strap and Apple Watch is incredibly easy. You can leave your Strap on the Watch and simply plug it in via micro USB. This will charge the Apple Watch and Reserve Strap at the same time!
The Reserve Strap costs $249.99, and begins shipping November 3, 2015.