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Comment by judge2020 | Hacker News Reader

judge2020

Depending on what it actually does, we can predict side effects by imagining it was in place 10 years ago. What if the Apple Watch required a user-replaceable battery? Would the design have changed demonstrably to accommodate this design restriction?

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In that case it would probably affect water resistance.

Haven’t we had water resistant watches for quite a long time already?

Why? There are children's water toys that take batteries and do a fine job keeping the water out of the compartment.

My water-resistant watches with user replaceable batteries beg to differ. I bet the margin wouldn't be as high but it would certainly be doable from an engineering point of view.

Just curious, which watch(es) do you have?

I don't know about OP, but as far is I know every "non-smart" watch that is waterproof has a replaceable and standard sized battery. Normally, you also have to replace the o-ring, which are also pretty standard.

Water resistance was my first thought as well, however I suspect a company with the R&D budget of Apple could likely find a way. The small dimensions of the watch might be a problem, but for phones I'm fairly certain it can be done.

For a while companies like Motorola were selling nano-repellent (essentially hydrophobic) coating phones and calling them splash proof. You could easily design a gasket or something, existing waterproof phones already have parts that open for eg the sim card or microsd slot (which are gasketed).

I've got an IP-68 (or whatever is waterproof) phone with a user-replaceable batter. It effectively has weather stripping along the battery door, and uses a screw to keep it tight. It's cheap, simple, and effective. (and no, it's not a smart phone)

So this would impact big players less, leaving startups in a more difficult position. That's regressive.

If they want to design, manufacture, and sell rugged devices, then they should shoulder the costs.

If they don't want to, then they can make something less rugged.

No excuses for resource waste and pollution.

Important to note here is that when it comes to household gadgets and personal electronics, not everything needs to be engineered to have water resistance like a diver's watch.

Making sure something survives splashes or a minute at the bottom of the swimming pool will be enough to keep most of these things working.

Cheap quartz watches have been waterproof since whenever, and all have replaceable batteries. Why is an apple watch any different?

Bullshit. Watches (mechanical and quartz) have been water resistant since forever.

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