Apple Watch Series 7 officially abandons the hidden diagnostic port

[ad_1]

The Apple Watch diagnostic port has been a mysterious part of the wearable lineup since its first model, but the new Series 7 is officially ditching the six-pin port altogether.

MacRumors first noticed that the lack of a port could be seen when removing the bottom band of the Apple Watch Series 7 — the company removed the hidden panel and port behind it. Intended for internal diagnostic use, the port is not officially recognized on Apple’s website or documentation. But the diagnostic port briefly hinted at the possibility of extending the Apple Watch with hardware accessories.

The most famous of these was the spare strap, which attempted to use the port to extend the Apple Watch’s battery life by incorporating additional batteries into a specially made strap that would go directly into the diagnostic port. In fact, the port provided faster charging than Apple’s own magnetic cable as well.

Photo: spare strap

Unfortunately, Apple quickly blocked this capability and reserved the tape (along with nearly every other attempt to harness the port for useful purposes). For the later life of the Apple Watch, it remained useful for its intended purpose: diagnostics for Apple’s internal uses and repairs.

Of course, Apple still needs a way to do diagnostics on the Apple Watch, and it seems to be replacing the obscure port with a more obscure 60.5GHz wireless module which pairs with a magnetic base capable of transmitting local data for internal use. This led to some speculation that Apple using the Series 7 as a test bed for a future portless iPhone could use similar technology to replace cables to connect to a computer. But if years of useless diagnostic port have taught us anything, it is that sometimes there is no greater meaning or benefit to be found in special diagnostic tools.

Update October 13, 5:17 PM: MacRumors sources added.

Related:

[ad_2]