All of the smartwatches out there today house all of the hardware necessary for the device to function within the main unit which allows the strap to be taken off and replaced at will. Apple sees this as a waste, however, and has reportedly hidden a port inside the strap connector that could open the door to a wide range of additional gadgets and could possibly even allow third-party developers to create their own additions.
Would you shell out money for a ‘smart’ accessory band for an Apple Watch that added additional capabilities? More battery life, perhaps? The reason I ask is that the Apple Watch has a port that the company has yet to show off. It’s being used for diagnostics and direct access to the Watch operating system, but it’s feasible that could be used to connect accessories in the future. The port has a 6-dot brass contact array inside the groove for the ‘bottom’ strap connector slot. Several sources have confirmed its existence and placement to me. It is very similar to the connector for the Lightning connector in iPhones, as that connector currently only uses 6 of its 8 available pins. Apple recently began opening up the Lightning port for use by third parties. A source says that this port is currently for diagnostic purposes only — but that there is nothing preventing it from being a connection port for future accessories. Let’s get this out of the way: As far as I know, smart bands will not be a part of the first Apple Watch version.
