Apple to focus on its smartwatch's biggest weakness, claims report

According to a report in a Chinese newspaper, the contract for manufacturing the third-generation Apple Watch has gone to Quanta Computer, and the focus will be on the device's biggest weakness -- its battery life.

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According to a report by Chinese-language Economic Daily News, as reported by DigiTimes, the next-generation Apple Watch will feature better performance and longer battery life.

According to Apple, the current crop of Apple Watches offer around 18 hours of battery life, which means a nightly recharge. But a nightly recharge not only limits the use of the device as a sleep monitor, but it also increases the risk that it's forgotten one morning, ending up in a drawer.

But battery life is always a juggling act for any manufacturer. Consumers want more and more features -- for the Apple Watch the list would be topped by a FaceTime camera and standalone cellular capability -- but every new feature puts additional pressure on battery life.

But regardless of whether or not Apple is working on improving battery life for the Apple Watch, it could be a while before we see an updated version of the device. The original Apple Watch was released in April of 2015, but the Series 2 units debuted September 2016. This means that we're looking at the third quarter of 2017 at the earliest, but that could stretch out to the first half of 2018.

Which means it could be a long time before we see any potential Apple Watch battery improvements become reality.

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