It’s not the first such patent, but Apple has been granted another one (number 10,849,392) for an Apple Watch band with a built-in battery.
Per the patent data, a smartwatch can include a watch body and a watch band that’s capable of housing batteries and transferring power from the batteries to the watch body to power the watch. The watch band can include an inner frame that has multiple slots, each slot configured to house a corresponding battery. It can also include an outer covering that encompasses the inner structure and hermetically seals the batteries.
In the patent filing, Apple notes that recent advances in smartwatches have enabled users to do increasingly more on their smartwatches. A longer battery life for a user’s smartwatch may enable them to use their smartwatch with less frequent recharging. Since you can only make a smartwatch battery so big, Apple’s idea it to prolong battery life with a band that can provide addition power to an Apple Watch.
