Apple Watch 2 could offer a few hours of additional run time via a stronger 334 mAh battery

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Prolific leakster @The_Malignant today republished a pair of claimed images of a purported battery pack believed to have been designed for a 42mm second-generation Apple Watch. Originally posted by an unnamed source on the Chinese social network Weibo, the tiny battery shows an increased capacity of 334 mAh. By comparison, the original Apple Watch is outfitted with a 245 mAh battery (42mm version) so it’s entirely conceivable that the Apple Watch 2 could offer a few hours of additional battery life—assuming the leaked photo is genuine.

As mentioned, the original Apple Watch draws power from its battery pack rated at 0.94 Wh and 246 mAh. The claimed Apple Watch 2 battery seen top of post is rated 1.28Wh and 334 mAh. That works out to a capacity increase of a little more than 35 percent, potentially giving the Apple Watch 2 a few hours of additional battery life.

There are other factors at play here.

The Wall Street Journal recently claimed that the second-generation Apple Watch would feature embedded cellular connectivity, but a report from Bloomberg poured cold water on that rumor, saying battery concerns and other technological limitations prompted Apple engineers to delay a cellular-enabled edition of the wearable gadget.

“Apple executives expressed concern that the cellular models may not be ready for release this year and that the feature may be pushed back to a later generation,” said Bloomberg’s sources.

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Apple Watch battery photo courtesy iFixit.

The Apple Watch 2 is also believed to ship with a built-in GPS module.

Now, we know from past experience that GPS is a battery hog so it’s plausible that a more powerful battery may not actually result in a longer run time for the second-generation Apple Watch.

The Apple Watch’s ‘S2’ processor is said to be fabricated on TSMC’s 16-nanometer process technology versus the 28-nanometer, Samsung-built ‘S1’ found in the original model. That’s good news because TSMC’s technology should yield a smaller, faster chip that consumes less power than its predecessor.

Other rumored features of the Apple Watch 2 include a thinner, lighter display assembly (though screen resolution apparently won’t change), better waterproofing enabling it to track swimming, a built-in FaceTime camera and more. Various supply chain sources have indicated that the device should release in September or October.

Source: The Malignant via WatchGeneration.fr (Google Translate)