Elon Musk said yesterday that despite constantly hearing about new battery technologies that promise to revolutionize the industry, he hasn’t seen anything better than current lithium-ion tech. He’s right, but Swatch – yes, the watchmaker – is apparently working on something of its own.
Speaking with Swiss weekly Handelszeitung, Swatch CEO Nick Hayek was talking about the biggest issue with smartwatches: battery life. Most last a day or so, but the company’s research arm is working on something that lasts six months.
From the Reuters’ translation:
We’re working intensively on this problem with our research group Belenos and battery producer Renata. Next year we will come to the market with a revolutionary battery, not only for watches but also for automobiles.
Anything that improves battery chemistry would be of interest to the automotive industry (as well as dozens of others) but the differences between a tiny power source on your wrist and something that’s able to safely and consistently travel for hundreds and thousands of miles seems like a stretch – just like every other promising battery tech that’s been more theoretical than functional.
Contact the author at damon@jalopnik.com.
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