Did you know: the Apple Watch has a secret port, and here's what it can do

If you've ever inspected an Apple Watch from up close, or seen iFixit's teardown of Apple's wearable, you might have come across a feature that isn't mentioned anywhere in the device's user manual. That is the watch's mysterious, six-pin port, located in the slot where the bottom part of the wrist band slides in place. Its purpose? Well, speculation has it that the port is used by Apple to perform diagnostics or flash software on the device. The guys at Reserve Strap, however, have put it to a slightly different use. They have discovered that the Apple Watch can be charged through the said secret port, and slightly faster at that.

And so was born the Reserve Strap. Simply put, it is a wrist strap that doubles as a power bank for the Apple Watch, supplying it with backup power through the hidden service port. Energy is stored in a 200mAh array of battery cells, which effectively double the Watch's battery life. And, as we mentioned above, the Reserve Strap can recharge the wearable faster than its stock wireless charging puck. The difference may be slight – the Apple Watch gets from zero to full in about 5% less time – but it is a difference nonetheless.

So, what else can this not-so-secret-anymore port be used for? Will its rise in popularity pave the way for smarter and more functional third-party wrist straps to arise? We can't answer these questions with certainty, at least not at this time. While power can be fed through it to the gizmo's battery, unauthorized access to data stored on the Apple Watch might be impossible without hacking. We'll have to wait and see what the future of Apple's wearable holds. In the meantime, if the Reserve Strap seems like a reasonable investment, you may pre-order one for $250.

source: Reserve Strap via The Verge