Watch strap batteries could double the life of your wearable
Smartwatches are starting to look a whole lot better, but they're still liable to run out of juice in mere days. A flexible-battery manufacturer here at Computex reckons its thin, flexible lithium-ceramic cells, shaped into wristbands, could offer as much as 500mAh of extra power, with existing models already offering an extra 300mAh. According to ProLogium, that would effectively double the battery of Pebble's smartwatch and, well, on-paper specifications suggest that it could more than double the capacity.
The lithium-ceramic batteries used are solid-state, meaning they avoid the volatility of other lithium-powered power sources. Other safety boons include non-flammable materials and the fact that it won't explode or set fire if cut into pieces -- always good to know. (We saw a demo cell cut apart, and it was still able to power a strip of LED lights). These three- to five-cell layers are also only roughly 1.5mm thick, meaning wearables seem an ideal place for them, from smartglass headsets to light-up clothing, heating elements and, yes, smartwatches.
The company is already making the bands, and while we were handling the one-piece design, it also offers a more typical strap-like, two-piece design that connects at the ends of a watch face, and a "chin" design that would connect and overlap an existing strap. The (admittedly not working) sample was plenty flexible to substitute in for a watch strap, but we reckon the biggest test will be the aesthetic one.
