'Reserve Strap' Plans to Charge the Apple Watch on the Wrist

Following an afternoon of discussion on the recharge rate and battery life of the Apple Watch, third-party developers Lane Musgrave and John Arrow today revealed the "Reserve Strap", which will allow users to charge their Apple Watch while wearing it on their wrist.

The device consists of a silicone band with embedded lithium polymer cells and an inductive charging cradle that will hold the Apple Watch, resulting in a 125 percent battery life increase over the basic life of the Apple Watch, according to the company.

Reserve Strap
The Reserve Band will charge the Watch "similar to the new MagSafe wall charger for the Apple Watch", thanks to a few batteries embedded within the device using magnetic inductive charging. Musgrave notes that while they "don’t have hard numbers yet", their current testing leaves them to believe their claim to a 125 percent increase in battery is close to the mark.

The case looks slickly designed, especially considering the amount of power the two are saying hides within the silicone band, but perhaps the biggest cause for concern lies in the possibility for obstruction of the Apple Watch's heart rate sensor.

Recent news only underlines the sensor's extreme importance in making contact with a user's skin, but Musgrave remains optimistic that their product will meet all the standard expectations when using the Apple Watch in conjunction with their new device.


Since we haven't been able to test anything on the actual device, it's really hard to say whether we'll be able to prevent interference with the sensors on the back. We won't be able to know for sure until we're able to test on the real thing but it's certainly a priority for our product.

Although it's not yet up and running, a Kickstarter is planned for the Reserve Strap. Those interested in pre-ordering the accessory now can do so for $249.99 from Reserve Strap's official website, though no official release date has been set. Musgrave and Arrow reiterate on their website that the first shipment of bands will be "extremely limited" due to the funding of the nascent project coming entirely out of their own pockets.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch 11
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Buy Now)

Popular Stories

m1 chip slide

Five Years of Apple Silicon: M1 to M5 Performance Comparison

Monday November 10, 2025 1:08 pm PST by
Today marks the fifth anniversary of the Apple silicon chip that replaced Intel chips in Apple's Mac lineup. The first Apple silicon chip, the M1, was unveiled on November 10, 2020. The M1 debuted in the MacBook Air, Mac mini, and 13-inch MacBook Pro. The M1 chip was impressive when it launched, featuring the "world's fastest CPU core" and industry-leading performance per watt, and it's only ...
Early Black Friday Deals 1

The Best Early Black Friday Apple Deals on AirPods, Apple Watch, iPad, and More

Saturday November 8, 2025 6:16 am PST by
We're officially in the month of Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 28 in 2025. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When ...
All Screen iPhone 2027 Feature 1

Apple to Hide Selfie Camera Under Display of 20th Anniversary iPhone

Monday November 10, 2025 1:55 am PST by
Apple will conceal the front-facing camera under the screen of its 2027 iPhone, a Chinese leaker said today, corroborating reports that Apple's 20th anniversary iPhone will have no visible cutouts in the display. Weibo-based account Digital Chat Station said Apple's development of under-screen camera technology was progressing as planned for adoption in 2027, one year after it will...
2024 iPhone Boxes Feature

Apple Adjusts Trade-In Values for iPhones, iPads, Macs, and More

Thursday November 6, 2025 11:12 am PST by
Apple today updated its trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models. Trade-ins can be completed on Apple's website, or at an Apple Store. The charts below provide an overview of Apple's current and previous trade-in values in the U.S., according to its website. Maximum values for most devices either decreased or saw no change, but the iPad Air received a slight bump. ...
Apple fitness plus feature

Future of Apple Fitness+ 'Under Review'

Sunday November 9, 2025 5:30 am PST by
The future of Apple Fitness+ is "under review" amid a reorganization of the service, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said that Apple Fitness+ remains one of the company's "weakest digital offerings." The service apparently suffers from high churn and little revenue. Nevertheless, Fitness+ has a small, loyal fanbase that...
iphone air thinness

iPhone Air Sales Are So Bad That Apple's Delaying the Next-Generation Version

Monday November 10, 2025 11:41 am PST by
The thin, light iPhone Air sold so poorly that Apple has decided to delay the launch of the next-generation iPhone Air that was scheduled to come out alongside the iPhone 18 Pro, reports The Information. Apple initially planned to release a new iPhone Air in fall 2026, but now that's not going to happen. Since the iPhone Air launched in September, there have been reports of poor sales...
Liquid Glass General Feature

Apple Shares Liquid Glass Design Gallery

Thursday November 6, 2025 2:45 pm PST by
Apple is promoting the new Liquid Glass design in iOS 26, showing off the ways that third-party developers are embracing the aesthetic in their apps. On its developer website, Apple is featuring a visual gallery that demonstrates how "teams of all sizes" are creating Liquid Glass experiences. The gallery features examples of Liquid Glass in apps for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac. Apple...
iOS 26

iOS 26.1 Available Now With These 8 New Features

Monday November 3, 2025 5:54 am PST by
Following more than a month of beta testing, Apple released iOS 26.1 on Monday, November 3. The update includes a handful of new features and changes, including the ability to adjust the look of Liquid Glass and more. Below, we outline iOS 26.1's key new features. Liquid Glass Toggle iOS 26.1 lets you choose your preferred look for Liquid Glass. In the Settings app, under Display...
iPhone Satellite Feature

Apple Developing These 5 New Satellite Features for iPhone

Sunday November 9, 2025 6:07 am PST by
Apple is working on a series of new satellite connectivity features for the iPhone, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports. In this week's "Power On" newsletter, Gurman revealed that the new features in development include: Apple Maps via satellite: Navigation in Apple Maps without cellular or Wi-Fi connectivity. Photos in Messages via satellite: Support for sending photos in the Messages...
maxresdefault

In-Depth iPhone Battery Experiment Pits Slow Charging Against Fast Charging

Friday November 7, 2025 1:19 pm PST by
HTX Studio this week shared the results from a six-month battery test that compared how fast charging and slow charging can affect battery life over time. Using six iPhone 12 models, the channel set up a system to drain the batteries from five percent and charge them to 100 percent over and over again. Three were fast charged, and three were slow charged. Another set of iPhones underwent...

Top Rated Comments

mrgraff Avatar
140 months ago
A $249 accessory for a $349 watch...

At that price, you might as well buy another watch, and swap them out each day while the other is charging.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jmh600cbr Avatar
140 months ago
$249 is a joke
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Goftrey Avatar
140 months ago
It's an elegant solution to what is inevitably going to be many people's #1 complaint.

But at $250 this thing is going absolutely nowhere.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
willimholte Avatar
140 months ago
This also assumes the watch will function as normal when it's on a charger.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dilbert99 Avatar
139 months ago
This is assuming Apple allows 3rd parties to make straps for the watch.

I can't think of any ways they can stop them, assuming there are no data connections in the strap
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
troop231 Avatar
140 months ago
As I stated in another thread about this, they better be damn sure they can replicate the frequency and any digital handshake Apple does with the stock inductive charger.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)